Originally known as The Soul System this group signed to Decca late in 1966, having chosen the new name of The Attack. They seem to have undergone several line-up changes although vocalist Richard Sherman and bassist Gerry Henderson seem to have been core members throughout. Their first 45 was a reasonable attempt at the Standells' classic punk song, which had also been tackled in the US by The Ohio Express.
Their next release Hi Ho Silver Lining lost out in the Chart battle to Jeff Beck's version and also led them into controversy in the music press when they claimed Beck had nicked the song from them. The flip side, a frantic hard edged rocker with some fine guitar work, was adapted by John Peel for one of his Radio London jingles. At this point Davey O'List left to join The Nice and shortly after Alan Whitehead departed to The Marmalade.
Surprisingly, having already been bruised by theJeff Beck clash, their record label had the lack of foresight to issue their version of Created By Clive on the same day that The Syn's version appeared on their Deram subsidiary. The result was stalemate when in actual fact the song deserved better. The 45 spawned another strong flip side - Colours Of My Mind - great vocals, prominent organ and some sitaresque guitar work.
Their final 45, Lady Orange Peel was a slow, rather offbeat effort, which came with a short guitar solo but really weak vocals. Not surprisingly, it met with little commercial success. The flip, Neville Thumbcatch, which tells the story of a man and his allotment is frankly awful.
Despite their lack of 45 success the band began work on an album which was to have been called Roman Gods Of War. According to Record Mirror it was scheduled for release on 15 March 1968, but it never appeared. Sadly, the band were no more and all we have to remember them by are their four 45s which fortunately have been well covered on recent compilations and the retrospective Magic In The Air release.
The 1990 Reflection album is comprised of rarities by the band, mostly taken from acetates. It includes a different version of Hi Ho Silver Lining, the swinging sixties style Neville Thumbcatch, the psychedelic Lady Orange Peel and what some would term freakbeat compositions like Anymore Than I Do and Try It.
Brian Davidson also later joined The Nice. The remainder of The Attack later evolved into Andromeda.
