AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Monks

Artist:Monks

Song:Complication

Album:Black Monk Time

Monks was an obscure 60s band who became cult figures when Complication appeared on the Nuggets Psychedelic box set. Now their music has been reissued and they have done reunions. And they didn't amount to much in 1966. Monks was formed in 1964 by American GIs stationed in Gelnhausen, West Germany. So that alone makes them atypical of your standard garage band. At first they called themselves The Torquays after The Fireballs hit single. Lead singer and guitarist Dave Burger and guitarist and banjo player Dave Day (real name-Dave Havlicek) started playing together for something to do. They added pianist Larry Clark (real name-Lawrence Spangler), bassist Eddie Shaw and a German drummer named Hans so they could play local clubs. Burger and Day wrote original songs. They were spotted by talent manager Hans Reich and he convinced them to stay in Germany post discharge. Roger Johnston replaced Hans. They recorded a single and sold it at shows. When The Torquays started a 1965 residency at the Rio Bar in Stuttgart, they were spotted by a new management team that thought more could be done with them. So the band name was changed to Monks. They all dressed in black robes. They adopted a harder edged sound using a fuzz box and a wah wah pedal. And Day started playing the banjo just to confuse the audience. Polydor Records was interested in Monks but they wanted them to play Top Ten Club in Hamburg where The Beatles played. Polydor signed Monks and the album Black Monk Time was released in 1966. Complicated was the lead single. They were probably too unconventional at the time with their odd look and protest songs. Management tried to get Monks to change. But they were reluctant to do that and they split up in 1967. Monks was never released in the US. So when Complicated appeared on Nuggets, fans wanted to know more. This led to album reissues and reunions. So Monks are more famous today than they were in the 60s. Burger continued to perform until his 2014 death. Here's Monks performing Complicated on the German TV show Beat-Club 1966.