(for the time) all-Gibson guitar complement, and a high-powered sound system -- according to Undertakers saxman Brian Jones, theirs was the first in Liverpool to put out 100 watts.

Alongside the Big Three and the Beatles, the Undertakers occupied the front rank of Liverpool bands -- their own sound was strong enough, but they were also good enough to back Merseyside soul belter Beryl Marsden and the all-black Liverpool vocal group the Chants; both the Undertakers and the Beatles worked behind the latter band, and it was through those alternate gigs, as well as crisscrossing each other's paths on the Liverpool and Hamburg scenes, that the two groups got to know each other.

Lomax emerged as the group's star, although there was never an issue as to prominence. They werebeyond reproach on-stage, but their history as a recording act was a study in frustration. They cut an abortive series of singles for the Pye label, shortened their name to the Takers in an effort to modernize their image, and then pulled up stakes for America. In 1964 and early 1965, the United States was the promised land for any band from England, or so it seemed, but the band found itself stuck in New York without work permits, recording under a variety of pseudonyms (for budget-LP releases), and living out of their manager's mid-town studio.

The group split up soon after, and Lomax and Pemberton soon after began working with an R&B band that evolved into the quartet Lomax Alliance. It was in that capacity that Lomax got