The Vendors were one of many anonymous bands slogging it out in England in the wake of the Merseybeat explosion. Except, in the Vendors' case, two of the members turned out not to be so anonymous, with lead guitarist Dave Hill and drummer Don Powell forming half of Slade a few years down the line. In 1964, however, they were in a young, unremarkable band in Wolverhampton, England, though they did manage to record a privately pressed EP around 1964. The four-song EP contains adequate, raw covers of songs by the Platters, Buddy Holly, and the Shadows, as well as an inconsequential Merseybeat-styled original, "Don't Leave Me Now." All four of the songs were reissued on the CD A Genesis of Slade, which features a couple dozen rare tracks by bands in which members of Slade played before Ambrose Slade formed. The Vendors would evolve into the first lineup of the 'N Betweens, who in 1965 recorded a rare EP and acetate, comprised mostly of covers in a British Invasion R&B style. All eight of those tracks, too, appear on A Genesis of Slade. ~ Richie Unterberger