The Small Hours

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Biography

There are 3 bands under the name of The Small Hours.

1. British Mod band from the late 1970s. The Small Hours played London extensively and following their appearance on the Mods Mayday live album, began touring the country. They frequently sold out venues such as the Marquee, The Music Machine, The Venue and Dingwalls. It has been said by many observers of the time that the Hours were the most authentic-sounding of all the mod acts. They favoured a much tighter Memphis r&b type sound than a lot of their punkier, thrashier contemporaries and the use of a big fat Stax organ live and horns on a few recordings lent a much more soulful sound. They were even invited to play at elitist Northern soul nights-something unheard of for bands at that time whose material would never have satisfied the soul purists. Small Hours did though, including faithful covers of Northern classics such as JJ Jackson’s ‘It’s Alright’, Don Covay’s ‘Mercy Mercy’ and the ironic Javells ‘Goodbye, Nothing To Say’ in their set.

Small Hours built a devoted fan base from mainly east and south London, and their live appearances were packed, roof-raising nights. Their following included the Beermats from Lewisham, the Three Johns, two of whom edited mod fanzines Maximum Speed and Mission Impossible, the Scooter Girls and the Bethnal Green Skins. This was an eclectic bunch, all shuffling their soul shoes to the Small Hours infectious dancehall grooves. In an era which coincided with football hooliganism, rivalry between fans from Millwall, West Ham and Chelsea sometimes erupted in Wild West-style barroom brawls. Occasionally, band members would launch themselves offstage in mid-song, to break up putative fights and defuse ugly moods.

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