Unbelievable Uglies
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Unbelievable Uglies |
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The Unbelievable Uglies: A Rock & Soul (R & B) Show band that formed in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota in 1963. The original members were Dave Hoffman (Winston Fink) on vocals and upright bass, frontman Dave Prentice on guitar, Gregory J. Paul on lead guitar, Bob Eveslage (Robby Jay) on vocals and keyboards, and Mike Shannon on drums.
Famed for their raucous, unpredictable live sets, the group quickly emerged as one of the most popular acts in the upper Midwest, and in 1964 issued their debut single "Judy Angel", backed with "The Log", on the Music Masters label.
Soon after this Bob Eveslage left the lineup to spend some time in Seattle. He issued a solo single, "The Days When I Knew Judy", on Jerry Dennon's Panorama label. The single was released under the name "Robbie Jay". Bob Eveslage moved back to Minnesota and rejoined the Uglies again in January of 1967. The band members at this time were Dave Hoffman (Winston Fink), Dave Prentice, Al Spears, Gregory J. Paul, Mike Shannon, Paul Lidstrom and Bob Eveslage. The Unbelievable Uglies were awarded the NBOA (National Ballroom Owners Association) award three years in a row!
The Unbelievable Uglies released "Off My Hands" on Cardinal records, and soon after signed to Soma records with their single release "Keep Her Satisfied." Their singles enjoyed enough regional airplay to land the group a deal with Liberty, and early in 1967 they released their major-label debut "Sorry", produced by Bobby Vee. Soon after this the Uglies released the Spears-Eveslage composition "Spider-Man." In November of 1967 the band was the opening act for the Fargo, North Dakota appearance of The Who on the opening night of the British legends' first headlining U.S. tour. The show made national headlines when the mayor of Fargo accused The Who and The Unbelievable Uglies of inciting the teen audience to riot, and banned them from ever appearing in his city again. This ban was lifted a short time later, however, and The Unbelievable Uglies continued to play many more shows in Fargo.
Other recordings to follow were "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" with Winston on vocals, and "The Tin Drum", among others.
In 1972 the founding members of the original Unbelievable Uglies each decided to take on individual projects. However, this did not mean the end of the "Uglies" name. Over the next several years at least three other area bands performed as the "Uglies", each buying the name from their predecessors. In 1978 members of the popular area show band "Silver" bought the name and moved to Minneapolis, where they metamorphosed the group into the Metro All-Stars. They became one of the most popular bands in the Minneapolis area and appeared on Star Search in 1981, winning one of the weekly competitions.
In 2005, the original members of the Uglies were inducted into the Rock and Country Hall of Fame in Medina, Minnesota. It was then they reunited and began performing again as "The Original Unbelievable Uglies". A CD of newly-written and recorded material was released, and the band began preparing for a regional tour in support of their first new recording in over three decades. Winston joined the rest of the original Uglies onstage during the summer of 2005 for a number of very successful shows. But in the fall of 2005 he suffered a major stroke and was unable to perform onstage again. However, Winston continued to work behind the scenes assisting with booking, songwriting, recording and producing the band.
Dave Hoffman died on New Year's Day, 2008, and Al Spears died a few months earlier. Mike Shannon, the band's original drummer, died in 1999. Today the band continues to play reunion shows with Jerry Uchanski on vocals and guitar, Gregory J. Paul on lead guitar, James Miller on drums, Paul Lidstrom on bass and Bob Eveslage (Robby Jay) on keyboards and vocals. Dave Prentice joins the band onstage when his schedule permits.
In addition to the original Unbelievable Uglies 2006 self-titled CD, latter-day compilation appearances include "The Lost Generation, Vol. 2", "Mondo Frat Dance Bash a Go Go", and "The Big Hits of Mid-America: The Soma Records Story".
References
- Joynson, Vernon (1997). Fuzz, Acid and Flowers. Borderline Productions. ISBN 1899855068.
- Updated by Bob Eveslage, founding member of the Original Unbelievable Uglies (October 2009)