The Creation

The Creation might be one of the most painful British near-misses of the mid-1960s. Blame it on lackluster U.K. sales, a lineup that never fully solidified and a sound that was ahead of its time: history ultimately doomed the group to be one of the British invasion's also-rans. Vocalist Kenny Pickett, guitarists Eddie Phillips and Mick Thompson, and drummer Jack Jones played together as members of the Mark Four and formed the Creation in 1966 with bassist Bob Garner. The band's early sound was a high-volume art pop, typified by its first charting U.K. single, "Makin' Time," which was released in 1966, and its most successful single, "Painter Man," from the same year. At the end of '66, Garner left and was replaced by Kim Gardner, and the band issued a series of singles in the U.K. and U.S. that weren't well received despite success in isolated parts of Europe. In '68, Pickett left the group briefly and was temporarily replaced by Ron Wood, but when Pickett returned, he dismissed both Gardner and Phillips, and the Creation were no more…at least until the mid-1980s, when a short reunion included Phillips, Pickett, John Dalton (bass guitar) and Mick Avory (drums, ex-Kinks).