The Pleazers

The Pleazers were an Australian-formed rhythm and blues musical group which were popular in New Zealand. They began in Brisbane as the G-Men in 1964. They released a sole studio album, Definitely Pleazers, in 1966, before disbanding in the following year.

The Pleazers
Also known asG-Men
OriginBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
Genres
  • R&B
  • pop
  • rock & roll
Years active1964 (1964)–1967 (1967)
LabelsZodiac
Past memberssee Members

History

The Pleazers began in Brisbane in 1964 as the G-Men with the line-up of Jim Cerezo on lead guitar, Dennis Gilmore on drums, Vince Lipton on bass guitar, Billy London on vocals and Peter Newing on rhythm guitar.[1] They soon moved to Sydney, changed their name to the Pleazers, with the line-up of Gilmore, London and Newing joined by Bobby Bacon (a.k.a. Bob Cooper, a.k.a. Bob London: Billy's brother) on lead vocals, Bruce "Phantom" Robinson on lead guitar, and Ronnie Peel on bass guitar (ex-Mystics, the Missing Links).[1][2][3]

The Pleazers were signed by Eldred Stebbing of Zodiac Records, who brought them to his home base in Auckland, New Zealand in 1965.[1][2] They soon appeared on a local TV show, Let's Go. Their initial single, "Last Night", did poorly; while its follow-up, a cover version of Them's "Gloria" (February 1965),[1] broke into the national singles chart. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic described the band as "one of the only New Zealand groups competently playing tough, British Invasion/R&B-styled rock & roll."[4]

Early in 1966 Bacon was replaced by English-born vocalist, Shane Hale (a.k.a. Trevor Hales).[1][2] They issued a five-track extended play, A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers, in March with the line-up of Gilmore, Hale, London, Newing, Peel and Robertson.[1][2] One of its tracks, "Bald Headed Woman", was included on a various artists' compilation CD, Pebbles, Volume 12: The World (October 1999).[1][5]

The Pleazers released their debut studio album, Definitely Pleazers, in 1966 on the Zodiac label,[2] which was produced by John Hawkins. They returned to Australia later that year with Gus Fenwick (ex-Layabouts) replacing Peel on bass guitar.[2] The group disbanded in 1967.[1][2] Raven Records issued a compilation album, A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers, in 1987.[2] Unterberger rated it as three out of five stars and opined that the compilation was "focusing mostly on their original material. Competent British Invasion-style rock, usually in a Stonesy style, though sometimes in a poppier vein."[6]

Members
  • Jim Cerezo – lead guitar (in G-men only)
  • Dennis Gilmore – drums
  • Vince Lipton – bass guitar
  • Billy London – lead vocals
  • Peter Newing – rhythm guitar
  • Bobby Bacon (a.k.a. Bob Cooper, a.k.a. Bob London) –lead vocals
  • Bruce "Phantom" Robinson –lead guitar
  • Ronnie Peel – bass guitar
  • Shane Hale (a.k.a. Trevor Hales) – lead vocals
  • Gus Fenwick – bass guitar

Discography

Albums
  • Definitely Pleazers (1966) – Zodiac Records (ZLP 1026)
  • A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers (compilation album, 1987) – Raven Records.

Extended plays

Singles
  • "Last Night" / "Poor Girl" (1965)
  • "Gloria" / "That Lonely Feeling" (1965)
  • "Like Columbus Did" (Hale, London) / "Sometimes" (G. Thomasson) (1965)
  • "Is It Over, Baby" / "Hurtin' All Over" (1966)
  • "Guilty" / "Can't Pretend" (1966)
  • "Here Today" (Wilson, Asher) / "La La Lies" (Townshend) (1967)
  • "Three Cool Cats" / "Security" (1967)

References
  1. Sergent, Bruce. "Pleazers". New Zealand Music of the 60's, 70's and a bit of 80's. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Pleazers'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 13 August 2004.
  3. Holmgren, Magnus. "Ronnie Peel/Rockwell T. James". hem2.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  4. Unterberger, Richie. "The Pleazers | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  5. Unterberger, Richie. "Pebbles, Vol. 12: The World – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  6. Unterberger, Richie. "A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers – The Pleazers". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
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