Search - The Migil 5 :: Mockin' Bird Hill: The Pye Anthology

Distinctive under-rated sixties group

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Migil 5 only had one big hit but their talent deserved better. Their good-time music was a real mixture, with elements of calypso, jazz, R+B, pop and rock'n'roll. As originally set up, the group (under various different names) featured Lennie Peters as lead singer, but he quit before they became successful. He was eventually successful as half of Peters and Lee. The word Migil comes from the first two letters of Mike Felix (drummer) and the first three letters of Gil Lucas (piano), two members of the group. Lenny Blanche (bass), Red Lambert (guitar) and Alan Watson (tenor sax) completed the five.They often covered oldies and it was one of these, Mocking bird hill, which provided them with their only significant success - it was a top five UK hit. Among the other oldies on this collection you will find Long ago and far away, Near you, Jesse James, Your cheating heart, Long tall Sally, That lucky old sun, Cry and Nevertheless. On each and every one of them, the Migil 5 stamp their unique identity.There were plenty of sixties groups who only achieved limited success, but the Migil 5 were better than most of them."