The Hullaballoos formed in Hull (hence their name) in August 1964 after working for several years under the name of Ricky Knight and The Crusaders.
The group’s look (featuring long dyed blonde hair) and music were put together for US consumption by Luigi Creatore and Hugo Peretti of Roulette Records to take advantage of the popularity of British Invasion bands in the USA.
Signed to Roulette in the US (while their UK records appeared on the Columbia label) the group made numerous television appearances, most notably in the States on Hullabaloo.
Most of their music was written by Brill Building songwriters, who were apparently intent on making the band sound as much like Buddy Holly as possible. Indeed, one of their small stateside hits was a cover of Holly’s I’m Gonna Love You Too (the other, Did You Ever?, was Holly-esque, right down to the hiccuping vocal).
The Hullaballoos recorded two albums, England’s Newest Singing Sensations and On Hullabaloo (both 1965) before breaking up. Knight was replaced for a short time by Mick Wayne but the group disbanded completely in 1966.
Wayne went on to play in The Tickle, Junior’s Eyes and The Pink Fairies before dying in a freak fire on 24 June 1994 while he was trapped in a friend’s house in the US.
In May 2010, original members Knight, Dunn, and Woonton reunited for a one-off concert in May 2010. Geoffrey Mortimer died from cancer on 17 December 2016.
Ricky Knight (Ronald Mitchell)
Vocals, guitar
Andy Woonton (Andrew Wooton)
Guitar, vocals
Geoffrey Mortimer
Bass, vocals
Harry Dunn
Drums, vocals
Mick Wayne
Vocals, guitar
