Mary Payne explains about The Knack, The Knack's Knees and how she became an Honorary Member of the group
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The clipping on the left, courtesy of John Bennett, is undated, but from its content would appear to be from September 1965. It depicts an early Radio London-promoted Knack appearance at the Wimbledon Palais. The Palais Big L Nights launched in May of 1965 and as the station was clearly eager to inform the readers of this feature, in four months, the audiences had increased by 400%. This success and that of the Marquee Club afternoons and other station-related onshore promotions, prompted Radlon Sales to recruit Gordon Sheppard as Big L's Entertainment Manager. The clipping refers to the Knack's first release She Ain't No Good/Who'll Be the Next in Line which came out on Decca in 1965. Who'll Be the Next in Line had appeared briefly in the Fab Forty in March '65, as the recorded by the Kinks on the B-side of Everybody's Gonna Be Happy. The Knack does not feature in the Fab Forty till the 1966 release of their third single Stop..., on Piccadilly, but with our climber information incomplete for much of 1965 and early 66, it is quite likely that previous Knack releases were on the Big L playlist. The Knack joined the Knees Club at the Radio London Club Afternoon at London's Marquee Club on Saturday, April 9th 1966. The knees of band members Paul Curtis, gtr, (#185), Brian Morris, gtr, (#187), (Graham) Topper Clay, drms, (#184) and Mick Palmer, bs, (#186). (This Knack should not be confused with the American group of the same name who scored with My Sharona in 1979.) The Knack were originally
called the Londoners, and in 1964,
were backing rocker Gene Vincent. Topper Clay began his musical
career in a skiffle group at school. Brian
Morris had been a member of Earl
Preston and the Realms. The change of name occurred on
the boys' return to London from a six-month residency at the famous
Star Club in Hamburg. Presumably the name came from Dick
Lester's 1965 'Swingin' London' film, The Knack... And
How to Get It. In January 2002, the two missing pieces of the Knack jigsaw puzzle were finally unearthed. First, the Radio London Webmasters received the following knee-mail:
Coincidentally, Topper's message arrived just after the second piece
of the puzzle had fallen into place, with the realisation that at some
stage, the Curtis family had reverted
to their real surname of Gurvitz.
In fact, in a few bios, their name is listed as Curtis-Gurvitz,
which is the one that will be used from now on in this feature, to try
and avoid further confusion! In the photograph on the left, Gearie Kenworthy (right) has already
replaced Mick Palmer. Gearie (#273) also joined the KC at the Marquee
on April 9th, but at that time was still a member of Kent outfit, the
Limeys. From left: Paul, Brian, Topper and Gearie. (Sorry,
Paul, but tartan-enhanced shirts never caught on before the Bay City
Rollers.)
My mother, highly suspicious of the proposed fan club project and the effect it would undoubtedly have on my schoolwork, escorted me to Sam's office on Hendon Broadway to discuss this unpaid job. The letter from Sam, (left ) is complete with my scribbled instructions as to which bus we should catch from Hendon station to his office. Although, much to Mum's relief, the fan club never came to fruition, the group made me an honorary member. So proud of this was I, that I used to sign my name 'M. Wingert, HMK' (Honorary Member of the Knack)'. The Knees Club received the nice letter (left) from Paul Curtis-Gurvitz, postmarked 20th July 66, and signed with a pair of knobbly 'Knack Knees'. In the tradition of writing romantic (or just plain rude) acronyms like 'S.W.A.L.K.' (Sealed With A Loving Kiss) on the backs of envelopes, Paul has written K.N.A.C.K. on his, translating it below as 'Kisses Never Always Crumble Knees'. We next heard from Paul on 22nd March 2002, via knee-mail:
The Gurvitz brothers have been involved in numerous musical projects since the demise of The Knack and Gun. Both are now living on the West Coast of America, and are still heavily involved in the music business. |
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Paul sang on the original film soundtrack
of Tommy. He co-wrote Find The Time, a hit in the Eighties
for (another) Essex group Five Star.
Others who have recorded Paul's songs include Jermaine
Jackson and Imagination,
and he issued an album in 2002, called No Gun-No Army. Topper Clay joined New York Public Library in 1967, followed by ex-Knack-colleague Brian Morris, in 1968. Topper, says: More about NYPL and where to buy their CD Keep A Clear Head can be found here. |
![]() Photograph of Topper in 2000, by Tony Willey from the liner of Keep A Clear Head
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Brian still has 'Knack Knees' "Hello Mary, very entertaining site! I have been in touch with other members of the band (e.g. Geary, bass player, and of course Paul). All-in-all it seems we impacted each other's lives quite deeply, and as your website demonstrates, the entire era was an unforgettable experience for us all. So let me once again complement you on the commitment and passion that has so clearly gone into the website. Great stuff. By the way I have checked me knees out in the mirror... and apart from being back to front (the mirror effect, you see) they seem to be in pretty good shape. Just thought you might like to know that." So far, Brian hasn't been able to spare the time to send his personal update to this Knack feature, but I'm sure we'll get it eventually – and maybe even a picture of those famous patellae. As he says, "I keep very busy, (KNEE deep in work) and have more passion than before, if that is possible. Energy to go with it, too, thank God!" He has sent a link to a video clip that proves it! "This is me and the band having a knees up. What else? Be well and take it kneezy! Keep smiling! Brian Parrish."(Personal website here.) |