The Giants

Discography:

Album

• Meet The Giants, HMV JCLP 10019, 1961
  
  
  
  

  Tracks
  Side One
  
  

  1. My heart and I
     
  2. Perfidia
     
  3. You've got love
     
  4. Enchanted sea
     
  5. Last night
     
  6. Rock in China
     

  Side Two
  
  

  1. Dark lonely street
     
  2. Hogmanay
     
  3. A teenager in love
     
  4. Turkish delight
     
  5. Blue guitar
     
  6. Bull moose
     

  
  

  Seven Singles

• Billy Forrest with The Giants: Dark lonely streets/ My heart and I, HMV SAB 379, 78 RPM, 1961
  Dark lonely streets was a #1 hit in SA
  
  
  
  
• Al Bentley and The Giants: The twist/ Beat girl (instrumental), HMV SAB 382, 78 RPM, 1962
  
  
  
  
• Sebastian and The Giants: Happy birthday Mr Twist/ Poco's twist, HMV SAB 405, 1962
  
  
  
  "Brian Thomas, who was the bass player with the Giants, used to play with Mickie Most's band The Playboys. When they split up he asked me to join their band as the vocalist, as I had just returned from London, where I'd been singing in rock clubs around Soho. We made one recording Happy Birthday Mr. Twist for EMI, but it was written by one of the radio pro's from EMI and didn't really have a chance." (Derek Maas, Cornwall, Feb 2002)
  
  

  Compact Disc

• The Heart And Soul Of Billy Forrest, GALLO CDREDD 654, 2001
  
  
  
  Track: Dark lonely street
  
  "My recording break came in 1960 ...via an old school buddy of mine, guitarist Archie van der Ploeg. ...Hehad put together a really good band, with ... people like Hank Squires, ... Angelo Avionitis, ... Eddie Burns ...and Van Goliath (real name Rudolph van Vuuren) who had played in all of my bands up till then (see DannyRivers). We were all over six feet tall, so we named ourselves 'The Giants' and ... recorded the album Meetthe Giants... The album did very well, but not long after, The Giants cut a cover version of Chubby Checker's smash hit The Twist and they used Al Bentley on lead vocal. The single went to number one and needless tosay, I was without a job, ..."
  ( The heart and soul of Billy Forrest, liner notes,
  pp7-8, 2001)

• Billy Forrest: vocals
• Archie van der Ploeg: lead guitar ex-The Silhouettes
• Hank Squires: rhythm guitar ex-Mickie Most; ex-The Silhouettes
• Rudolph van Vuuren (Van Goliath): rhythm guitar
  
  
  
  
• Eddie Burns: bass guitar
• Angelo Avionitis: drums
• Al Bentley: vocals replaced Billy Forrest; ex-The Vikings
• Derek Maas: vocals replaced Al Bentley

Tertius Louw, February 2002