Side 1:

Listen: The Immediate Pleasure / The Eyes
The

Listen: I’m Rowed Out / The Eyes
EyesRowed.mp3

Side 2:

Listen: When The Night Falls / The Eyes
When

Listen: My Degeneration / The Eyes
My

Originally a West London instrumental band, The Renegades added a vocalist and became Gerry Hart & The Hartbeats, before changing their name to The Eyes and recording a four song demo at Rayrik Sound Studios in Chalk Farm. Literally one block away from The Roundhouse, the apartment turned studio was used often by The Graham Bond Organization, and as well to record ‘Wrapping Paper’, the first single by The Cream. Trojan Records cut dozens of singles there as well, including Bob & Marcia’s hit ‘Young, Gifted And Black’.

Clearly influenced by The Creation and especially The Who, The Eyes didn’t appear to be the most original band around. A MELODY MAKER review of their stage show included sound effect tapes and colored visuals and despite rather lame soccer shirt uniforms that featured eyeball images, they managed to fit into the London Mod movement for a bit. By early 1965, The Eyes signed to Mercury, releasing ‘When The Night Falls’ and ‘I’m Rowed Out’ from those sessions as their debut single.

Like the follow up ‘The Immediate Pleasure’ and ‘My Degeneration’, both singles got decent airplay in the UK and so Mercury decided to couple them together as an EP in early 1966, when the EP market was still fairly healthy.

Apparently very few copies shifted out the door, making for one of the most valued EP’s from the era.