Maybe if they had come from an English-speaking country, their name would now be among the greats of the 60s. At least, their career would have lasted longer instead of being truncated at their peak. But Los Mockers were from Uruguay and during their short life as a band they never got beyond Río de la Plata. Their story begins at a high school in Montevideo, where three of the future Mockers were students. Aged 16, they started playing covers of Mexico’s Teen Tops, The Shadows and Trini López and soon they were writing their own songs. It was harder to get proper instruments. From the initial borrowed upright bass and Spanish guitar plugged into a radio they moved to electric guitar and bass, handmade by the guitarist’s father, who was a carpenter. The primitive drum kit was finally completed and they even managed to get hold of a rudimentary Hammond organ. At the time they were called Los Encadenados and under that name they recorded their first demos, sung in Spanish. In 1964 the British Invasion shook the world. Los Encadenados also covered some Beatles songs, but they were still searching for their own identity through rougher and less trodden paths. What really influenced their style were the first Rolling Stones records, a little more rugged but with a rebellious energy that electrified the whole band at once. Soon after they found other sources of inspiration, such as The Animals. It was what they were looking for: the wild force of rhythm & blues. Montevideo got hip in the summer of 1965 and venues like La Cueva opened up, where the band performed often. Most weekends they played at student parties and they also appeared live on TV regularly. The band was growing and writing their first songs in English. It was the moment to take one step forward and choose a new name that reflected the music they were making. The fights between mods and rockers in England gave them the idea: from then on they would be known as Los Mockers. They were 18 and 19 years old. 1966 was the band’s most prolific year. Then based in Argentina, after a few months they were playing regularly at venues such as Whisky a Go Go and on TV. That year they released their first single and only LP, although they didn’t achieve major success. They had a good number of loyal fans, but their music was too strange for a wider audience. A planned second LP was never completed as the band, unable to make a living in Argentina, went back to Uruguay, discouraged, in 1967. Although their comeback was welcomed enthusiastically, new tour plans fell through and they split up soon after.