The Action were an English mod band who released a few commercially unsuccessful singles in the mid-1960s before being released from their contract with Parlophone. In 1967 and 1968 they spent some time in George Martin's studios producing demos to try to impress record companies, but without success. At which point they split, with singer Reg King going solo and the rest of the group re-emerging as the critically acclaimed Mighty Baby.
The demos were finally released in 2000 on Reaction Records under the name "Rolled Gold". To my mind they are amongst the best British psychedelic recordings of that period and it is quite astonishing that the world had to wait over 30 years to hear them. All of "Rolled Gold" is worth a listen but here are two of my personal favourites: "Strange Roads" and "Brain".
Action? Mods? Yes, with an air of inevitability, today's clip is from the late 1970's mod revival - "Time For Action" by Secret Affair (it starts after the tail end of the Undertones).
Ah yes, The Action. Remember buying a re-release of their version of "I'll Keep On Holding On" sometime in the 80's. Of course, a cover of The Marvelettes (http://open.spotify.com/track/7cwls0WFWgaW6rzCCt7rMo). There was a rumour back then that the The Action's bass player went on to be an actor (either Shaw or Collins, that is Bodie or Doyle from "The Professionals") but that was b*ll*cks.
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