Their musical styles ranged from jazz to psychedelic rock and ska, and their original line-up featured Chris Wood, later of Traffic, and drummer Mike Kellie of Spooky Tooth.
The group was formed in 1965, originally as the Kansas City Seven, by trumpeter Jim Simpson, with singer Danny King, saxophonists Chris Wood and Brian "Monk" Finch, organist Richard Storey, bass player Pete Allen, and drummer Mike Kellie.
[4] Having worked in a record shop in Smethwick, an area of Birmingham with a large Black British population of West Indian descent, Haines developed a particular interest in ska music.
Increasingly, he took over as front man, and the band's first single, on the Direction label, combined Haines' composition, "Broken Heart",[2] with a version of Dandy Livingstone's "A Message to You, Rudy", which was later revived by the Specials.
[6] Hincks and Lamb attempted to continue Locomotive with new members John Caswell and Keith Millar, releasing a single "Roll Over Mary", before changing the group's name to The Dog That Bit People in 1970.