Known for their gritty, bluesy sound, they balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-oriented album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US.

They underwent numerous personnel changes in the mid-1960s, and suffered from poor business management, leading the original incarnation to split up in 1966.

Burdon then assembled a mostly new lineup of musicians under the name Eric Burdon and the Animals; the much-changed act moved to California and achieved commercial success as a psychedelic and progressive rock band with hits such as "San Franciscan Nights", "When I Was Young" and "Sky Pilot" before disbanding at the end of the decade.

[3] The original lineup of Burdon, Price, Chandler, Valentine and Steel reunited for a one-off benefit concert in Newcastle in 1968.

The original lineup was Burdon (vocals), Price (organ and keyboards), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums) and Bryan "Chas" Chandler (bass).

[8] The Animals performed fiery versions of the staple rhythm-and-blues repertoire, covering songs by artists such as Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, and Nina Simone.

Burdon's vocals and the particular arrangement, featuring Price's haunting organ riffs, created perhaps the first folk-rock hit.

They were transported from the airport into Manhattan in a motorcade consisting of Sunbeam Alpine Series IV top-down convertibles with fashion models riding along.

Many of the Animals' hits originated from Brill Building songwriters recruited by Mickie Most, but the group, and Burdon in particular, felt this to be too creatively restrictive.

They also ended their association with Most and began to work with MGM Records producer Tom Wilson, who allowed them more artistic freedom.

The new lineup pursued a fusion of progressive rock, psychedelic, soul and folk music that was far removed from their original blues-oriented sound.

Their sound was much heavier than that of the original group, with Burdon screaming more and louder on live versions of "Paint It Black" and "Hey Gyp".

Zoot Money was added to the lineup in April 1968, initially as organist/pianist only, but upon McCulloch's departure, he also took on bass and occasional lead vocals.

[22] By December 1968, this incarnation of The Animals had dissolved, but their double album Love Is was released internationally, featuring the singles "Ring of Fire" and "River Deep – Mountain High".

[22] Money and Summers each pursued solo careers, Weider signed up with Family and Burdon joined forces with a funk/r&b/rock group from Long Beach, California, called War.

The original Animals lineup of Burdon, Price, Valentine, Chandler and Steel reunited for a benefit concert in Newcastle in December 1968 and reformed in late 1975 to record again.

Their Wembley Arena concert on 31 December 1983 (supporting the Police) was released on the Rip It to Shreds live album in 1984 after the Animals had disbanded again.

Eric Burdon had objected to the trademark registration, arguing that he personally embodied any goodwill associated with "the Animals" name.

[4] In 2003, the band's version of "The House of the Rising Sun" ranked number 123 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.