Their roots lie with Richard Shirman and Gerry Henderson, who were in a group called The Soul System in 1965. Various member left and joined until the result was the late 1966 line-up of Shirman vocals; Henderson bass; Bob Hodges organ; Alan Whitehead (born 24.7.1945, in Oswestry, Shropshire) drums (on loan from Marmalade) and David John lead guitar. David John was Dave O’list (born David O’List, 13.12.1948, in Chiswick, West London), who had an initial shot of stardom as David John and the Mood. The System came to the attention of top agent Don Arden - who, on signing the band he found them a new name, The Attack and a first single Try It/We Don’t Know (Decca F 12550, Jan 1967). The Soul System had signed to Decca in late 1966. Davvy O’List later joined the Nice, Sep 1967 - Sep 1968, Roxy Music, Oct 1971 - Feb 1972, The Jets, Jul 1974 - July 1975 and Alan Whithead re-joined Marmalade. Hodges and Henderson faded into obscurity and Shirman remained and built a new Attack from scratch. The line-up was George Watts from Scotland organ; Chris Allen drums; Geoff Richardson guitar and Kenny Harold bass.
So one can say that the Attack were in fact, at least a couple different groups for the fact that vocalist Richard Shirman had to regroup Attack from almost scratch 3 times. The Attack’s beginnings lie in a group called The Soul System. With members coming and going, once a stabilized 5 piece arouse, the band came attention to Don Arden, a top agent who signed them, found their first single (Try It, a Standells tune) and Shirman changed their name to the Attack. Issued in January 1967, the single didn’t do much on the charts. However with it’s heavy garage sound, it is considered a minor Freakbeat classic. The flip side We Don’t Know is a rather strange jazz/soul and freakbeat hybrid with some silly lyrics. This same lineup stayed for the recording of their next single Hi-Ho Silver Lining before disbanding due to the lack of success with both 45’s. Hi-Ho Silver Lining was met with fierce competition as Jeff Beck, who presumably heard The Attack’s version and rushed out his own version as his first single after only a few days of The Attack’s single. The result was Jeff Beck getting the hit. The B side to Hi-Ho was an awesome piece of what we now call ‘freakbeat’, Any More Than I Do. This number, apart from being featured in recent compilations of the years, was used by John Peel for a radio jingle for the pirate Radio London. The guitarist responsible for the powerful riffing on Any More Than I Do, David O’List who left to break new group in the Nice, whilst drummer Alan Whitehead went back to the Marmalade and the others faded into obscurity.
Richard Shirman, now the only one left, regrouped the Attack with Scottish organist George Watt, drummer Chris Allen, guitarist Geoff Richardson and bassist Kenny Harold. Their follow up to Hi-Ho was another kinda cheeky and very English affair, Created By Clive. In a very ironic coincidence, two versions of Created By Clive were released the same day, by The Attack and The Syn! The result was neither got any attention that the song was meant for which was probably better off as the liner notes of their posthumous compilation Magic In The Air notes “Clive, a fashion designer who specialized in dressing debs in see-through mini-dresses, would have probably sued anyway”. The new guitarist Geoff Richardson penned their B side, the slow tamped raga Colour Of My Mind. With the single just barely in the shops, auditions found a new guitarist John DuCann was added and the drummer and keyboard player were replaced too. With this lineup, The Attack went about playing all the venues available: Middle Earth, Tiles, the Speakeasy, etc. However, personnel changes shifted once more in the summer of 1967 and Geoff Richardson and Kenny Harold left; their replacement was Jim Avery. This new line-up recorded the two sides of their next single, Magic In The Air/Lady Orange Peel but the A side was rejected by Decca for being too heavy and the band were sent in to record the harmless Neville Thumbcatch. Two more tracks were recorded in October 1967, covers of Morning Dew and Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever, but the single that was eventually released in January 1968 was Neville Thumbcatch backed with Lady Orange Peel. Thumbcatch was very similar to Cream’s Pressed Rat And Warthog with it’s narrative verses and trumpet melodies. With this single, the group disbanded again. DuCann and Shirman kept the Attack alive, recruiting bassist Roger Deane and drummer Keith Hodge and continued on as a four piece. This last lineup recorded tracks for a future album (titled Roman God of War) and single, all left in the can. Before their split in mid 1968, the group recorded many songs, including Winding Up Clocks, Feel Like Flying, Strange House, Just Waiting, Freedom For You, etc.
Unfortunately, not all of these tracks survived. However, those which did have been featured on various releases, culminating on Bam Caruso’s 2006 compilation About Time! which features all their singles and even some BBC sessions. The compilation gives a better idea at the groups musical legacy. Tracks like Magic In The Air, Strange House, Freedom For You & Colour Of My Mind justify their high place in British freakbeat/psych history. Perhaps with a more stable lineup, the band would have reached farther than they did.
Links!
The Attack @ AllMusic
The Attack @ RateYourMusic
The Attack @ MySpace
