Comprising Roy Phillips (keyboards, vocals), Tab Martin (bass) and Trevor Morais (drums), British soul-jazz trio The Peddlers formed in Manchester in 1964. With musicians from Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, The Saints and The Tornados, The Song Peddlers trio signed with the Philips label and changed its name to The Peddlers, with "Let the Sun Shine In" as its first single. Residing in London clubs, they recorded the EP A Swingin Scene and their first live album, Live at the Pickwick (1967), before moving to CBS for Freewheelers (1967), Three in a Cell (1 968) with the title "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" and its famous sampled Hammond organ riff, then Birthday (1969), including the hits "Birth" (#17) and "Girlie " (#34 in the UK and #1 in New Zealand). A return to Philips resulted in the album Three for All (1970), from which "Tell the World We're Not In" is taken . In 1972, Morais gave way on an Australian tour to New Zealander Paul Johnston, and a symphonic album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Suite London, was recorded before the band split up in 1976. A 2-CD compilation, How Cool Is Cool... The Complete CBS Recordings, was released in 2002. Settled in Christchurch, New Zealand, Roy Phillips died there on April 24, 2025.
