The Syndicats

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Syndicats" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Syndicats were an English beat band formed in September 1963 in North London with Thomas Ladd on vocals, Steve Howe on guitar and backing vocals, Kevin Driscoll on bass and backing vocals, Jeff Williams on organ and piano, and John "Truelove" Melton on drums. The latter was replaced by Paul Holm on their last single in 1965. This was Steve Howe's first group. When he left The Syndicats to join the band The In Crowd in November 1965 (which would later become Tomorrow), he was replaced by guitarist Ray Fenwick, who was subsequently replaced by Peter Banks. Banks went on to be the first guitarist in Yes, and was then replaced by Howe in 1970.

The Syndicats' first single was released on 8 April 1964, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" on the A side, and on the B side, a joint composition of Howe and Ladd, "True to Me". Their second single was another cover, a song by Willie Dixon, "Howlin' for My Baby", with the B side being a song credited to the entire band, "(Tell Me) What to Do". Their third and final single, "On the Horizon", was a composition by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller on the A side and, on side B, "Crawdaddy Simone", a song by Fenwick and Williams. Fenwick plays the guitar solo in this song.

Many years later, Fenwick joined Steve Howe's Remedy live band for a 2004 tour (released on DVD in 2005). "Crawdaddy Simone" was covered by a British band called The Horrors on their eponymous EP released in 2006.