  the five man electrical band (originally known as the staccatos from 1963â68) is a canadian rock group from ottawa. they had numerous hits in their native canada, including the top 10 entries "half past midnight" (1967) (as the staccatos), "absolutely right" (1971) and "i'm a stranger here" (1972). internationally, they are best known for their 1971 hit single "signs". ==history== ===initial success as the staccatos (1963-68)=== the band the staccatos was formed in ottawa, canada in 1963. the band initially consisted of dean hagopian (vocals), vern craig (guitars), brian rading (bass), and rick bell (drums/vocals, born rick belanger). hagopian left after about a year, and was replaced by vocalist and guitarist les emmerson, who would quickly become the band's prime songwriter, while bell and emmerson split lead vocal duties. the staccatos made their debut as a recording act in 1965, with their early singles being written by the team of craig and emmerson. after releasing a non-charting single on a small independent label, the group signed to capitol records of canada, and their second single, "small town girl", made it into the canadian top 20. several follow-ups also cracked the top 40, and the staccatos were rising stars in their native country. their debut album, initially, came out in 1966, and featured their hits to that point as well as several new recordings. in the summer of 1966, mike bell (rick's brother) joined the group as a second drummer and third vocalist. shortly thereafter, the group had their biggest hit to date with "half past midnight", which made it all the way to #8 on the canadian charts. this was the second staccatos single written solely by emmerson, who by this point had taken over writing virtually all of the band's original material. also in 1967, the
1969_establishments_in_Ontario Canadian_psychedelic_rock_music_groups Musical_groups_established_in_1969 Musical_groups_from_Ottawa