Th]m - 1966 - Myst!c Eyes

Here Comes The Night/One More Time/Gloria/Mystic Eyes


Them were a Northern Irish band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison's musical career. The original five member band consisted of Morrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Millings, Billy Harrison and Eric Wrixon. The group was marketed in the United States as part of the British Invasion.

Them scored two UK hits in 1965 with "Baby, Please Don't Go" (UK No.10) and "Here Comes the Night" (UK No.2; Ireland No.2). The latter song and "Mystic Eyes" were Top 40 hits in the US.

Morrison quit the band in 1966 and went on to a successful career as a solo artist. Although Them had a short-lived existence, the Belfast group had considerable influence on other bands, such as the Doors.

Th#m - 1965 - Th#m

Don't Start Cryin' Now/Philosophy/Baby Please Don't Go/One Two Brown Eyes




Them were a formidable, popular group in their own right before singer Van Morrison went on to even greater fame. This Belfast five only produced two LPs and a potful of 7" singles during its ascendance in the molten heat of the British Invasion. But they did manage two Top 40 hits in America in 1965 (the enduring number 24 "Here Comes the Night," later covered glam-style by David Bowie on Pin Ups, and number 33 "Mystic Eyes") and two Top Ten hits that same year in their native Britain ("Here Comes the Night" and a cover of Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go"). And is there a single bar band in America that doesn't play "Gloria," shouting "G-L-O-R-I-A" just like the 19-year-old Morrison in 1964? Moreover, the group's West Coast U.S. tour of arenas like the Fillmore in the spring of 1966 had the Ulster youths commanding bills that included such admiring support groups as the Doors, Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, the Grass Roots, and the Association. At one of them, Frank Zappa even joined them on-stage. Clearly, Them's tough, heavily American blues captivated, a direct result of the vicious voice of Morrison.