Information/Write-up
Underworld were a ferocious, short-lived Toronto garage band whose lone 45 on Regency Records, Go Away b/w Bound, stands today as one of the most celebrated and valuable Canadian garage-punk singles of the 1960s. Pressed in extremely small numbers and issued in 1968 with minimal promotion, the record has become a cornerstone Holy Grail among collectors, renowned for its explosive guitar work, snarling vocals, and the band’s brief but intense history.
The group centered on vocalist Ken “Mondo” Ketter, lead guitarist Jim “Spanish” Carmichael, and drummer Gil Moore. Like many suburban Toronto teen bands of the era, Underworld emerged from high schools, church basements, and local dance halls, developing a tough, R&B-rooted sound influenced by early Rolling Stones, Them, and the harder-edged British beat groups. Carmichael’s playing, in particular, pushed the group into heavier territory, marked by a biting fuzz tone and an aggressive lead style that set the band apart on the local circuit.
Underworld caught the attention of Jed MacKay and Rick McKim, two young musicians and producers active in Toronto’s underground rock community who were in the process of forming what would become It’s All Meat. Through a family connection at Phonodisc Canada, MacKay and McKim secured studio time for Underworld and produced the band’s only session: a fast, three-hour recording date in early 1968 that yielded four finished songs.
Regency selected Go Away and (Tied and) Bound for release. Go Away was written by Jim Carmichael and Ken Ketter, while Bound was written by MacKay and McKim, pairing a band-penned garage rocker with a darker, more deliberate track composed by the producers. Go Away is a tense, driving blast of garage rhythm-and-blues that erupts into one of the most notorious fuzz-psych solos ever committed to a Canadian 45 — a wailing, feedback-laced break from Carmichael that lifts the track into full-blown teenbeat fury. Bound, the flip side, carries a brooding mid-sixties R&B mood shaped by Ketter’s gritty delivery and the band’s tight rhythm section.
Two additional tracks recorded at the same session — The Strange Experiment of Dr. Jarrod and Love 22 — showcased a heavier, more experimental side of the group, mixing garage energy with early psychedelic elements. Although intended for a potential second single, they were left unreleased at the time when Go Away / Bound received little radio support, and the band did not return to the studio.
The original 45 remained a sought-after rarity for decades, gaining a reputation as one of Canada’s most powerful and elusive garage singles. A limited UK repro appeared on the Garage Greats series in 2008, bringing renewed attention to the band. In 2023, Busy Bee Production issued an archival 7-inch featuring The Strange Experiment of Dr. Jarrod and Love 22, making the complete 1968 session available for the first time and confirming the group’s full recorded output.
After Underworld dissolved, drummer Gil Moore later achieved widespread success as a founding member of the hard-rock trio Triumph, while the surviving Underworld recordings — just four songs in total — have come to represent one of the most intense, electrifying fragments of Canadian sixties rock. With their lone Regency single and a compact but devastating body of work, Underworld remain a defining example of Toronto’s raw, uncompromising teen-garage sound.
-Robert Williston
Ken “Mondo” Ketter: vocals
Jim “Spanish” Carmichael: lead guitar
Gil Moore: drums
Written by Jim “Spanish” Carmichael and Ken “Mondo” Ketter (Go Away); and Rick McKim and Jed Makay (Bound)
Produced by The Finger (pseudonym for Jed MacKay and Rick McKim)
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