English pop group formed in 1962 in London. The group's members were initially Johnny Vallons (vocals), Pete Chapman (guitar),
Buzz Nelson (bass), and Derek Skinner (drums). Both Vallons and Skinner left the group before 1964. They were replaced by John
Murray (vocals) and Erle Morgan (drums).
At this time, many English pop bands had booked gigs in Sweden before they broke
through and became world famous. The Hollies were one of the bands that did long tours in the country. The English pop bands
were great role models for the Swedish pop groups. They tried to imitate these both in terms of clothing, music and instruments. In
Swedish, they mostly performed, with mixed success, covers of both English and American hit songs before the most successful
bands started writing their own music and lyrics.
In England, there was very tough competition between the bands, so the English
pop band DeeJays or Johnny Vallons & The DeeJays as they were called in 1963 bet entirely on a career in Sweden. They did not
become particularly well known in any countries other than those in the Nordics. They came here for a two-month tour but
remained in Sweden for almost 5 years.
With the song Long Tall Shorty came the breakthrough for The DeeJays in 1965. It ended
up on the all-important Top Ten chart. A must in most cases for the survival of a pop group. In the same year, they also had their
own composition Blackeyed Woman, which reached tenth place on the list. More successful songs were Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
(Polydor), Bombom and the top ten hits Dum Dum (Marble Breaks And Iron Bends) and Baby Talk. All released on The Hep Stars
record label Hep House. Benny Andersson both played on and produced some of their songs. In 1966, Clive Robin Sarstedt, known
as Clive Sands, replaced John Murray on vocals. The DeeJays disbanded in 1968.
One of the band members, drummer Erle Morgan, settled in Sweden.
