Editing The Mojos

{{Short description|British beat music group}}
{{About|the British band|other uses|Mojo (disambiguation){{!}}Mojo}}
{{Distinguish|Asaf Avidan & the Mojos}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = The Mojos
| image           = 
| image_size      = 
| landscape       = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank -->
| alt             = 
| caption         = 
| background      = group_or_band
| alias           = Stu James and the Mojos
| origin          = [[Liverpool]], England
| genre           = [[Beat music|Merseybeat]], pop, rock
| years_active    = circa 1963–1968
| label           = [[Decca Records]]
| associated_acts = Nicky Crouch's Mojos, [[Faron's Flamingos]], [[The Tornados]]
| website         = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| current_members = Nicky Crouch<br /> Terry O'Toole<br /> Keith Karlson<br /> John "Bob" Conrad
| past_members    = [[Aynsley Dunbar]]<br /> [[Lewis Collins]]<br /> Adrian Wilkinson<br /> Tony Cowell<br /> Jon Werrell<br />Dave Cowell<br />Stu James
}}

'''The Mojos''' were a British [[beat group]] from the 1960s, best known for their [[hit record|hit]] UK single, "[[Everything's Alright (Mojos song)|Everything's Alright]]", with two other singles charting low in the [[UK Singles Chart]] in 1964.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 374}}</ref>

==Biography==
[[File:The Cavern Wall of Fame.jpg|thumb|The Mojo's are included in [[The Cavern Club]] Wall of Fame (top left of plaque) ]]

The band formed under the name the Nomads as a duo in 1962 and originally consisted of bassist Keith Karlson (born Keith Alcock) and Jon "Bob" Conrad. After that the band was joined in September 1962 by lead singer, pianist Stu James (born Stuart Slater), rhythm guitarist, vocalist Adrian Lord (born Adrian Wilkinson).<ref name="Larkin60">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0149-X|page=312}}</ref> The band continued without a lead guitarist when Wood left. At the suggestion of Beatle [[George Harrison]], pianist Terry O'Toole was added to the lineup in August 1963;<ref name="Larkin60"/> Harrison having heard him play at the [[Blue Angel (nightclub)|Blue Angel]] jazz club.<ref>{{cite web |title=In conversation with Terry O'Toole |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnrMXi0h2hM |website=Youtube | date=21 June 2021 |publisher=Sound Agents Films |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> The band also changed their name in August 1963 to the Mojos and Lord changed from rhythm guitarist to lead guitarist. This lineup recorded "My Whole Life Through",<ref name="Larkin60"/> which was featured on the [[Oriole Records (UK)|Oriole Records]] ''This is Merseybeat'' [[compilation album]],<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book
| first= John
| last= Tobler
| year= 1992
| title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years
| edition= 1st
| publisher= Reed International Books Ltd
| location= London
| page= 122
| id= CN 5585}}</ref> and the debut single "They Say".

"They Say" achieved some popularity; amongst other things, it was used for the party scene in the 1964 film ''[[The Comedy Man]]''.

Despite having written the single's [[b-side]], Lord (Wilkinson) left the group soon after its release in October 1963 and was replaced by Nicky Crouch<ref name="Larkin60"/> (formerly of [[Faron's Flamingos]]) (born Nicholas Crouch, [[Aintree]]). This was the line-up that was to continue until October 1964, recording the group's three charting singles - "Everything's Alright" (no. 9), "Why Not Tonight" (no. 25) and "Seven Daffodils" (no. 30)<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> - as well as an [[Extended play|EP]]. They appeared in the movie ''[[Every Day's a Holiday (1965 film)|Every Day's a Holiday]]'' and like many of their contemporaries the group played at the [[Star-Club]] in Hamburg, Germany.<ref name="British Beat">{{cite book
| first1= Chris
| last1= May
| first2= Tim
| last2=Phillips
| year= 1974
| title= British Beat
| publisher= Socion Books
| location= London
| isbn= 0-903985-01-2
| page= 14}}</ref>

In October 1964, Karlson, Conrad and O'Toole left the group and James and Crouch were joined by drummer [[Aynsley Dunbar]] and bassist [[Lewis Collins]] (26 May 1946 – 27 November 2013).<ref name="Larkin60"/> This line-up recorded the singles "Comin' On to Cry" and "Wait A Minute"  (the latter released as by "Stu James and the Mojos"), for [[Decca Records|Decca]] - before disbanding in September 1966.<ref>{{cite web
| title=The Mojos biography
| url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p19385/biography|pure_url=yes}}
| website=[[AllMusic]]
| accessdate=8 June 2009}}</ref>

James and Crouch formed a new version with Birmingham bass player Deke Vernon and Southampton drummer [[Martin Smith (drummer)|Martin Smith]] and released a further single "[[Goodbye, Dolly Gray|Good-Bye, Dolly Gray]]" in February 1967 which also failed to chart. They then spent several months playing at a luxury hotel in the Ivory Coast later that year.

James moved back to Southampton and reformed the Mojos in late 1967 with local musicians Eddie Harnett on lead guitar, Duncan Campbell on bass and Tony House on drums, and recorded "Until My Baby Comes Home", for [[Liberty Records|Liberty]].

