The Action

The Action
Name	The Action
Origin	London, England
Genres	Beat music, Mod, Rhythm and blues, Pop music
Years active	1963–1969, 1979, 1998–2003
Labels	Pye Records, Immediate Records, Brewster, Hickory International
Associated acts	The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Small Faces, The Yardbirds

The Action The Action were an English beat music band formed in London in 1963. Noted for blending rhythm and blues arrangements with melodic pop music harmonies, they became associated with the mod scene and recorded for labels such as Pye Records and Immediate Records. While commercial chart success eluded them, the band garnered critical attention and influenced contemporaries across Britpop precursors and later power pop revivalists.

Overview

Formed amid the dynamic 1960s London scene alongside acts like The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and Small Faces, the band quickly established a reputation for tight harmonies and a guitar-driven sound akin to The Yardbirds and The Hollies. Their repertoire mixed original compositions and covers of American rhythm and blues and soul music staples popularized by artists such as Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield and Wilson Pickett. Although singles appeared on Pye Records and the band's later association with Immediate Records promised broader exposure, managerial and label complications restricted their mainstream breakthrough compared with peers including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

History

The group's origins trace to the early 1960s London clubs where the mod scene coalesced around venues like the Marquee Club and the Ealing Club. Initial line-ups gigged extensively across circuits frequented by The Who and Small Faces, supporting tours and sharing bills with acts promoted by entrepreneurs such as Andrew Loog Oldham and managers associated with Brian Epstein's network. Recording sessions in studios used contemporaneously by The Kinks and The Rolling Stones produced singles that received strong club play but limited radio rotation on outlets influenced by the BBC and emerging pirate stations like Radio Caroline.

Personnel changes and shifting musical trends during the late 1960s paralleled developments affecting bands like The Yardbirds and The Move, with members departing for projects linked to Fleetwood Mac-era blues-rock and session work with producers such as Jimmy Page-associated teams. A brief reformation in 1979 and subsequent reunions in the 1990s reflected renewed interest sparked by reissues and anthologies compiling work alongside contemporaries in collections devoted to scenes that included Marianne Faithfull-era folk-rock and The Zombies revivalism.

Members and Personnel

Key figures included a lineup that overlapped with session networks populating London studios used by John Paul Jones and other prominent arrangers. Individual members later collaborated with artists associated with Nicky Hopkins-styled session work and contributors to Immediate Records projects aligned with Giorgio Gomelsky-era management. Several musicians from the band moved into production and session careers, working with acts in the orbit of Ralph McTell and Rod Stewart, as well as joining formations connected to Fairport Convention-adjacent folk-rock and Fleetwood Mac-adjacent blues outfits.

Musical Style and Influences

The band synthesized elements from American artists including Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, James Brown, and Smokey Robinson, filtered through British contemporaries such as The Beatles' early harmonies and the guitar-driven approach of The Who and The Kinks. Their arrangements often featured chiming Rickenbacker-style guitars associated with players in The Hollies and jangly textures later celebrated by R.E.M. and The Smiths. Lyrical themes drew on mod sensibilities reflected in the works of Paul Weller and fashion narratives tied to scenes that produced figures like Steve Marriott and icons from Carnaby Street.

Discography

Singles and compilation appearances appeared on labels like Pye Records and Immediate Records, frequently compiled in retrospective releases alongside peers such as Petula Clark and Sandie Shaw on British 1960s anthologies. Notable tracks circulated among collectors in the same circles as recordings by The Beach Boys-influenced British acts and American soul music imports championed by DJs in venues like the 100 Club. Posthumous compilations gathered studio singles, BBC session tapes akin to those preserved for John Peel archives, and live club recordings comparable to releases by The Animals and Them.

Live Performances and Tours

Live activity centered on London and provincial circuits that fostered the careers of The Who, The Kinks, and The Yardbirds, with regular engagements at venues like the Marquee Club, The 100 Club, and regional ballrooms tied to promoters who also booked The Small Faces and The Troggs. Tours put them on bills with contemporaries promoted by the same management companies that handled acts like Denny Laine and The Moody Blues. Their live reputation—built on harmonies and rhythm sections reminiscent of The Spencer Davis Group—led to festival appearances and package tours that mirrored routes taken by Herman's Hermits during the British Invasion era.

Legacy and Reception

Although they did not achieve the commercial heights of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, the band's influence persisted in collector circles and among musicians cited alongside Big Star and Badfinger by proponents of power pop and mod revivalists such as followers of Paul Weller and historians of the 1960s British rock boom. Retrospective appraisals placed their recordings in anthologies alongside The Zombies and Love as essential listening for aficionados tracing links between British rhythm-and-blues, mod culture, and later indie-pop movements. Music historians and critics comparing the band's body of work to contemporaneous producers like Joe Meek and Shel Talmy underscore a legacy rooted in craftsmanship rather than chart metrics.

Category:English beat groups Category:Musical groups established in 1963