Tarmac Group centenary in 1953, Tarmac was processing over two million tons of slag a year, its road surfacing had developed into a significant civil engineering business, and its Vinculum subsidiary "had become one of the major precast concrete undertakings in the country." Under Robin Martin's leadership, Tarmac moved from being an important regional force to a national roadstone and contracting business. Acquisitions played a major role in Tarmac's growth. While leading the roadstone division, Martin had been responsible in 1959 for the acquisition of local competitor Tarslag and Crow Catchpole, which gave it a greater presence in the south east. In
The Bobby Fuller Four name; recordings were either credited to simply Bobby Fuller, or Bobby Fuller and the Fanatics. Various other members (now including a second guitarist in addition to Fuller) played in the band at this time; however, the most significant were Jim Reese (formerly of the Embers) on guitar, and Dalton Powell (who had previously played piano for the Embers) on drums, while Bobby Fuller and Randy Fuller stayed constant on guitar and bass, respectively. By 1963, the band pursued a record deal with a major label in Hollywood, California. While they were neglected by most labels, Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records