Collins became an actor, starring in ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'', and Dunbar became a noted session musician, playing with [[Frank Zappa]], [[David Bowie]] and [[John Mayall]], among others.<ref name="Larkin60"/> Stu James stayed in the music business taking management roles at Bradley's Records and later Chrysalis Records.<ref name="Larkin60"/> Crouch currently plays in a group called Nicky Crouch's Mojos, which features members of other 1960s [[Beat music|Merseybeat]] acts, including [[the Swinging Blue Jeans]], [[Rory Storm|Rory Storm and the Hurricanes]] and [[Faron's Flamingos]].<ref>
{{cite web
| title=Nicky Crouch's Mojos
| url=http://www.nickcrouch.co.uk/cmojos.htm
| website=Nickycrouch.co.uk
| accessdate=8 June 2009}}</ref>

The Mojos were reformed as a touring band in the 1970s by the Hal Carter Organisation with various professional musicians including lead guitarist Antz Cowell ([[the Tornados]], [[Billy Fury]], [[Marty Wilde]]), bass guitarist Dave Cowell ([[Fusion Orchestra]]) and drummer Jon Werrell ([[the Tornados]], Heinz, [[Dustin Gee]], Carl Simmons).  They supported Mud and [[Showaddywaddy]] on some UK tour dates. Whilst in Jersey during a break in touring, Jon Werrell loaned his silver Premier drumkit to John Bonham for Led Zeppelin's impromptu club gigs in St.Helier.

Lead singer Stu James died on 10 May 2023, at the age of 77.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stuart Slater, lead singer of Sixties beat group the Mojos who became a record label boss – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/05/12/stuart-slater-60s-mojos-record-label-boss-died-obituary/ |access-date=12 May 2023 |publisher=The Telegraph |date=12 May 2023}}</ref>

==Discography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|Year
!  style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Single
!  style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|[[UK Singles Chart]]
|-
|1963
|A. "They Say" (Byers)<br /> B. "Forever" (Wilkinson)
| -
|-
|rowspan="4"|1964
|A. "[[Everything's Alright (The Mojos song)|Everything's Al'right]]" (Crouch/Konrad/Staveley/James/Karlson) <br /> B. "Give Your Lovin' To Me"   (Staveley/James/Karlson)
|No. 9
|-
|A. "Why Not Tonight" (James/O'Toole) <br /> B. "Don't Do It Any More" (James)
|No. 25
|-
|A. "Seven Daffodils" (Hayes/Moseley) <br />B. "Nothin' At All" (James/Crouch)
|No. 30
|-
|''"The Mojos" EP''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/dfe8591 |title=The Mojos - Everything's Al'right / I Got My Mojo Working - Decca - UK - DFE 8591 |website=45cat.com |accessdate=18 December 2012}}</ref><br /> 1. "Everything's Alright" (Crouch/Konrad/Staveley/James/Karlson) <br /> 2. "[[Got My Mojo Working|I Got My Mojo Working]]" (Foster) <br /> 3. "[[The One Who Really Loves You (song)|The One Who Really Loves You]]" ([[Smokey Robinson|Robinson]])<br /> 4. "[[Nobody but Me (The Isley Brothers song)|Nobody But Me]]" (Isley/Isley/Isley)
| -
|-
|rowspan="2"|1965
|A. "Comin' On to Cry" (James/Crouch) <br /> B. "That's The Way It Goes" (James/Crouch)
| -
|-
|A. "Wait a Minute" (Lynch/Shuman) <br /> B. "Wonder If She Knows" (James/Crouch)<br />(as ''Stu James and the Mojos'')
| -
|-
|1967
|A. "[[Goodbye, Dolly Gray]]" (Cobb/Barnes) <br /> B. "I Just Can't Let Her Go" (Ross)
| -
|-
|1968
|A. "Until My Baby Comes Home" (Slater) <br /> B. "Seven Park Avenue" (Slater)
| -
|}

A compilation entitled ''Everything's Alright: The Complete Recordings'' was released in 2009 by [[RPM Records (United Kingdom)|RPM Records]]. As its name suggests, it features all of the above (plus the 'This is Merseybeat' compilation album track "My Whole Life Through"), in chronological order by release date.<ref>{{cite web
| title=The Mojos Everything's Alright - The Complete Recordings UK CD ALBUM (471558)
| url=http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=471558
| website=Eil.com
| accessdate=16 July 2009}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirm/mojos.htm The Mojos] at 45-rpm.org.uk
* [http://www.merseybeatnostalgia.co.uk/html/the_mojos.html The Mojos] at Merseybeatnostalgia.co.uk
* [http://www.nickcrouch.co.uk/cmojos.htm Nicky Crouch's Mojos]
* {{discogs artist|The Mojos}}
* {{IMDb name|5801856}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mojos, The}}
[[Category:English pop music groups]]
[[Category:English rock music groups]]
[[Category:Decca Records artists]]
[[Category:Rock music groups from Liverpool]]
[[Category:Beat groups]]
[[Category:British Invasion artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1963]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1968]]
[[Category:1963 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1968 disestablishments in England]]