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S*F*A
SOLAR FRANGIPANI ALDEBARAN
~ THE JOURNAL OF UK PSYCHEDELIA
SFA 28 (Vol. 3, No. 4) ~ April 2004

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CONTENTS:
O - GUEST EDITORIAL
O - NEWS
O - THE GUN AND "HAPPY VEGETABLE": A CHAT WITH PAUL GURVITZ
O - ELEGY SPECIAL: 'NO DIRECTION' / THE ELEGY STORY / SOME RECOLLECTIONS
O - A CHAT WITH KENNY YOUNG
O - OZ-MOSIS
O - AN OPERA FOR ALL OF US
O - CHRIS DUFFY: KINDERPOP WEIRDNESS
O - CLASSIC REPRINT (THE WIMPLE WINCH STORY- AN INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KING)
O - JUST HOW RARE IS "RARE"?
O - 'LULU'
O - THE CASE OF THE MISSING SYD
O - MORE AMERICAN JAM BAND
O - PREVIEWS
O - REVIEWS
O - DOWNUNDER PSCENE: 'HAPPY PRINCE' / ADRIAN HAWKINS
O - LETTERS
O - LYRICS

*** GUEST EDITORIAL: WHAT IS "UK PSYCH"? by Keith Payne***

The musical term "UK Psych" is nebulous, culturally-loaded, and as polymorphous and perverse as the music which it is meant to identify. Here are just a few ways in which the term is applied:

(1.) In its strictest (reductionist), most orthodox and most literal sense it can be defined as music of British origin, which possesses particular qualities which are recognisable as and conform to prescribed notions of the "psychedelic". Produced at a specific time (the "psychedelic era"), rather strictly delineated by the years 1966 to 1968.
The major problem with this orthodox model is that it is too rigid, it lacks the flexibility to adapt to new information. The fundamentalists and followers of orthodoxy are often entrenched in their beliefs, and their beliefs are themselves locked in the past, frozen in time. The strict adherence to dogma is a symptom of their them/us, right/wrong, black/white world view. Using the term "UK psych" in such a narrow way may well be clinically specific and suit those die-hards who like things clear-cut and simple, but it doesn't fit all the facts and to a pragmatic music lover it is not much fun: such a blinkered rejection of everything outside the prescribed boundaries means that there remains only a small pool of "authentic" music to be dipped into.

(2.) In a less historically-fixated sense, "UK psych" can also be applied to psychedelic music of British origin which was/is produced outside the above years. That is, "psychedelic" music recorded pre-1966, and post 1968. This is a more sensible approach, and although there ain't a lot of pre-1966 psychedelic recordings, there's plenty from after the "psychedelic era".

