The Move were formed in December 1965, and played their debut show at the Belfry, Wishaw on 23 January 1966. The original intentions of Burton, Kefford, and Wood were to start a group from among Birmingham's best musicians — along similar lines to The Who. The three played together at jam sessions at Birmingham's Cedar Club, and invited Wayne and Bevan to join their new group. After a debut at the Bell Hotel in Stourbridge in January 1966, and further bookings around the Birmingham area, Moody Blues manager Tony Secunda offered to manage them. At the time, the Move mainly played covers of American west coast groups such as the Byrds together with Motown and rock 'n' roll songs. Although Carl Wayne handled most of the lead vocals, all the band members shared harmonies, and each was allowed at least one lead vocal per show (and often traded lead vocals within specific songs).