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The Pleazers were an Australian-formed rhythm and blues musical group which were popular in New Zealand. They began in Brisbane as the G-Men in 1964. They released a sole studio album, Definitely Pleazers, in 1966, before disbanding in the following year.
The Pleazers began in Brisbane in 1964 as the G-Men with the line-up of Jim Cerezo on lead guitar, Dennis Gilmore on drums, Vince Lipton on bass guitar, Billy London on vocals and Peter Newing on rhythm guitar.[1] They soon moved to Sydney, changed their name to the Pleazers, with the line-up of Gilmore, London and Newing joined by Bobby Bacon (a.k.a. Bob Cooper, a.k.a. Bob London: Billy's brother) on lead vocals, Bruce "Phantom" Robinson on lead guitar, and Ronnie Peel (ex-Mystics, the Missing Links) on bass guitar.[1][2][3]
The Pleazers were signed by Eldred Stebbing of Zodiac Records, who brought them to his home base in Auckland, New Zealand in 1965.[1][2] They soon appeared on a local TV show, Let's Go. Their initial single, "Last Night", did poorly, while its follow-up, a cover version of Them's "Gloria" (February 1965),[1] broke into the national singles chart. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic described the band as "one of the only New Zealand groups competently playing tough, British Invasion/R&B-styled rock & roll."[4]
Early in 1966 Bacon was replaced by English-born vocalist Shane Hales (a.k.a. Trevor Hales).[1][2] They issued a five-track extended play, A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers, in March with the line-up of Gilmore, Hales, London, Newing, Peel and Robertson.[1][2] One of its tracks, "Bald Headed Woman", was included on a various artists' compilation CD, Pebbles, Volume 12: The World (October 1999).[1][5]
The Pleazers released their debut studio album Definitely Pleazers in 1966 on the Zodiac label,[2] which was produced by John Hawkins. They returned to Australia later that year with Gus Fenwick (ex-Layabouts) replacing Peel on bass guitar.[2] The group disbanded in 1967.[1][2] Raven Records issued a compilation album A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers in 1987.[2] Unterberger rated it as three out of five stars and opined that the compilation was "focusing mostly on their original material. Competent British Invasion-style rock, usually in a Stonesy style, though sometimes in a poppier vein."[6]
- Jim Cerezo – lead guitar (Ex G-men 1964)
- Denis 'Speedy' Gilmore – drums (Ex G-Men 1964)
- Vince Lipton – bass guitar (Ex G-Men 1964)
- Billy Bacon (London) – lead vocals (Ex The London Bros 1964)
- Peter 'Bunt' Newing – rhythm guitar (Ex G-Men 1964)
- Bob Cooper–(aka London) lead vocals (Ex The London Bros 1964)
- Bruce "Phantom" Robinson –lead guitar (The Pleazers January 1965)
- Ronnie Peel – bass guitar (Ex Missing Links Sydney 1965)
- Shane Hales (a.k.a. Trevor Hales) – lead vocals (NZ 1965)
- Gus Fenwick – bass guitar (ex The Layabouts 1966)
Albums
- Definitely Pleazers (1966) – Zodiac Records (ZLP 1026)
- A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers (compilation album, 1987) – Raven Records.
Extended plays
- A Midnight Rave with the Pleazers (March 1966) Zodiac Records (EPZ 133)
- "Baby Jane" (Dello, Cane), "Thou Shalt Not Steal" (John D. Loudermilk), "I'm Movin' On", "Bald Headed Woman" (Talmy), "Don't Give Me no Lip Child" (Thomas, Richards)
Singles
- "Last Night" / "Poor Girl" (1965)
- "Gloria" / "That Lonely Feeling" (1965)
- "Like Columbus Did" (Hales, London) / "Sometimes" (G. Thomasson) (1965)
- "Is It Over, Baby" / "Hurtin' All Over" (1966)
- "Guilty" / "Can't Pretend" (1966)
- "Here Today" (Wilson, Asher) / "La La Lies" (Townshend) (1967)
- "Three Cool Cats" / "Security" (1967)
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