Origin London, England Associated acts The Shots | Labels Columbia
Metronome | |
Genres Psychedelic rock
freakbeat
psychedelic pop Years active 1965 (1965)–1976 (1976) Members Mick Rowley
Mal Luker
John "Zeke" Lund
Geoff Gill | ||
The Smoke was an English pop group from York. They consisted of Mick Rowley (lead vocals) (born Michael Rowley, 29 June 1946, Scarborough, Yorkshire), Mal Luker (lead guitar) (born Malcom Luker, 3 March 1946, New Delhi, India), John "Zeke" Lund (bass) (born John Raine Lund, 13 November 1945, York, Yorkshire) and Geoff Gill (drums and compositor) (born Geoffrey Robert Gill, 15 May 1949, York).
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The band originally performed around Yorkshire as "The Moonshots", changing their name to "The Shots" when they moved to London. There were two bands playing R & B and other cover versions, one was called Tony Adams and the Viceroys, who included John 'Zeke' Lund on bass; Mal Luker on guitar and Geoff Gill on drums. The other band was The Moonshots, who included Mick Rowley on lead vocals and Phil Peacock on guitar. The band then came together as The Shots and made a single for Columbia - 'Keep A Hold Of What You've Got' which flopped. At some point Peacock left the band, who then changed their name to The Smoke.
The Smoke's biggest hit was "My Friend Jack" (German Charts: #2, UK charts: #45); the BBC banned airplay of the song over its alleged drug references. Guitarist Lund later became a sound engineer for Boney M., who recorded a cover version of "My Friend Jack".