KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMS   (UK)
  • 1961: Kenneth Leverington:vcl/gtr, Cliff Gentle:vcl/gtr, Johnny Culham:vcl, Dave Cooke:bs, Robin Bailey:dms

    • The Phantoms was formed in the early 1960s as a skiffle-group called the Scramblers by three Cambridge-lads Kenneth 'Ken Levy' Leverington, Cliff Gentle and Dave Cooke. The drummer Robin Bailey was found from another local band the Red Caps, and the line-up was completed when the vocalist Johnny Culham joined them. Although the Phantoms was basicly an instrumental-group, strongly influenced by the Shadows, they also did some vocal-numbers.

    For some reason, the Phantoms released only one single in their homeland (and probably one mysterious promotional-only LP). However in Scandinavia, the Cupol label (subsidiary of Palette Records) got intrested of the band, and asked them to back-up the Norwegian rock'n'roll hero Per-Elvis (Granberg) for his 14-days tour in Norway in 1963. Culham didn't participate, and soon after he had left the group for good, Levy replaced him as a lead vocalist and the groups' front man. At a time, their style changed more and more towards to straight rock'n'roll and r'n'b, recording for instance songs like "Honey Don't", "Baby Let's Play House", "Shakin' All Over", "Move It" etc. The Phantoms toured at least once in Finland, and several times in Sweden, where they finally settled down for years, enjoying of quite fruitful success at the local chart-lists.



    45 RPM SINGLES
    PALETTE PG.9014 THE PHANTOMSPhantom Guitar / Cachina1961 UK/SWE
    PALETTE PS 1962 (p/s) THE PHANTOMSTen Green Bottles / Eldorado1961 SWE
    PALETTE PS 1963 (p/s) KEN WITH THE PHANTOMSChasing Shadows / It's Only Make Believe1962 SWE
    PALETTE PS 1964 (p/s) THE PHANTOMSLong-John-Silver / Durango1962 SWE
    PALETTE PS 1965 (p/s) THE PHANTOMSSjömansjul På Hawaii (Sailor's X-Mas) / Ole Dole Doff1962 SWE
    PALETTE PS 1965 (p/s) KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMSSjömansjul På Hawaii (Sailor's X-Mas) / Ole Dole Doff1962 SWE
    CUPOL CS 45/104 (p/s) KEN LEVY AND THE GEETARS (=the Phantoms)I'm Takin' My Baby Home / One Heart For Me (with the female choir/spoken part)1962 SWE
    CUPOL CS 45/104 KEN LEVY AND THE GEETARSI'm Takin' My Baby Home / One Heart For Me1962 FIN
    NASHVILLE NS 803 (p/s) KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMSTwilight Time / Shakin' All Over1963 SWE
    NASHVILLE NS 815 (p/s) THE PHANTOMSMissed Out / I Wish (You Could See Me Now)1963 SWE
    NASHVILLE NS 815 (p/s) KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMSMissed Out / I Wish (You Could See Me Now)1963 SWE
    NASHVILLE NS 823 (p/s) KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMSAlways / Tell Laura I Love Her1964 SWE
    NASHVILLE NS 829 (p/s) KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMSOh Babe / Gone, Gone, Gone1964 SWE
    NASHVILLE NS 838 (p/s) THE PHANTOMSReelin' And Rockin' / Ooie1965 SWE
    NASHVILLE NS 843 (p/s) THE PHANTOMSParty / Frankie And Johnny1965 SWE
    DECCA F 77501/44515 (p/s) KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMSYou've Lost That Lovin' Feeling / Jimmy Brown, The News Boy1966 SWE
    DECCA F 77504 (p/s) KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMSEn Sång En Gång För Längesen / Kalle Knopp1967 SWE



    EP'S
    PALETTE PSEP 1011 (p/s) THE PHANTOMS
    Imse Vimse Spindel (Ten Green Bottles) / Eldorado / The Phantoma / Smokey       		1961 SWE
    NASVILLE NSEP 10.001 (p/s) KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMS: VOL.1
    Round'n Round / Johnny B. Goode / I'm Talkin' 'Bout You / Move It     		1963 SWE
    STAR-CLUB/TRIOLA HOVA 1988   V/A: HOVA 1988
    the Phantoms: Chiming Bells    		1988 SWE 



