THE BALLS:

Trevor Burton was originally rumoured to be forming a new group with Noel Redding from The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Nothing came of this although Trevor Burton and Redding did share an apartment in London at that time. Trevor Burton then teamed up with Steve Gibbons who fronted the long-established Birmingham group The Uglys. Burton and Steve Gibbons, along with The Uglys' rhythm section Keith Smart and Dave Morgan, plus the keyboardist Richard Tandy created a new Birmingham supergroup to be named Balls in April 1969. It is rumoured that Brian Jones had been involved before his death.

The Balls was managed by one-time The Moody Blues/The Move manager Tony Secunda. Following in the trend of Chris Blackwell's Traffic, Secunda arranged for the new group to "get it together" in the country at a rented cottage on the Berkshire Downs and also hired Traffic's record producer Jimmy Miller for the group's recording sessions. With Secunda arranging a large Malcolm McLaren style cash advance from the record company, the group started to compose and record new material while playing a few local gigs. Dave Morgan left during the summer of 1969, to be replaced by Denny Laine, ex-singer/guitarist of The Moody Blues. But The Balls split at the end of 1969, with Richard Tandy joining The Move (for live gigs only), then The Electric Light Orchestra, and Smart eventually joining Wizzard. Balls reconvened as a quartet the following summer, with Denny Laine, Trevor Burton, former Plastic Ono Band drummer Alan White and vocalist Jackie Lomax. Lomax was soon replaced by the returning Steve Gibbons, and ex-Spooky Tooth drummer Mike Kellie replaced White in January 1971.

The group's only release was a single that did not come out until September 1971, by which time Balls had ceased to exist. The song "Fight For My Country" was an anti-war anthem composed and sung by Trevor Burton, and included backing vocals from Steve Gibbons and Denny Laine, who played bass guitar on the track.

Balls 1 line up in Feb. - Dec. 1969: Richard Tandy keyboards, Keith Smart drums (later "Youngblood", "Mongrel"), Dave Morgan bass (later songwriter), Steve Gibbons vocals (later Steve Gibbons Band), Trevor Burton guitar (formerly The Move Later "Steve Gibbons Band"), Denny Laine guitar / vocal (formerly "The Moody Blues" later "Wings").

Balls 2 line up in Dec. 1969 - Feb. 1971: Dave Morgan bass (later songwriter), Steve Gibbons vocals (later Steve Gibbons band), Trevor Burton guitar (formerly The Move Later "Steve Gibbons Band"), Denny Laine guitar / vocal (formerly "The Moody Blues" later "Wings").