Licorice Soul Records

Like many captivated by rock & roll in the late 1950s John O'Hara gravitated from his native Glasgow towards the 2I's coffee bar in Soho, where his talents were spotted. At the turn of the 60s he and the Playboys soon found themselves in residence at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg, while The Beatles toiled away down the road at the somewhat less glamorous Kaiserkeller.

The Playboys enjoyed four successful years in Germany, releasing a number of 45s and an LP for the Decca label during their stay, which sadly came to an end upon the death of their manager in a road accident. O'Hara and the band returned to London and immediately took up a residency at the Playboy Club itself - perhaps in some respect due to their moniker. The rich and famous of Swinging London enjoyed the sounds of the band and the company of the bunny girls during this time - highlights included playing host to the celebrations of the England football team after their world cup victory. For one night only, a "refreshed" Bobby Moore was guest vocalist for the Playboys!

After a stay at The Bag O'Nails Club a deal was secured to record sessions for the Fontana label, which resulted in the "Get Ready" album released in 1968 - a collectable item for its soulful interpretations of the day's hits. In subsequent years the Playboys would be gigging around the country seven days a week, often playing more than one show a night to audiences in the clubs up and down the country.

It was in 1974 that the SRT label contacted O'Hara with a view to producing an album. The Playboy's material would generally keep up with the charts of the day, more by public demand than artistic preference and the "A Look Through the 70's" album was recorded in one day at Fairview studios in Willerby. Several thousand albums were manufactured and on a good night sales at Playboys gigs could run well over one hundred copies.

The Playboys cut at least one other album during the seventies and continued their gigging schedule into the early 1980's. O'Hara played a number of benefits in support of the miners during 1984, but keeping the Playboys on the road proved a tough task and as band members began to exit, O'Hara disbanded the group and continued his career as a solo performer.

Today, at the age of 66, John O'Hara still plays gigs around the pub and club circuit in Sheffield, his repertoire returning to the rock & roll and 60s standards with which his career kicked off.