Originally known as Los Sonor, Mike Kogel (b. 25 April 1945, Berlin, Germany; vocals), Antonio Martinez (b. 3 October 1945, Madrid, Spain; guitar), Manolo ‘Manuel’ Fernandez (b. 29 September 1943, Seville, Spain, d. 1969; organ), Miguel Vicens Danus (b. 21 June 1944, Palma de Mallona, Spain; bass) and Pablo ‘Gomez’ Samllehi (b. 5 November 1943, Barcelona, Spain; drums) were voted Spain’s top beat group following two Top 10 hits in their own country. Kogel had previously recorded as Michael And The Firebirds, Mike Keller and Mike And Joe And The Rebel Guys. They achieved international recognition in 1966 when ‘Black Is Black’, a song composed by two Englishmen, Tony Hayes and Steve Wadey, rose to number 2 in the UK charts in the wake of heavy promotion on pirate radio. The song’s compulsive hookline proved equally popular in the USA where it reached number 4, but the quintet was sadly unable to repeat this success. Despite a series of superior pop performances, including an effervescent reading of an Easybeats composition, ‘Bring A Little Lovin’’, ‘I Don’t Care’ (1966) was the group’s last UK Top 20 entry. Kogel later recorded as Mike Kennedy.
