Downliners Sect

The story of the Sect starts in Twickenham, a London suburb back in 1962 when a young man named Mick O’Donnell started a band called the Downliners (after the Jerry Lee Lewis song "Down The Line". After some member changes and a disastrous tour to France, the band split in the beginning of 1963. Mick O’Donnell and the drummer Johnny Sutton decided to form a new band and put in an advertise in a music paper to get some new members. One person who saw the advertise was Keith Evans who was a drummer in another band. But Mick O’Donnell told him that he could join his band if he changed to bass instead of drums, which Keith Evans did. The name of the new band was also changed to Downliners Sect, a name which the band members found more exciting, with a touch of mystery.

At that time Mick O’Donnell and Keith Evans decided to change their names. Mick O’Donnell became Don Craine and Keith Evans changed to Keith Grant. Today they are known under these names which have caused some confusion during the years because the names Evans/O’Donnell are credited to some of the bands own compositions on the early albums.