Formed in the late 50s as The Love Noises they released the singles ‘High Class Woman’ in 1965 (B side ‘My Baby Girl’ would be re-released in the 1970s) and ‘Incessant Unfinished Sentences’ in 1967. Both singles took tracks from the 1966 studio album under the name, ‘You Took The ‘B’ From My Blues’.
They changed their name in 1966 in an effort to avoid the glut of bands using a ‘The’ at the start of their name. Involuntary Love Noise has been cited by such bands as Three Dog Night, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Strawberry Alarm Clock as the reason they chose a band name without a ‘The’ prefix.
After the single ‘Shut The Fur Cup’ in 1970 they released the acoustic mini album (the first of its kind), ‘You Put The ‘R’ In Soul’ a year later.
It wasn’t until the 1975 single ’Bulls Hit’ premiered their new funky style that the band gained some notoriety. The seminal album, ‘There Ain’t No ‘N’ In Funk’, with it’s suggestive and groundbreaking use of a tilted ‘N’ on the LP cover, was immediately banned.
The situation became worse when the band’s manager took exception to the ban and issued a damning press release.
Major Bill Keye, real name William Oliver Nigel Keye, had put the band together in 1958 by choosing the best performers from a talent contest he was judging. From the outset he, in his own words, “Ran it like a football team”, using substitutes when he felt the player's performances weren’t up to scratch. This would lead to the band having 196 members over its lifetime, still a world record, and being cited as the reason for its many break-ups. An avid Elvis Presley fan Major Keye had chosen his nome-de-plume as an homage to Colonel Tom Parker stating, “I had to be a Major as there was no way I was going to outrank the Colonel”.
His press release accused the media of, “Funking with the wrong motherfunking funker”. He took out a weekly ad on the front page of the Melody Maker where he tilted the ’n’ in the word funk anti-clockwise by 15 degrees each publication until they refused to print it. By week six the ‘n’ had almost become a ‘c’, and the paper cancelled the advert. Keye sued and became embroiled in a legal battle that would ultimately ruin him.
The band took a hiatus from touring while the court case rumbled on and secretly set about writing a rock opera.
The ‘Smooth Rock’ single of 1980 was followed by a live double album of the Broadway musical, ‘Wot Skools 4’. It was hoped that a long run would see a change in fortunes for the band. Unfortunately the theatre was condemned after only one performance when asbestos, dislodged from the ceiling by the excessive volume of the show, showered down on the audience.
Major Keye disbanded ILN in 1982 to concentrate on the ongoing legal battle with Melody Maker and the many claims of compensation from audience members at the opening night of ‘Wot Skools 4’.
In 1989 journalist Terence Bullwind, a huge fan of ILN, contacted twenty nine members of the band and told them of Major Bill’s desperate situation. Due to his many legal battles he was penniless and living in a squat.
On hearing the news ILN reformed and released a Christmas album where all the proceeds would go to the Major Bill Keye Foundation. However, due to a copyright issue with the cover art, ‘It’s Just A Load Of Balls’ came out in late January 1990, and sales reflected the ill-timed release.
In 1998, while rummaging through a box of memorabilia Major Keye stumbled upon an old cassette recording of a soundcheck at the Manchester Apollo in 1970. He contacted many members of the band and suggested they release it on CD. ‘Catch It’ was released in 1999 and contained two previously unheard tracks.
With sales exceeding expectations The Major, as the band players called him, put together yet another line up for one more album and organised a European tour.
In the year 2000 the two track single ‘For The Weaker Sex’ was followed by the last studio album by the band, ‘You’re In Trouble’, released in 2001.
With sales of the new album doing well the band set out for their first tour in many years. The first gig of the ‘Wee Luv It Wen U’re In Trubble’ European Tour was a resounding success with their Danish fans coming out in number.
Then disaster struck. The plane carrying the band and its entourage went down in the Skagerrak Straits, which lie between Denmark and Norway.
All were lost.
Involuntary Love Noise were a band that was hard to categorize. The multitude of members left their mark on a musical catalogue that knew no boundaries. Age race, sex, style and motive meant nothing to Major Keye. If you were good enough you were in the band.
Manchester Records has only recently uncovered the entire catalogue tucked away in the dusty archives. A spokesperson for the label said: “When Manchester Records first recorded The Love Noises all those years ago none of us were alive.”
