Loving Kind

Formed in Folkstone, Kent, during the early '60s, the Loving Kind were signed to Pye Records in 1966 and put on the label's Piccadilly imprint. Based on the three singles that they cut, the group's approach was midway between that of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, relying on a punchy, highly animated rhythm section but also some fairly prominent backing vocals. They never quite found the formula for success, despite some good attempts at covering songs by Marvin Gaye et al. They most resembled the Kinks musically, though they were also a year or two behind their Muswell Hill-spawned labelmates, sounding as lightweight as they were brittle. The group split up after their assault on the recording world, and only one of their number ever made a lasting impact on music -- guitarist Noel Redding was recruited to play bass with Jimi Hendrix later in the year.