The Grumbleweeds turned professional following success on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the band released several records, none of which made the UK charts, however their fortunes improved when they were commissioned to star in a BBC children’s television series, The Coal Hole Club, in 1974. Continuing to perform to packed venues around the UK, BBC radio producer Mike Craig spotted them at the Batley Variety Club and went on to produce several series of “The Grumbleweeds Radio Show” for Radio 2 throughout the 1980s. The group once had a fan club that included American singer Roy Orbison