(3.) More contentiously, the term can also be applied, not in a strict, delineatory way (as in 1.) but in an interpretative way, to group together recordings according to similarity, and common qualities of sound. This is the "it sounds right, ergo it is right" approach. In many ways, this most pragmatic use of the term, is one of the most useful. After all, it is in our ears that our relationship with electronically-generated/recorded sound was first germinated and where it remains most potent. However this approach is (for some) fraught with issues, most noticeable of which is the rejection of all extraneous notions and preconceptions (such as the historicist's "1966-68" model) which impair the listener-music relationship. For music which sounds "right", regardless of the fact that it was made 36 years ago, or 36 minutes from now, is what is important here. And this would also include music from outside the UK which is stylistically identical/similar to inspired by or derived from a "British School" of psych. After all, Russell Morris, Wallace Collection, Aphrodite's Child, the Sea-Ders, Human Instinct, the Nuchez, the Playboys, Chapter Four and Rings And Things have all at one time or another been categorised as "UK psych". It is only the niggling matter of nationality which now excludes them from the canon. Much "foreign" psych which "sounds like" UK psych may have been inspired directly, intentionally. The UK sound went global through the recordings of The Beatles and to a lesser extent through the Pink Floyd, et al.
Then again, this belief may just be cultural imperialism, the "foreigners" may not have made a conscious decision to copy the Brits, it may have been, as Tom Northcott has said [see next issue], that they reached the same point but by parallel paths. They somehow all tapped into the zeitgeist, and that the four principal strands - psych pop, popsyke, prog-psych, blues-psych, were truly international historico-cultural manifestations. Not so airy fairy when one considers the resultant cultural/artistic effects of LSD directly on the taker; and, perhaps more significantly, the effects on the non-taker (i.e. how they - artists/musicians/designers/the media - think things "psychedelic" should sound, appear, be conveyed/enacted).
In many ways, the term UK psych, whilst an easy (lazy?) yardstick for dealers and internet chatting, is one which does not withstand harsh analysis and has proven to be rather out-moded. We should bear in mind that it is a term borne of a time when - compared to today - our knowledge of psychedelic music (of all nations and all decades) was tiny. At that time, broader strokes were applied to disguise this paltry knowledge. Simpler decisions and definitions were required.
For example, it was generally thought that UK psych meant phasing, Hammond, Mellotron, reversed tapes, feyness, sound effects, whimsy pop. US psych meant something different, had different values/objectives/obsessions, fixated on native folk/jazz material, with interminable soloing, the Grateful Dead, Woodstock: Howlin' Wolf with headbands! German psych meant jazz-based time structures, noodling, cosmic/kraut rock, spacey jams, discordance. Whilst, as simplistic generalisations, these definitions may still hold some power (and they are certainly still common
currency!), they deal only with surfaces, and reflect a position of relative ignorance: these statments were never completely and entirely true. In those days, most of us (particularly in the UK) had no idea just how much "UK style" (phasing, Hammond, Mellotron, reversed tapes, feyness, sound effects, whimsy, pop, etc., etc.) was to be found on so many US records, on German records, on Dutch records... Such discoveries have undermined, if not destroyed, the very notion of a unique and indigenous "UK sound" (particularly with regards to what we recognise as "psych pop" and "pop syke"). It sounds rather like national vanity to describe a Greek psych pop record as "UK-styled" as if the Athenians had no role in the culture other than that of aping to the British.
It is the matter of whether or not UK psych styles were copied intentionally by "foreigners", which raises the quation of the very validity of describing a record as having a "UK psych sound".
And again, the "UK" tag does itself sound rather exclusive, even xenophobic. How far does one go to maintain this "racial purity" line? Must all group members be born and bred in Britain, with British passports? Or is three out of four Brits in a band enough to make the "whole" band fit for inclusion as bona fide UK psychsters? Is a 50-50 ratio of non-Brits-to-Brits acceptable? Are they "British" if the lead singer/songwriter is British? Presumably, it is safe to assume that British bands who recorded, say, in Germany, are to be included? But what if their songwriter, arranger, engineer, producer were all Germans? What about a German group who recorded in Abbey Road. Does the studio, engineers and producer make them "British"? Is a Swiss band who recorded in Switzerland to be excluded even where their record is a dead-ringer for the classic phased Brit psych opus?
Where we talk of the Tages, we can comfortably say that they have a "UK psych sound", but this is a matter of aesthetics, of generalisation with regards generic musical matters, and not racial labelling.

Well, that's the "UK" part dealt with, so what about "psych"? Broadly speaking, psychedelia is not a genre at all. It does not function in the ways that a genre should. Certainly not in the ways that Reggae, Trad Jazz, Rockabilly, House, or Ragtime function. To be generic, a work has to adhere to certain traits, follow certain rules, operate within certain artistic "structures" and with particular aims and intentions. All recognisably of the same genre. In many ways psychedelia does not conform to this formula - 'Muffin Man' (World Of Oz) shares very little with either 'I Feel Free' (Cream), 'Interstellar Overdrive' (Pink Floyd), 'All So Long Ago' (Sweet Feeling) or 'Defecting Grey' (Pretty Things). And yet all are considered in some way, at least, as products of the "UK psych" genre.
Then there's the matter of intention. The real reason for the diversity of form: only a relatively small number of recordings were made with the intention of sounding psychedelic - that is, as a musical evocation or replication of the LSD experience, or to induce the experience without drugs, or to become a musical aid or harmonious soundtrack to the drug experience. Much of what we think of and categorise as psychedlic does not have this intention. It was made with other primary intentions- to make money being the principle one. The psychedelic intention (if it was ever considered as such) played a secondary of even tertiary role. At most it was often a tack-on, a fashionable addition, even a cynical marketing device, often extraneous. Three examples of this which spring to mind are'(The Best Part of) Breaking Up' (The Symbols), 'Dear Delilah' (Grapefruit) and 'Step In The Right Direction' (The Montanas). None of which are psychedelic in intent, in musical or lyrical content. It is nothing more than the phasing effects, a bit of extraneous fluff, which slide these three otherwise inconsequential tracks out of straight pop and into psych pop.
The field of psych is a wider one and it is growing wider; and ironically much of it arguably isn't even strictly speaking "psychedelic": 'Help Me, Mummys Gone' (The Game) isn't psychedelic, 'Hey Bulldog' (The Gods) isn't psychedelic, nor 'Come On Back'(Paul & Ritchie & The Cryin' Shames), and '8 And A Half Hours Of Paradise' (The Elastic Band) is most certainly not psychedelic. And most "Acid Folk" (so-called by dealers to shift otherwise dead stock) isn't psychedelic, it's generally much closer to Enya and Kate Bush than to any musical replication of Doctor Hoffman's magic bike ride! "Hippie Folk" is a more apposite term, but I digress...

So, what have we ended up with?
It is a curious and amusing paradox that, for a recording to be termed "UK psych" it it is neither essential or necessary to have either of the two supposedly inherent distinctions - i.e. the recording doesn't have to be "UK" or "psych"!
In this respect, UK psych is more of a point of view than a genre. It represents an anglo-centric position, one which, whilst willing on the one hand to include the world and his wife if the sound is right, does yet, at the same time and at other extreme, betray its narrow-minded, prejudiced and musically naive origins.The term, "UK psych", as I have sought to show, is now little more than an exercise in absurdity. The term has very little remaining intellectual validity, In most senses it is bankrupt.

*** NEWS ***

Dr. HUMPHRY OSMOND R.I.P.
The psychiatrist, Dr Humphry Osmond, renowned researcher into the properties and applications of d-lysergic acid diethylamide-25, has died, aged 86.
Osmond was the man who turned on Huxley and termed the word psychedelic.
During their search for a name to describe the hallucinogenic drugs, Huxley proposed the unwieldy word "phanerothyme", derived from roots relating to "spirit" or "soul". He wrote to Osmond, "To make this trivial world sublime/Take half a gramme of phanerothyme." Osmond replied, with his own term: "To fathom hell or soar angelic/Just take a pinch of psychedelic."
"Psychedelic", from the Greek for mind ("psyche") and the verb "delein" (to manifest), means "mind-manifesting". In 1957 Osmond addressed a meeting of the New York Adademy of Sciences using the term. Hallucinogenic drugs, he argued, did much more than mimic psychosis, and thus needed a name that included the "concepts of enriching the mind and enlarging the vision".
Osmond was opposed to the non-scientific (i.e. recreational) uses of hallucinogens, but nevertheless remained a key figure in the psychedelic movement. A movement which of course, he named.
Humphry Osmond: born July 1st, 1917, died February 6th, 2004.

COMING SOON FROM A DEALER NEAR YOU:
Exact repros of the following French 45s:
Wimple Winch - 'Save My Soul'/'Everybody's Worried 'Bout Tomorrow' (Fontana TF 718)
Factory - 'Path Through The Forest'/'Gone' (MGM 1444)
500 copies only. Each cost £5.99.

'FADING YELLOW' R.I.P. :-(
Following legal persecution, the FY series has sadly been declared officially dead. No further volumes will be appearing (vols 8 & 9 were expected this month).
Other semi-legit compilers are advised that this does not look like the start of a wider anti-psych comp purge, FY appears to have been the victim of some sort of vicious industry grudge.

ON WITH THE SHOW
Idle Race 4 CD boxset, 64-page fully illustrated booklet, released on EMI Records this August. Full participation of all the ex-members and LOTS of unreleased material, mostly recently discovered.
More info will be posted shortly to www.ftmusic.com

JIMMY CAMPBELL:
The release of the eagerly-awaited Kirkbys/23rd Turnoff comp 'The Dreams Of Michaelangelo', as previewed in last month's SFA, has been slightly delayed. The compilers have unearthed two fresh batches of previously unreleased material which they feel should be included on the disc. These include The Kirkbys' first two singles, released only in Finland in 1965, and further 23rd Turnoff demos including yet another version of "Michael Angelo" cut with George Martin at Abbey Road!!! We are assured it will be worth the wait.
Watch this space for further developments!

THE GREMLINS / REV OLA:
The Gremlins - 'The Coming Generation' CD (Rev Ola - CRREV65)
Seriously overlooked power-pop combo from New Zealand. In 1966, they were only stopped from hitting the top of the charts, in their home country, by the Beatles' 'Yellow Submarine'.
This is the first time all their hits have been collected on CD. Due 19/04/2004
Also coming forthcominf from Rev Ola....
The Rockin' Horse album, 'Yes It Is' is going to be released in May. The CD will have new artwork, unseen band photographs and liner notes by yours' truly, as well as Fab bonus cuts!!!

OLD MARMALADE SKIES LINK:
Please note that the old link of Marmalade Skies http://www.marmaladeskies.co.uk will not work anymore from May 13th. A lot of websites still list the site at this address but in fact this link had changed to http://www.marmalade-skies.co.uk two years ago. The old one was kept to keep the links open from the other sites, but will now not be renewed.

*** THE GUN AND "HAPPY VEGETABLE": A CHAT WITH PAUL GURVITZ, by Paul Cross ***

'Light On The Wall' (sic) by Happy Vegetable appeared on ISSS 10 (probably the best ever comp of UK Psych rarities!). The song is also on the forthcoming ESS (sic) CD.
A couple of years back, our own Dave Thubron wrote to 'Record Collector' to draw attention to a version of this track which was cut for and aired by the BBC as part of a session by the Gun. He also added that the Happy Vegetable moniker was most likely an invention. Later, I dutifully added the name to my own list of SFA "Fake" band names. Here, with the help of Paul Gurvitz, whom I spoke to at his home in California, is what really happened...

PAUL GURVITZ: OK, this is the real Paul Gurvitz story. It started with The Londoners, The Londoners played mostly in Germany (at the Star Club). For a while we were the backing group for Gene Vincent, I then changed the name to The Knack. After The Knack I changed the name again to The Gun. Gun went through some member changes, and later [my brother] Adrian joined and then we decided to become a three-piece band, and that's when I went on to bass. Then came 'Race With The Devil' and two albums with Gun; then Parrish & Gurvitz, Three Man Army, Greame Edge Band, Baker Gurvitz Army and a short time with Spooky Tooth.

PAUL CROSS: What about "Happy Vegetable"? Was Happy Vegetable a genuine band name?
PAUL GURVITZ: I seem to remember that Happy Vegetable was a group my brother [Adrian] was thinking of starting (possibly with Louis [Farrell- drummer with the Gun]?), but I may be wrong, certainly nothing came of it, nothing ever happened. And it is clear that Adrian had nothing to do with the recording.

~ It should also be noted here that Louis Farrell has been contacted, and he has also heard the "Happy Vegetable" recording. Louis confirmed it was by the Gun, but had absolitely no recollection whatsoever about Happy Vegetable. He was certainly not in a group of this name. Mark Farrell, son of Louis, wrote:-

"With regard to the Happy Vegetable thing, dad and I had an interview with a bloke here in England who showed us a picture of a release that had the white label acetate of 'The Lights On The Wall' and someone had written across it "Happy Vegetable", I reckon that someone found it, thought it was good enough to go on a compilation album, but didn't know who it was, so slapped on a 'thought up name' which just happened to be Happy Vegetable. Dad had never heard of Happy Vegetable and agrees it's the Gun.
The same guy that gave me the two copies of the song which, like you say, are a studio version and a BBC in session version, and I can definitely say I recognize dad's drumming on both, so there's no dispute that it's the Gun. Bloody wicked song it is too."

PAUL CROSS: It has been suggested that Happy Vegetable was some kind of 'precursor' to The Gun?
PAUL GURVITZ: Happy Vegetable was in no way a precursor to The Gun: my brother was not in any of my bands until later on.

PAUL CROSS: So, 'The Lights On The Wall' could not be by Happy Vegetable?
PAUL GURVITZ: No. It's not possible! Happy Vegetable was not a group to my knowledge, especially not one with a record deal: and they didn't actually exist, if they had, they certainly would not have recorded my song because I never gave it to anyone. So the answer, is no, Happy Vegetable did not record this song. 'The Lights On The Wall' (the correct title) was written by me and was performed by Gun and recorded by Gun. We only recorded the track twice: The BBC radio recording of the song; and, I remember we went into Olympic, Barnes, and cut a version with Denny Cordell producing. I didn't have a copy of that version. I never even received one. I didn't have a copy [until now] and I hadn't heard it since it was recorded. But I can say that the so-called "Happy Vegetable" acetate is the Denny Cordell version.

PAUL CROSS: I wondered if the tinkling "musical box" bells towards the end were added later, perhaps dubbed-on after recording? This effect is totally absent from the BBC version.
PAUL GURVITZ: The bells were done at that session, I had forgotten about them until hearing it again.

PAUL CROSS: You and Adrian were briefly in Rupert's People?
PAUL GURVITZ: Yes, but Adrian and I were only part of the live group and never recorded with them.

PAUL CROSS: So, Is The Gun track 'Rupert's Travels' an oblique reference to the band?
PAUL GURVITZ: No, 'Rupert's Travels' had nothing to do with Rupert's People, it was about my dog 'Rupert'!

Whether labelled with mischief making in mind or just in the mistaken belief that it was genuine, Paul Gurvitz says that "to have known of this name [Happy Vegetable] the acetate must have come from someone within our camp." Then qualifies this: "But whoever put Happy Vegetable on the acetate still got it wrong."
The incorrect band name, plus an absence of a correct title(!) and writer credits on the label, are proof that the person labelling it was not in full possession of the facts. They may have heard (or perhaps even remembered) the Happy Vegetable name and the Gurvitz link, perhaps even chosen it in the belief that it was the correct band name. We can only speculate on the original intention and motive.
After listening to the track, Paul laughed:
"Ha! No way is that Happy Vegetable! It's definitely me singing. Happy Vegetable weren't even a proper band, they didn't have a recording contract. They would only have been able to cut the song if they'd had a demo of the song and there was no way at the time that I would have given away one of my songs."

With it's dizzy charm and period lyrics ("as far as the lyrics go, I don't know what I was smoking then!" - Paul Gurvitz said), 'Lights On The Wall' is one of the finest treasures of British Psychedelia. It deserved to have become better known. Tantalisingly, it seems it almost got a release, as John Peel mentioned that it was a probable forthcoming Gun single: "I certainly hope they do release that as a single as a matter of fact. These are The Gun, who used to be called The Knack, and 'The Lights On The Wall." So the track was clearly presented to the BBC as the Gun's possible debut 45. However, Paul was quick to deny this: "Hmm, blame that on the drugs!", he said.

In conclusion, Paul stated in no uncertain terms -
"You can tell 'em from me that what they've got there is NOT a Happy Vegetable recording. It's The Gun!"

THE GUN: PERSONNEL:

THE GUN (line-up #1):
Paul Curtis - lead vocals/guitar
Tim Mycroft - keyboards
Geary Kenworthy - bass
Louis Farrell - drums

It is important to note that the first line-up of The Gun ran concurrently with The Knack during the last few months of The Knack's existence. This is the line-up which recorded 'Lights On The Wall' at Olympic Studios and first Gun BBC session (TX. 12/11/67).
It's also worth noting that Brian Morris (of The Knack, NOT The Gun), later changed his surname to Parrish. He worked with the Gurvitz brothers again, in Parrish and Gurvitz and in Three Man Army. He also recorded solo.

THE GUN (line-up #2):
Jon Anderson - lead vocals
Paul Curtis - lead vocals/guitar
Adrian Curtis - guitar/voalcs
Tim Mycroft - keyboards
Geary Kenworthy - bass
Louis Farrell - drums

Jon Anderson was only in Gun for a couple of months. He was of course later in Yes.
"His squeaky voice didn't suit our style of music", Paul said. "He tried hard to change our material to suit him. But in the end he wasn't our style."
Jon left first. Then there was the sudden departure of Tim Mycroft and Geary Kenworthy, just prior to a batch of gigs, called for a drastic re-shuffle, so Paul moved to bass. A temporary move
which became permanent:

THE GUN (line-up # 3):
Adrian Gurvitz - lead guitar
Paul Gurvitz - bass
Louis Farrell - drums

This line-up recorded 'Race With The Devil', etc.
Note change from Curtis to original surname (Gurvitz).

'The Lights On The Wall' - THE GUN. (words & music by Paul Gurvitz)

The lights on the wall
are turning me on now
The lights on the wall
are turning my mind around now

Bells are ringing and people singing
Flowers cover the floor
Bright bulbs burning
And projectors turning
Refelecting lights onto the wall

The lights on the wall (lights on the wall)
are turning my mind around now
(around and around and around)
The lights on the wall (lights on the wall)
are spinning my mind around now
(around and around and around)

Us hippies are moping
for some stones to stop throwing
Policemen laughing everywhere
But our main protector
is that burning projector
and none of us have a care

(Lights on the wall)
Can you see my lights on the wall?
(Lights on the wall)
My lovely lights shining brightly on the wall
(Lights on the wall)
Can you see my lights on the wall?
(Lights on the wall)
My lovely lights shining brightly on the wall
(Lights on the wall)...

~ Many thanks to Paul Gurvitz for all his kindness and assistance.

*** *** *** *** *** ELEGY SPECIAL *** *** *** *** *** ***

*** 'NO DIRECTION', by Paul Cross ***

ELEGY - 'No Direction' / 'Pain' ([Austria:] Atom 238.005) 1971.

Elegy were a British outfit, but were pretty much based full-time in Austria. They are nowadays most notable for including Gary 'Roscoe' Murphy (ex-Mike Stuart Span, ex-Leviathan, ex-Hellmet) on drums. Although Gary was not in the band at the time of their 'No Direction' 45 and does not play on it.
'No Direction' is one hell of a tune. The band attack the song with ferocious exuberence. It's played tough, but the song is never subsumed by unnecessary heaviness. There's strength and there's subtlety. 'No Direction' is a hard-edged, driving prog-psych rocker with astounding percussive power. The band are so tight, the performance is stunning. Especially fine are the liquid lead guitar runs, undulating, pulsating bass, and manic Tullish flute, the 200 MPH drums, and then there's the stupendous spot echo/reverb on the lead vocal. It's closest living relative is probably 'Our Friend Owsley Stanley III' by the Master's Apprentices, although (and it's not something I say lightly) 'No Direction' is actually better!
The flip, 'Pain', is more reined-in. Controlled but still dynamic, with more superb lead guitar work. It is a great prog-pop/rock outing with a marked late-'60s flavour and a soulful, heartfelt vocal performance of a song about love-gone-bad. Although it lacks the power of 'No Direction', it is still a brilliant performance and easily up there with many first division sounds of the era.

The blistering 'No Direction' was compiled on 'Kraut! Demons! Kraut! Vol. 1 German Psychedelic Underground 1968-1974'. But of course there were no notes with the above comp, and so you'd never know that Elegy weren't a German band.

ELEGY (line-up #1) [1970 - c.late '71]:
Terry Aiken - vocal (ex-Hellmet)
Paul Seager - guitar
Chris Cox - piano/flute
George Dynysiuk - bass
Ian Lambert - drums
This line-up recorde the single.

ELEGY (line-up #2) [c. late '71]:
Terry Aiken - vocal
Paul Seager - guitar
Chris Cox - piano/flute
Steve Day - bass (ex-Hellmet)
Ian Lambert - drums

ELEGY (line-up #3) [c. Sept/Oct '72-]:
Terry Aiken - vocal
Paul Seager - guitar
Chris Cox - piano/flute
Steve Day - bass (ex-Hellmet)
Gary Murphy - drums (ex-Mike Stuart Span, Leviathan, Hellmet)

'No Direction', by ELEGY.

