MINDBENDERS

Originally a backing group for Wayne Fontana, the Mindbenders comprised Eric Stewart (b. 20 January 1945; guitar), Bob Lang (10 January 1946; bass) and Ric Rothwell (b. 11 March 1944; drums). In October 1965, they split with their leader and early the following year enjoyed a transatlantic number 2 hit with the Carole Bayer Sager/Toni Wine composition, “A Groovy Kind Of Love”. The excellent follow-up, “Can't Live With You, Can't Live Without You”, failed to chart, while its successor “Ashes To Ashes” was only a minor hit. A cameo appearance in the film To Sir With Love maintained the group's profile and they continued to record material by name writers such as Rod Argent and Robert Knight, but to no avail. A brave stab with an average cover of the Box Tops' “The Letter” scraped into the Top 50, but shortly after the release of “Uncle Joe The Ice Cream Man” in March 1968, the group dissolved. Eric Stewart and latter-day Mindbender Graham Gouldman went on to form Hotlegs and 10cc, while Bob Lang reappeared in Racing Cars.

Discography: The Mindbenders (Fontana 1966)***, With Woman In Mind (Fontana 1967)***.