Carl Wayne & the Vikings

• Formed: 1961
• Disbanded: 1966
• Genres: Rock

Biography

Carl Wayne & the Vikings recorded three unknown singles in the mid-'60s, but have somewhat more name recognition than the average such group because three-fifths of them joined the Move. Originally Keith Powell & the Vikings, the name was changed when Wayne replaced Powell as lead vocalist. (Powell would record quite a bit for Columbia and Piccadilly in the 1960s in a journeyman R&B/soul-pop mode, without getting any hits.) Carl Wayne & the Vikings were a pretty faceless British Invasion band, and their two singles on Pye are unremarkable R&B and pop tunes, only one of which ("Your Loving Ways") was a group original. In one of those unfathomable quirks of marketing that sometimes happened in those days, a third single, "My Girl"/"Shimmy Shammy Jangle," was only issued in the States (on ABC), where they were even more unknown than they were in the U.K. Wayne, bassist Ace Kefford, and drummer Bev Bevan joined the Move in 1966, Wayne taking a good share of the lead vocals during his four-year stint in the group. Kefford left the Move in the spring of 1968; Bevan eventually drummed in Electric Light Orchestra. All six of the songs recorded by Carl Wayne & the Vikings are on the Sequel compilation Brum Beat: Midlands Beat Groups of the 60's. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide