The Honeycombs were an English beat group, founded in 1963 in North London, best known for their chart-topping, million-selling 1964 hit, "Have I the Right?
"[2] The band featured Honey Lantree on drums, one of the few high-profile female drummers at that time.
[1][2] Its members were Murray (a hairdresser), his salon assistant Anne "Honey" Lantree,[8] her brother John, and two friends.
[2] Among those attending a February 1964 performance by the band were aspiring songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley.
is the prominence of the drums, whose effect was enhanced by members of the group stamping their feet on the wooden stairs to the studio.
Louis Benjamin, later Pye's chairman,[14] renamed the group as "The Honeycombs", a pun on the drummer's name and her job as a hairdresser's assistant.
[1] Honey Lantree's status as a female drummer in a top band was as unusual then as it is now, and some questioned whether she was just a visual novelty, despite her genuine drumming ability.
[22] The Honeycombs made many appearances on music television shows such as Top of the Pops, Ready Steady Go!
[24] In July 1965, British music magazine NME reported that it had been agreed in the London High Court that "Have I the Right?"
[25] In August 1965, the group released "That's the Way", with Honey Lantree sharing vocals with D'Ell (when on tour, Viv Prince of The Pretty Things took over the drumming).
[28] In 1999, the original lineup (except Martin Murray) reformed to work with cult record producer Russell C. Brennan, who they likened to Joe Meek.
He produced a new version of "Live and Let Die" for the band, which featured on the Future Legend Records release Cult Themes From the 70s Vol.
The original vinyl LP is hard to locate these days, as is the 1990s CD re-issue by Repertoire Records (Rep 4180-WZ).
[28] The full tracklist is: A few of these tracks have made their way onto video streaming sites, including an extremely rare Japanese-only Christmas single recorded during their tour of that country, coupling "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" with "Silent Night".
On 3 February 1967, Joe Meek committed suicide at his recording studio/flat on Holloway Road, after an altercation with his landlady, who also died.
b/w "All Systems Go" b/w "I Fell in Love" b/w "Should a Man Cry" In Germany, all three Honeycombs albums have been reissued on compact disc, two of which had bonus tracks: