The Hammersmith Gorillas

Proto-punk trio the Hammersmith Gorillas were led by the venerable London cult figure Jesse Hector, an extravagantly dressed and coiffed rock & roll veteran who first surfaced as a teenaged skiffle prodigy before fronting the mod-era band Crushed Butler. After teaming in the short-lived Helter Skelter, Hector and drummer Gary Anderson formed the Hammersmith Gorillas in 1973 with bassist Alan Butler, copping the name from London's pro-Castro activist faction the Hammersmith Guerillas. (Certainly Hector's own simian tendencies -- specifically the thick muttonchop sideburns covering much of the singer/guitarist's face -- inspired the moniker as well.) After teaming with onetime Kinks and Troggs producer Larry Page, the Hammersmith Gorillas cut their debut single, a 1974 cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" timed to coincide with the original's tenth anniversary. Its raw, snarling approach proved a stark contrast to the prevailing chart trends and the record went nowhere, prompting Page to shelve a proposed follow-up. After abbreviating their name to the Gorillas, the trio soon signed with the fledgling Chiswick imprint to release their sophomore effort, 1975's "She's My Gal." Record sales were again minimal but early punk audiences filled the band's notoriously raucous live shows, and in the summer of 1976 they toured the south of France in support of the Damned and Eddie & the Hot Rods. A second Chiswick release, "Gatecrasher," soon followed, and in 1978 the Gorillas issued their lone LP, Message to the World. In the wake of 1981's cover of Cliff Richard & the Shadows' "Move It," Butler died and the Gorillas split. After a long absence, Hector returned to performing in the late '80s, finally receiving his due as a pioneer of British garage rock.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo