Les Humphries Singers

The Les Humphries Singers was a musical group formed in Hamburg, Germany by Englishman Les Humphries in the year 1970. The group consisted of a large number of singers of diverse ethnic origin, some of whom such as John Lawton also performed with other groups. Another member was Jürgen Drews who later had a 1976 solo hit in Germany, "Ein Bett im Kornfeld", a cover version of "Let your Love Flow" by the Bellamy Brothers. The Les Humphries Singers at the time brought something from the flair of the hippie movement into the hit world. In 1976 they represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest with the Ralph Siegel title "Sing Sang Song." Les Humphries performed a mix of popular music and gospel covers and had some success in Europe with this approach. Two of their earliest and best known hits were "Mama Loo" (1973), and "Mexico" (1972) which was based on the 1960 Johnny Horton country hit "The Battle of New Orleans". Additional members included Leslie Mandoki and Inga Rumpf, who likewise work today as solo artists and producers. Liz Mitchell was later front woman with Boney M. John Lawton also sang for the German progressive/hard rock band Lucifer's Friend and would go on to be the frontman for Uriah Heep. The Les Humphries Singers dissolved at the end of the 1970's, after Humphries had left due to tax liabilities to his English homeland