Wayne Fontana(& The Mindbenders) |
|
Wayne Fontana took his name from the drummer D.J.Fontana and not his record label as is sometimes supposed. He and his group, the Mindbenders, were one of the many talented acts to come out of Manchester during the 1960s 'beat boom'. Wayne was an accomplished R&B singer and soon gained a useful following of female admirers in the north of England. The band had immediate chart success with their first single, but its lowly #46 position and the failure of its follows up were disappointing. However, their fifth and sixth releases made the top 5, though 'Game Of Love' was held back from the top spot by 'I'll Never Find Another You' by the Seekers. |
|
The 'Game Of Love' EP shown here is possibly the easiest to find of the group's output on that particular format. It bears the catalogue number TE17449 and carries an unusual mixture of material. Along with both sides of their best selling single- from which it gained its title- it also has "She's Got The Power" and "One More Time", which are tracks that don't appear on any of their UK singles issues. |
|
Sadly, by the end of 1965, although the hits had continued, Fontana decided to go solo. This appears not to have done him too much harm because he managed to achieve four more hits without the aid of his former backing musicians. However, he faded from the scene rapidly after 1968 and although he continued on the club rounds he fell into obscurity for many years. Fortunately, after putting personal problems behind him, he was persuaded out of his retirement during the late 1980s and can still be found at 1960s nostalgia concerts occasionally. |
|
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders | |||
Fontana TF404 | 1963 | Hello Josephine/ Road Runner | #46 |
Fontana TF418 | 1963 | For You For You/ Love Potion Number 9. | |
Fontana TF436 | 1964 | Little Darlin'/ Come Dance With Me | |
Fontana TF451 | 1964 | Stop Look And Listen/ Duke Of Earl | #37 |
Fontana TF497 | 1964 | Um Um Um Um Um Um/ First Taste Of Love | #5 |
Fontana TF535 | 1965 | The Game Of Love/ Since You've Been Gone | #2 |
Fontana TF579 | 1965 | Just A Little Bit Too Late/ Long Time Comin' | #20 |
Fontana TF611 | 1965 | She Needs Love/ Like I Did | #32 |
Wayne Fontana | |||
Fontana TF642 | 1965 | It Was Easier To Hurt Her/ You Made Me What I Am Today | #36 |
Fontana TF684 | 1966 | Come On Home/ My Eyes Break Out In Tears | #16 |
Fontana TF737 | 1966 | Goodbye Bluebird/ The Sun's So Hot Today | #49 |
Fontana TF770 | 1966 | Pamela Pamela/ Something Keeps Calling Me Back | #11 |
Fontana TF827 | 1967 | 24 Sycamore/ From A Boy To A Man | |
Fontana TF866 | 1967 | In My World/ The Impossible Years | |
Fontana TF889 | 1967 | Gina/ We All Love The Human Race | |
Fontana TF911 | 1968 | Storybook Children/ I Need To Love You | |
Fontana TF933 | 1968 | Words Of Bartholemew/ Mind Excursion | |
Fontana TF976 | 1968 | Never An Everyday Thing/ Waiting For A Break In The Clouds | |
Fontana TF1008 | 1969 | Dayton Ohio 1903/ Say Goodbye To Yesterday | |
Fontana TF1054 | 1969 | We're Building A Love/ Charlie Cass |
|
Fontana TE17421 | 1964 | "Road Runner" | |
Road Runner/Young Blood/Duke Of Earl/Talkin' About You | |||
Fontana TE17435 | 1965 | "Um!, Um!, Um!, Um!, Um!, Um!" | #7 |
Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um/First Taste Of Love/Stop, Look And Listen/Too Much Monkey Business | |||
Fontana TE147449 | 1965 | "The Game Of Love" | #19 |
Since You've Been Gone/The Game Of Love/She's Got The Power/One More Time | |||
Fontana TE17453 | 1966 | "Walking On Air" | |
Remind My Baby Of Me/Walking On Air/She Needs Love/I'm Qualified |