Fontana was born in Levenshulme, Manchester, Lancashire, and took his stage name from Elvis Presley’s drummer, D. J. Fontana. In 1963 he formed his backing group, The Mindbenders, and secured a recording contract, coincidentally, with Fontana Records. He remained under contract to the label after parting with The Mindbenders. He soldiered on alone, using musicians working under the name of the Opposition, notably Frank Renshaw (lead guitar) (born 22 June 1943, Wythenshawe, Manchester); Bernie Burns (drums); Stuart Sirret (bass)k and Phil Keen (drums), among others. Sometimes the band was billed as The Mindbenders, sometimes just as the Wayne Fontana Band. Fontana’s most successful solo single release was also his last to chart, “Pamela, Pamela” (written by Graham Gouldman), which reached No 5 in the Australia (Kent Music Report) and 11 in the UK Singles Chart early in 1967.