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The Herd were formed at the height of the Mod boom in 1965, joining the scores of groups playing rock and R&B around the London clubs. They quickly made a name for themselves as a tight and exciting on-stage unit, and particular note was taken of both the photogenic good looks and guitar prowess of Frampton. His previous band, The Preachers, had made a single for EMI's Columbia label.
The Herd signed to EMI in the spring of 1965, and a single, "Goodbye Baby", was released on Parlophone in June of that year. It made very little impact however, and neither did two follow-up releases, and EMI dropped the band.
They were still popular on stage and soon came to the notice of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, the songwriting team who were riding high with the successes of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. Howard and Blaikley became the Herd's managers, got them signed to Fontana and took over the writing of their material.
The first single under this new arrangement, the catchy "I Can Fly", failed to enter the charts, but of their other efforts, "From The Underworld" made No. 6 in '67, while "Paradise Lost" and "I Don't Want Our Loving To Die" reached Nos 15 and 5 respectively in 1968.
The group's teen appeal was largely attributable to Peter Frampton, voted 'the face of 1968' in the music journals. But after the failure of the "Sunshine Cottage" Frampton left the group. He resurfaced later in the decade alongside Steve Marriott (ex Small Faces) in the hard-rocking "supergroup" Humble Pie.
The Herd - "From the Underworld"
The Herd - "I Don't Want Our Loving to Die"
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