[1] Members Reg King and Powell had known each other since their schooldays,[3] and were involved in the early days of the Scene Club in Soho, London, becoming pioneers in mod subculture and fashion.
The Boys were then approached by Mike Court from Juke Box Jury, who referred them to band management, and asked them to venture forth into song-writing.
[5] After the stint with Barry, Pete Watson was recruited as lead guitarist, and the Boys had a brief period as a bar band in Brunswick, Germany.
[3] On returning to the United Kingdom, the band played a gig at The Birdcage Club in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and were recruited by manager Rikki Farr.
[15] On June 3, 1966, the band made an appearance on the Dick Clark show Where the Action Is, performing their single "I'll Keep Holding On", while being filmed outside the Royal Albert Hall, in South Kensington, London.
[16][17] On July 31, 1966, the Action performed at the 6th National Jazz & Blues Festival, a three-day event held at the Royal Windsor Racecourse.
[3][19] In August 1966, the band recorded an obscure composition by American writing team, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, "Wasn't It You" – a highlight in their studio career.
[20][15][4] There was even a short documentary episode made on the band for the American television show The Twentieth Century, where the Action performed at Durham University in October 1966.
They released their last two singles "Never Ever", an original composition,[22] and "Shadows and Reflections" with the B-side, "Something Has Hit Me", co-written by Reg King with Melody Maker journalist and flatmate Nick Jones.
[6][4] The band was dropped by Parlophone in mid-1967, after their last single "Shadows and Reflections" failed to chart,[4] by which time they had also parted ways with their manager Rikki Farr.
George Martin's company AIR had financed all of the Action's recordings up to this point in their career, and the band had yet to experience any hits.
Keyboardist Ian Whiteman briefly joined, in an effort to expand their sound and to help secure the band with a new recording contract by November 1967.
[25] The Action's profound and experimental masterpiece, "Brain" was recorded in these sessions, with its phasing, chord-driven guitars, rolling drums, dreamy bass, and Reg's voice shouting and pleading the listeners to "remember me".
[6] With the Action seemingly having reached an impasse, the demos were shelved for 30 years, and vocalist Reg King departed from the band in mid-1968.
The demos captured the band's transition into more of a mid-tempo, West Coast-influenced, psychedelic ballad style and early folk rock.
[36] Collins financed the documentary film In The Lap Of The Mods (2000), which contained footage from both reunion gigs, 100 Club and Tufnell Park Dome, as well as some archive material.
[33] In 2012, a biographical book titled The Action: In The Lap Of The Mods by Ian Hebditch and Jane Shepard, was released and forwarded by Sir George Martin.
They made their final appearance at Modstock 2004,[39] a three-day event organized by the New Untouchables to commemorate 40 years of Mod Subculture, on May 30, 2004.
[40] During an interview in September 1986, Steve Marriott regarded the Action as a "legitimate band" and compared them to the likes of the Small Faces, in terms of street origins and authenticity in the 1960s Mod scene.
"[38] Classic line-up: Additional members: In addition to this in 1980 compilation album, Edsel gradually released four singles using the same material: All tracks are written by Ian WhitemanCD1 – The Action on Television and BBC Radio 1966–1967 CD2 – The Boston Arms, London 1998 CD1 – The Parlophone MastersCD2 – At Abbey RoadCD3 – Rolled Gold Plus: The 1967–68 Recordings CD4 – Action Extras