By Dominic Picksley
Just one of many bands to have grabbed a small slice of the 60s action, The Summer Set are now a mere footnote in the annals of UK pop. Despite possessing swashbuckling surf-styled harmonies, mod sensibilities and a freakbeat undertone, the group were never destined to emerge from the shadows and their tale is one of missed opportunities, bad luck and personality clashes that ultimately brought about their demise.
Remembered as one of the UK’s leading ‘surf’ groups, which in swinging mid-60s London may have turned off the scene’s hipsters, they were a favourite of Keith Moon and rubbed shoulders with some of the best in the business. But the passage of time has not been kind to The Summer Set and their legacy has been widely forgotten.
They deserve recognition, though, for their ‘cult classic’ 1966 single and while they did not leave behind a huge body of work, they nonetheless stood out from the crowd due to their triumvirate amalgamation of surf, mod and freakbeat, which resulted in some unique-sounding records that have stood the test of time.
Chart action and big-time fame eluded the short-lived Summer Set, despite being mainstays of the famous Marquee club, having a regular slot on a BBC pop show, performing in front of thousands at a huge rock festival and taking inspiration from The Beach Boys. Two of their members, though, rose out of the ashes of the surf group to hit the big time in the 70s, with Cliff Richard and the Eurovision Song Contest key stop-off points in the history of the band.
The Summer Set story, the full warts-and-all version, is told by Dominic Picksley and he is helped along the way by former band members Rocky Browne, Vic Gillam and Dave Green:
