#14: Don’t Push Me by Hedgehoppers Anonymous

City: St. John’s, NL
Radio Station: VOCM
Peak Month: April 1966
Peak Position in St. John’s ~ #4
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #123
Peak Position on Australian Singles chart ~ #28
YouTube: “Don’t Push Me”
Lyrics: “Don’t Push Me”

Hedgehoppers Anonymous were a British band founded in 1963. The members were Mick Tinsley (born 1940 in Portsmouth, England), John Stewart (born in Kincardineshire, Scotland, in 1941), Ray Honeybull (born in 1941 in County Durham, England), and Leslie Dash. The rhythm guitarist with the group was Tony Cockayne. Tinsley was with the Electrons before forming the band in 1963. In 1963 they took the name The Trendsetters and settled on Hedgehoppers in 1964. The bandmates were Royal Air Force personnel at the RAF base in Wittering, England. “Hedgehoppers” was RAF slang for low flying aircraft. Jonathan King took over management of the band in 1965 and added “Anonymous” to their name.

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#6: It’s Good News Week by Hedgehoppers Anonymous

City: Halifax, NS
Radio Station: CHNS
Peak Month: December 1965-January 1966
Peak Position in Halifax ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #17
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #48
YouTube: “It’s Good News Week”
Lyrics: “It’s Good News Week”

Hedgehoppers Anonymous was a beat group who formed in November 1963 as The Trendsetters. They became The Hedgehoppers the following year. Jonathan King took over their record production in 1965, and added “Anonymous” to their name when they said they were popular in Peterborough, and did not want to change their name completely. Mike Tinsley was the lead vocalist for the group. Born in Portsmouth, UK, in 1940, he was the lead vocalist of the Electrons before he joined the Trendsetters. Guitarist John Stewart was born in 1941 Kincardineshire in Scotland. The rhythm guitarist with the group was Tony Cockayne. The bass player, Ray Honeyball, was born in 1941 in County Durham, UK. While the group’s drummer, Leslie Dash, was born in 1943 in Middlesex. All members of the beat group were Royal Air Force ground crew based at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, England, before they formed.

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