Five Man Electrical Band / The Staccatos - Half Past Midnight: The Staccatos And Beyond (Reissue) (1966-69/2008)

Five Man Electrical Band:
Formed in Los Angeles United States, and best known for their 1971 anti-establishment hit "Signs".
Featured guitarist/vocalist Les Emmerson, bassist Brian Rading, keyboardist Ted Gerow, and drummers Rick Belanger and Mike Belanger. After moving to Los Angeles is when on the advice of Brian Rading changed name from The Staccatos to Five Man Electrical Band.

Originally known as The Staccatos formed in Ottawa, Canada the group formed in the mid-'60s and earned their first big break with the 1967 hit "Half Past Midnight"; their first attempt at stateside success came that year when they recorded A Wild Pair with the Guess Who. The album sold well and "Half Past Midnight" was released as a single in the U.S., but the group was dismissed as sounding too much like the Beach Boys. The Staccatos released their second album, Five Man Electrical Band, in 1968, and renamed themselves after it the following year.

The Staccatos:
Formed in 1963, The Staccatos, featuring singer/disc jockey Dean Hagopian, emerged from the Ottawa scene in the mid-’60’s with a single on Allied Records. However, their first single of prominence was “Small Town Girl” which was picked up by A& R manager Paul White for Capitol Records. Through the financial backing of journalist Sandy Gardiner, The Staccatos launched their next release called “Moved To California”. In 1966 “Let’s Run Away” won ‘Best Produced Single’ and ‘Vocal Instrumental Group of the Year JUNO Awards. They began to receive more notice with gigs in Toronto’s Yorkville Village after the release of “Half Past Midnight” (1967) which became a national hit and won another JUNO Award for ‘Best Produced Single’. Around this time they hooked up with Coca-Cola Company for some radio jingles and shared half an LP recorded at Hallmark Studios with The Guess Who called ‘A Wild Pair’ on Jack Richardson’s Nimbus Records. The album was a big seller prompting Capitol U.S. to release “Half Past Midnight” along with a commitment to record new material in L.A. Though they received a lot of hype in California from the record label, the group was seen as being ‘too Beach Boy sounding’ and The Staccatos records failed. They would soon change their name to The Five Man Electrical Band after the title of The Staccatos second album and waited out their contract. Once free, they hooked up first with MGM with no success, then with Lion Records owned by writer Jimmy Webb and producer Dallas Smith. They recorded the album Goodbyes & Butterflies (containing controversial cover art). The jacket was changed and the first single “Signs” went to No.3 in the U.S. and No.4 in Canada selling more than 2 million copies worldwide. The band’s next single “Absolutely Right” also was No.3 in Canada and Top-20 in the U.S. By 1973 they were exhausted and pursued solo careers. In 1986 they reformed for a one-off benefit concert which has lead into a fun Eastern Canada tour every year with no business pressures.