The Henchmen - Rockin’ Robin (1965)

(Jimmie Thomas [Leon Rene])
 Australia
#27 Sydney #5 Melbourne #1 Brisbane #3 Adelaide #2 Perth

Single on Go!! label by Melbourne band originally known as The AMP Men after the insurance company where three members worked. They later became The Pacifics (not the Brisbane band of the same name) and, for a while, Kevin Thompson & The Henchmen. Lead singer Kevin Thompson had left by the time of Rockin' Robin, replaced by Rick Diamond.

The Henchmen were signed to Go!! as part of their prize for winning the 3UZ Sound Spectacular, a precursor of the Battle of the Sounds.

As it happens, there were some big stars in town with the Big Show Tour at that time. As Doug Osborne of The Henchmen recalls:

The judges were Cilla Black, Freddie & The Dreamers, and a big British band called Sounds Incorporated. Cilla Black just loved us, and also our rendition of Keep Searchin’, the Del Shannon hit, as we were one of the few groups around that used an organ, which featured in the song.

The single was produced by DYT Productions, with the participation of DYT's Horrie Dargie (of the Horrie Dargie Quintet) and engineer Roger Savage.

Doug Osborne recalls the session:

It was actually Horrie Dargie's idea to put the hand claps at the start of Rockin' Robin. We were all so nervous at the time, and so Horrie went out and bought a carton of Melbourne Bitter, came back with the grog, and made each one of us drink an entire large bottle before we did the first recording take and we did it one go!

Another member of the Horrie Dargie Quintet was a professional photographer (Joe) and he took our publicity shots. They also sent us all to the Joe Latona School of Dancing, to be personally tutored by Joe himself, to prepare us for stage work/TV etc, but we all had three left feet!

The Henchmen were managed by John McMahon, manager and presenter at 3UZ:

I clearly recall all of us being led into his office at 3UZ, whereupon his first words to us were, "No grog on stage, no long hair, suits worn on stage, and no swearing! OK!"

The Henchmen's single was also released in the USA on Swan #4249 (1966). It was the second (#5002) to be recorded on the new Go!! label. As Everybody's magazine reported on 19 May 1965:

The Rondells will be third to record on the Go label, then comes Terry Dean as the fourth. The Henchmen (winners of the 3UZ Sound Spectacular) were second and of course Bobby and Laurie were first. (Quoted at Bonnie's Laurie Allen Tribute.)

See also The Henchmen's unreleased track That's What I Want.

Thanks to Doug Osborne.