#33: Brontosaurus by the Move

City: London, ON
Radio Station: CJOE
Peak Month: September 1970
Peak Position in London ~ #11
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Brontosaurus”
Lyrics: “Brontosaurus”

The Move were a British band that formed in 1965. The band consisted of Bev Bevan on drums (born in 1944 in Birmingham), Roy Wood on vocals, guitar, bass guitar, cello, saxophone, oboe, percussion and keyboards, (born in 1946 in Birmingham), Carl Wayne on lead vocals, sitar and bass guitar (born in Birmingham in 1943), Ace Kefford on bass guitar (born in 1946 in Birmingham), and Trevor Burton on guitar, bass guitar and vocals (born in 1949 in Birmingham). Bev Bevan learned to play drums and in 1956 he joined a rock band named Denny Laine & the Diplomats. In 1965 he moved on to join Carl Wayne & the Vikings, and in 1966 The Move.

The Move’s debut single in 1966 titled “Night of Fear”, peaked at #2 in New Zealand and the UK, #6 in Ireland, #9 in Rhodesia, #16 in South Africa, #18 in the Netherlands, and #19 in Denmark. In 1967, “I Can Hear the Grass Grow” peaked at #5 in the UK, #7 in Rhodesia, #13 in Denmark, #14 in Belgium, #17 in New Zealand, #21 in Ireland, and the Top 30 in Montreal. Later in 1967, “Flowers in the Rain” topped the pop chart in New Zealand, #2 in the UK, #4 in Ireland and Rhodesia, #5 in the Netherlands, #6 in Australia, #13 in Belgium and Sweden and the Top 20 in West Germany. In 1967, Wood and Burton were backing vocalists on one of the tracks for Jimi Hendrix’s Axis: Bold as Love. 

In 1968, “Fire Brigade” peaked at #3 in the UK, and #9 in Ireland and New Zealand. It charted to #36 on the RPM Canadian Top 100 Singles chart.

In mid-1968, Ace Kefford left The Move. This happened after a period of heavy gigging and experimentation with LSD, and a nervous breakdown following a package tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Pink Floyd, which took the form of a panic attack. Roy Wood recalled of Kefford, “Ever since the day we formed none of us really got on very well with him. He was a very strange person. He was very aggressive and Ace and Trevor [Burton] used to have a lot of fights all the time.” Since he left The Move, Kefford’s life has been plagued by alcohol, drugs, suicide attempts, and time spent in psychiatric facilities.

In early February 1969, the Move had their only number-one hit in the UK with a non-album single titled “Blackberry Way”. The single reached #2 in Ireland, #3 in Norway, #4 in Rhodesia, #5 in Denmark and Sweden, #7 in West Germany, #10 in New Zealand, and the Top 20 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands. An Italian band, Equipe 84, successfully covered the song with Italian lyrics for their song titled  “Tutta mia la città”. The Italian version reached number-one on the Italian pop chart for four weeks from May 17 to June 7, 1969.

During 1969, Trevor Burton had an onstage fight with Bev Bevan during a concert in Sweden. Burton quit the band to pursue a blues career. Later in 1969, they had a Top 20 hit in four European nations, and New Zealand, titled “Curly”. Rick Price joined The Move in 1969 contributing vocals, bass guitar and pedal steel guitar (born in 1944 in Birmingham). Price had been with Lee Zenith and the Cimarrons starting in 1963, who recorded an album in 1964. Price left to join The Sombreros in 1965, who changed their name in 1967 to Sight and Sound. That band morphed into a harmony/comedy band mixing sets of music with stand up comedy.

The Move’s one and only American tour was cut short following an incident when Rick’s drink was ‘spiked’ with acid during their second night performing at San Francisco’s famous “Fillmore West” on October 15, 1969.

In 1970, Jeff Lynne joined The Move. He was born in 1947 in Birmingham. His dad bought him a guitar when he turned twelve. He learned to play drums, guitar, bass guitar and keyboards. Lynne formed a band in 1963 named Rockin’ Hellcats, who changed their name to the Handicaps, and finally the Andicaps. In 1966, Lynne joined the Nightriders, who changed their name in 1967 to the Idle Race. Roy Wood was concurrently with the Idle Race, and invited Lynne to join The Move in 1970.

In 1970, The Move released the single “Brontosaurus”.

“Brontosaurus” was written by Roy Wood. The band also included a new member named Jeff Lynne, who would go on to form Electric Light Orchestra. The song is about a gal who “can really do the Brontosaurus, and she can scream the heebie-jeebies for us.” She’s a gal who “will let you stroke her head, but if you move away you’re dead.” She knows how to “really” shake “you up, exactly like a firecracker.” If things aren’t going her way with a guy she is dating, or with people in her circle, she can make a scene and be as thunderous as a brontosaurus.

“Brontosaurus” peaked at #9 in Valleyfield (PQ) and #11 in London (ON).

In 1971, The Move released non-album singles “Tonight” (which made the Top 20 in Ireland and the UK), “Chinatown” and “California Man”. The latter single peaked at #7 on the UK pop chart in the spring of 1972. The B-side, “Do Ya” charted into the Top Ten in Kingston (ON) in December of ’72.

Rick Price recalls the demise of The Move in late 1971: “My change of financial circumstances when I joined The Move allowed me to put a deposit on a house and get married. Two and a half years later despite further hits, it was all over and we were struggling to pay the mortgage. I was doing the occasional gig, not taking a proper job in case the phone should ring! Our families chipped in and helped us out from time to time and somehow, we managed to hold on to the house. At one point the TV shop even tried to repossess our telly!”

In the 1970s, Rick Price and Roy Wood formed Wizzard in 1972 and remained with them until the band split in 1975. Subsequently, Price was a backing musician with the duo Peters and Lee. He produced the Darts 1979 Top Ten UK hit cover version of Gene Chandler’s “Duke of Earl”. In the 2000s until around 2015, Rick Price was in the line-up for another group from Birmingham, a reformed Rockin’ Berries.

Roy Wood, Bev Bevan and Jeff Lynne formed Electric Light Orchestra at the end of 1970. But a record contract with their label required The Move to return to the recording studio into 1972. The Move split up officially in 1972. Wood left ELO in  1972. He went on to release four solo albums between 1973 and 1987. His 1973 single, “Forever”, was a #7 hit on the UK pop chart. In addition, he charted three more singles into the UK Top 20 into the mid-70s.

At the end of his career, Rick Price was asked to reflect on his stardom in the pop music scene. “We are just people who write or perform for money. It seems glamorous to the general public but we know it’s not. It’s just a job like any other, except it’s harder than most. In the end, we’re buskers. We play the tunes, people give us money!” Rick Price died at the age of 77 in 2022.

January 27, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
“List of number-one hits of Italy (1969),” Wikipedia.org.
Simon Price, “It’s A Livin’ Thing: Jeff Lynne Interviewed By Simon Price,” Quietus, November 2, 2015.
Bruce Pilato, “Rock Star Jeff Lynne Steps Into the Spotlight,” Variety, April 23, 2015.
“Top drummer Bev Bevan on Birmingham Walk of Stars,” BBC, January 18, 2011.
Alex Petrifies, “Britain’s lost pop genius: the glam rocker who hated being in the spotlight,” Guardian, November 8, 2016.
“Rick Price Tribute,” Drumbeat.net, May 2022.
“The Move – Concert Dates – USA,” setlist.fm.

CJOE 1290-AM London (ON) Top 29 | August 24, 1970