The Applejacks

The Applejacks were signed up by talent scouts from the Decca Record Company in late 1963 and in February of 1964 they released their first single Tell Me When which was composed by songwriters Les Reed and former school teacher Geoff Stephens. The record was a brilliant and catchy composition and fitted the times perfectly, peaking at number 7 and remaining in the charts for 13 weeks. Some of the band members were still going to school at the time! The success of the single brought TV appearances on shows like Ready Steady Go! and Thank Your Lucky Stars where the Applejacks became friends with the Beatles who they met during a rehearsal.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney provided the Applejacks with a song Like Dreamers Do (one of the earliest Lennon/McCartney compositions) and the group recorded this with it being released as the follow up single. The Applejacks provided an excellent interpretation of the song and to their credit, used their own arrangement rather than just "copying" the Beatles demo. Hopes were high as recordings of Beatles compositions by other artists had proven successful but despite this, the Applejacks version of Like Dreamers Do only reached No. 20 in the record charts.

1964 proved to be a very busy year for The Applejacks. The group appeared in the British pop music film "Just For You" which also featured Freddie and The Dreamers and Peter and Gordon. In addition to regular TV apperances, The Applejacks performed live on the coveted New Musical Express annual poll winners concert at Wembley. Perhaps even more memorable was when Megan Davies and drummer Gerry Freeman were married in a highly publicized wedding that was attended by hundreds of screaming local teenagers.

The Applejacks recorded an album for Decca Records under the direction of future Gary Glitter producer Mike Leander. This self-titled album had a simple yet refreshing production style which suited the group well but unfortunately it did not sell enough copies to make the album charts. A new Applejacks single was also released but the awkward Three Little Words stalled at No. 23 and was to be their last showing in the record charts. Other singles were recorded and released but even a very good version of The Kinks I Go To Sleep could not halt the group's chart decline.

By 1966, The Applejacks had accepted a lucrative contract in cabaret to perform on board the luxury Trans-Atlantic ocean liners R.M.S. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I and II. Although a good move for the band financially, the engagements served to isolate them from their fans and make the promotion of any new records by the group all but impossible.