Effective period / Period of releases: 1964

So, Just Who Were The Long And The Short?Published on April 27, 2013 By uDiscover Team
The Long And Short
They were originally called, Ringo Rhythm 4, and were made up of Robert Taylor on bass; Allan Grindley who played drums and bugle; guitarist Robert ‘Bob’ McKinley and Scotsman, Gerry Watt (on piano. They were originally formed in Taylor’s home town of Wigan and made their debut at the town’s Empress Hall, going on to play local clubs and halls, before enlisting lead guitarist Les Saint from Liverpool. At this point, in September 1963, they changed their name to Le Ringos and successfully auditioned for Decca’s A & R men Dick Rowe and Mike Leander, and a film producer present at the audition offered them a chance to star in a new pop film featuring unknown groups which was to be based on a tropical island – it was all very much of its time.

Changing their name to The Long and Short, they appeared on TV’s ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’, ‘Ready Steady Go’ and ‘Top Of The Pops’ which helped their debut single, a Mike Leander song, ‘Letter’ to climb to No. 30 on the UK charts in the late summer of 1964.