Do You Remember The Roll Movement?

Rummaging through our latest batch of singles, I was delighted to find a piece of local history. The Roll Movement were formed in York in 1965 and consisted of Cliff Wade, John Cartwright, Pete Shaw and Dave Williams. They headlined the Zarf Club (later The Old World) in Stonegate on New Year’s Eve 1965 and were described as “…the group everyone is raving about”.

The band came second in a Melody Maker competition at the London Palladium, had their own fan club and went on to support big name artists including Ike and Tina Turner and Cream.

In August 1967 they released their only record: “I’m Out On My Own/Just One Thing”. “I’m Out On My Own” is marked as the A side, and is a workmanlike bit of mid-sixties pop and definitely worth a listen, but the B side “Just One Thing” is a really distinctive and catchy tune with an almost Northern Soul feel to it.

In 2016, The Evening Press ran an article in which the founders of the band’s fan club were trying to get them back together, but I don’t know if it ever happened.

Do you remember The Roll Movement? Were you in The Roll Movement? We’d love to hear from you!

♫ thanks for reading