Elli Biography
Although he only issued one single ("Never Mind"/"I'll Be Looking out for You" [EMI, 1967]), which sold poorly due to "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" being released on the same day, Elli continued to record demos throughout the rest of the '60s. His plaintive, slightly accented voice and gentle arrangements that sat somewhere between the Beatles and the Zombies have gained a wealth of admiration since Dig the Fuzz records released a mini-album consisting of his single and acetate recordings in 1999.
Elli Meyer was born in Calcutta, India, in 1946, and moved to England during the swinging '60s to start work as a painter and decorator. As early as 1962, he was involving himself in the burgeoning music scene and began to sing in the local London group the Eagles, who went on to record for Pye. He then formed the Nutrons, but walked out to join the Madhatters (who had recently changed their name from the Trendsetters). They held a residency at the 007 Club and played with PJ Proby, the Honeycombs, and the Moody Blues, but split in 1965 when their lead guitarist immigrated to Australia. The ever-active Elli then joined the Infernos, but after one year with them fell seriously ill with diabetes, and had to leave, taking into account his disability. Around this time he met up with two friends (Mike Finesilver and Peter Kerr) who were involved in a charitable organization for young people called the Entertainers. They decided to write a few songs for Elli and brought in Vincent Crane (who later went on to Atomic Rooster) to play piano and Drachen Theaker (who later teamed up with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown) to play drums on a demo version of "Never Mind." Music publisher Malcom Forrester heard the tapes and was very impressed by Elli's sweet voice; he put him into the studio to record his debut single for release on EMI. ("Never Mind"/"I'll Be Looking out for You" was released in February 1967, but bombed due to its misfortune of colliding with the Beatles' latest single. A follow-up was intended but for some unknown reason Elli's A&R man was fired, and the record was never released. He continued to record demos until 1970. ~ Jon 'Mojo' Mills, All Music Guide
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