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Wellington's Premiers were a rock and roll group from the capital city, whose beginnings were back in 1958 as a group known as The Swamp Dwellers, and their line-up was Gary Foothead, Graeme Beadle, Neil Harrap, Mike Shackleton and Brian King. The original Premiers were
Neil Harrap (Lead Guitar), Mike Shackleton (Rhythm Guitar), Peter Hindmarsh (Bass Guitar), Barry Millage (Piano), Ken Cooper (Bongos) and Andy Shackleton (Drums). They changed their name to become The Premiers and enjoyed a successful career in the Wellington area up until 1963. Neil Harrap was featured as a highly accomplished lead guitarist for the group. In 1961 they provided backing for Teddy Bennett's first single, and again in 1962, backing for Lou Parun's second single, but the band wasn't happy being a backing group and they recognised that if they were going to further their careers, the band needed to relocate to Auckland. This happened in 1963, but Neil Harrap decided not to go, and instead he joined The Measles in a residency at Wellington's Sorrento Coffee Lounge, and he worked as a session guitarist with studio band The Blockbusters, before heading off to live in the USA in 1965. The rest of The Premiers headed to Auckland with a new lead guitarist, Jimmy Elliot in tow. |
The Premiers
Barry Millage, Peter Hindmarsh, Neil Harrap, Mike Shackleton, Andy Shackleton and Ken Cooper |
Jimmy had been in a skiffle group which was formed back in 1957 by Roger Skinner and calling themselves The Kool Kats. The Premiers took up a residency at the Top 20 Club, where they worked a grueling schedule, but still found themselves doing backing work when they backed Alex Neill from the Corvairs on a couple of his singles in 1963 and 1964. It occurred again when Johnny England, who had been an original member of The Librettos, left them early in the piece and went on to release a single under the name, Johnny England and the Titans who were in reality The Premiers in disguise, and the single was Jezebel // Linda Lu, released in 1965. One of the highlights for bass player Peter Hindmarsh was that he wrote the song Down In The Mine, successfully recorded by Peter Nelson and the Castaways and it became their best known song. Surprisingly, The Premiers only managed to release half a single during their time, considering the group had some very proficient musicians in its ranks. The release was Top Twenty Theme on the Red Rooster label in 1964. The flip-side of the single was a song called Every Time by "Ribs" Parkinson. The group had folded by the end of 1965, with Jimmy Elliot playing keyboards with The Dallas Four, while in 1967 Andy Shackleton joined the original Ray Woolf's Avengers. |
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