About
The Idle Race were a British rock group from Birmingham who in the late 1960s and early 1970s had a cult following but never enjoyed mass commercial success. In addition to being the springboard for Jeff Lynne, the band holds a place of significance in British Midlands' pop-rock history as a link between the Move, Electric Light Orchestra, the Steve Gibbons Band and Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders. The group has been retrospectively described as freakbeat.
Members
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Mike Hopkins guitar
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Greg Masters bass
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Roger Spencer drums (drum set)
Discography
Albums
Singles
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In the Summertime / Amore che vieni, amore che vai
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Neanderthal Man / Victim of Circumstance
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In the Summertime
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Days of the Broken Arrows / Warm Red Carpet
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The Skeleton and the Roundabout / Knocking Nails
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Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree
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Imposters of Life's Magazine / Sitting in My Tree
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Here We Go 'Round the Lemon Tree / My Father's Son
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It’s Only the Dog / Your Friend
Live
Compilations
Other
Links
Artist rename
Also known as
Idle Race · The Idyll Race · The Nightriders
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- a39b2077-8acb-456e-b3bf-d78db9a0b2e2
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 7 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.