    ALBUMS
    ARC - THE PHANTOMS: GREAT GUITAR HITS  (LP) 1964 UK
    NASHVILLE NSLP 30/101 KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMS: WOW!  (LP)
    Round'n Round/Shakin' All Over/Long-John-Silver/Twilight Time/Move It/Ten Green Bottles/I'm Talkin' 'Bout You/Missed Out/Johnny B. Goode/One Heart For Me/Durango/I Wish (You Could See Me Now)     		1964 SWE
    NASVILLE NSLP 30/102 KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMS  (LP)
    Baby Jean/Baby, Let's Play House/Windy And Warm/Reelin' And Rockin'/Misty/Sick And Tired/Sweet Little Sixteen/High Heeled Sneakers/Ooie/You'd Better Let Him Go/Honey Don't/Gone, Gone, Gone     		1964 SWE
    CUPOL CLP 104 KEN LEVY & THE PHANTOMS: ROCK'N'ROLL  (LP)
    Ken Levy & the Phantoms: Shakin' All Over/Long-John-Silver/Baby, Let's Play House/Missed Out/Sick And Tired/Honey Don't/Sweet Little Sixteen/High Heeled Sneakers/Baby Jean/Frankie And Johnny/Tell Laura I Love Her/Ten Green Bottles (Imse Vimse Spindel)     		1973 SWE
    STAR-CLUB GUITARS & BEAT 33-8604.01 THE PHANTOMS: IN SWEDEN  (LP)
    Phantom Guitar/The Phantoma/Ten Green Bottles (Imse Vimse Spindel)/Long-John-Silver/Sailor's Christmas (Sjömansjul På Hawaii)/Eldorado/Durango/Smokey/Ole Dole Doff/Cachina/Shakin' All Over/Long Tall Sally/Ooie/Sick And Tired/Baby Jean/Windy And Wam/Move It/Smoke Gets In Your Eyes/Missed Out/Always     		1986 SWE
    TRIOLA TRCD 12 THE PHANTOMS: MOSTLY INSTRUMENTALS  (CD)
    Phantom Guitar/Cachina/Eldorado/Long-John-Silver/Chasing Shadows/Smokey/Chiming Bells/I'm Taking My Baby Home/Ole Dole Doff/The Phantoma/It's Only Make Believe/Ten Green Bottles/Durango/One Heart For Me/Windy & Warm/Sailors Christmas/Tell Laura I Love Her/Ooie     		1993 SWE
    ROCK-IN-BEAT RB 022 KEN LEVY AND THE PHANTOMS: WOW!/THE PHANTOMS  (CD)
    Round'n Round/Shakin' All Over/Long-John-Silver/Twilight Time/Move It/Ten Green Bottles/I'm Talkin' 'Bout You/Missed Out/Johnny B. Goode/One Heart For Me/Durango/I Wish (You Could See Me Now)/Baby Jean/Baby, Let's Play House/Windy And Warm/Reelin' And Rockin'/Misty/Sick And Tired/Sweet Little Sixteen/High Heel Sneakers/Ooie/You'd Better Let Him Go/Honey Don't/Gone, Gone, Gone/Chasing Shadows/I'm Taking My Baby Home/It's Only Make Believe/Tell Laura I Love Her/Smokey/Chiming Belly     		2001 GER



    COMPILATIONS
    CUPOL CLP 84 V/A: ROCK AND ROLL  (LP)
    Ken Levy & the Phantoms: Move It/Round'n Round/Johnny B. Goode       		1972 SWE
    RAINBOW MUSIC/STAR-CLUB/
    TRIOLA HOVA CD 92    		 V/A: HOVA RECORD FAIR 92  (CD)
    the Phantoms: Chiming Bells     		1992 SWE
    STAR-CLUB/TRIOLA CD 2412.1 V/A: CHRISTMAS PARTY  (CD)
    the Phantoms: Sailor's Christmas    		1992 SWE 
    BIG BEAT BBRC 00049 VINCE TAYLOR/THE PHANTOMS : LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA  (CD)
    the Phantoms: Cachino/Phantom Guitar   (Palette-recordings)     		1997 FRA
    FRAT SHACK STOMP - V/A: FRAT SHACK STOMP! - SIXTEEN STOMPIN SENSATIONS  (LP) 
    Ken Levy & the Phantoms: Missed Out    		19?? 
    RIVERSIDE RRCD 2125 V/A: MERA SVENSKA ROCK MINNEN FRÅN 50- & 60-TALET  (2-CD) 
    Ken Levy & the Phantomes: Shakin' All Over    		2007 SWE 


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