The Pleazers | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | G-Men |
| Origin | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 1964 (1964)–1967 (1967) |
| Labels | Zodiac |
| Past members | seeMembers |
The Pleazers were an Australian-formedrhythm and blues musical group which were popular inNew Zealand. They began inBrisbane as theG-Men in 1964. They released a sole studio album,Definitely Pleazers, in 1966, before disbanding in the following year.
The Pleazers began inBrisbane 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, andRonnie Peel (ex-Mystics,the Missing Links) on bass guitar.[1][2][3]
The Pleazers were signed byEldred Stebbing ofZodiac Records, who brought them to his home base inAuckland, 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 ofAllMusic 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 vocalistShane Hales (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, Hales, 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 albumDefinitely 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 albumA 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]