I can't find no direction
Which leaves me open to any suggestions
But maybe you can help me find my way
So I don't have to stay another day

Sometimes sitting I have thought
Of analysing feelings I get nought
I guess I have to take what I can find
Just so long as I don't lose my mind

Comin' from behind I never seem to know
Which way I should go
Baby if I knew there's something I could do
For the moment I just say No!

Comin' from behind I never seem to know
Which way I should go
Baby if I knew there's something I could do
For the moment I just say No!

When I look into your eyes
It's only then I realise
These strange things that are happnin' in my head
Will only stop when I am finally dead

*** THE ELEGY STORY, by Chris Cox ***

Firstly I would like to say that this account is how I remember it, not necessarily how it was. The 70's were a fantastic time. Things happened that made Reallity seem not quite how they were, if you get my drift! Of course the passing of time might have something to do with it as well. So if anybody wishes to correct me then please feel free.

I had been playing in a band in Brighton called Attic. It was there that I met Terry (Aiken). When that was exactly I don't recall but sometime later Terry had hooked up with the rest of Elegy and invited me to join. They were looking for somebody who could sing and play another instrument. At that time I was heavily into Jethro Tull and so the natural instrument was flute. We rehearsed in Ian Lambert's (or Larry as he became to be known) parent's house in Crawley. He'd padded out a bedroom with egg boxes and mattresses. Worked a treat!

After some time rehearsing the agent they'd been working for (Chris? in tonbridge Wells I believe) came up with a 6 week residency in a club in Vienna. I gave up my job as a Customs & Excise clerk and we accepted the gig.

It was a Saturday and we'd said our goodbyes, packed our bags and were waiting for a call from the agent to say the deal had finally been ok'd and off we would go. This never came, but being young and impetuous we thought we'd go anyway. Well, we were packed, the transit van (as can be seen on the front cover of our single) was ready and so we might as well.

Off we went to Dover and boarded the ferry where we met a couple of French Canadian girls, one of whom was called Dom, short for Dominique. The other's escapes me. They were travelling Europe and hadn't decided where they were going next, so hitched a ride with us to Vienna. I think Terry might be able to throw a bit more light on that ;-). Anyway, we arrived in Vienna nearly 24 hours later around midnight, called on the agent, Hans Hausner, who luckily had a flat for us. Well, I say flat, but it was one large room with a kitchen area and the running water was outside in the hall, along with a shared toilet. Luxury! We stayed there for our time in Vienna but did rise to having a second flat sometime later on the floor above.

We played in a club outside Vienna in a place called Schwardorf, on the way to the airport. Payment was enough for either a packet of cigarettes or a frankfurter on the way home with the remainder promised at the end of our residency. We were playing covers - Yes, Badfinger, Hendrix, etc. Slightly off the pop side and were well received. At the end of the stint we went to collect our money. Herr Vavra was nowhere to be found. I do recall some sort of car chase and then cornering him in a car park somewhere but all to no avail. He had no money and couldn't pay us.

Our agent in Vienna decided he'd find us another gig somewhere which would pay us enough to get back to England. Would you believe it, the same thing happened. We ended up back in Vienna in the infamous flat in Sechshauser Strasse wondering what we were going to do next. Terry, George (I think) and myself decided to hitch back to England. I can remember sleeping behind a crash barrier on the slip road to the Autobahn while Terry and George hitched. We managed to get to Salzburg but it had been painfully slow. I'd had enough and went back to Vienna. Terry and George then managed to pick up a lift from a guy that was going all the way back to England and also had 3 spare tickets as his friends hadn't been able to make it. What luck!

This is where it all starts to get a bit hazy. I stayed In Vienna and managed with Paul to get some session work playing on albums by artists such as Turning Point, Wolfgang Ambros, Schmetterlinge and Sandra Haas along with a few singles as well. After a few weeks Terry and George reappeared, this time with his brother-in-law and friends who had been persuaded to take a holiday in Vienna conveniently dropping off Terry and George. That was a few nights to remember, with, it must have been 8 or 9 men sleeping in that one room. Phew!!

It was after this that we decided to do our own material. The flats we were in had a cellar where we could rehearse but the noise went straight up through all the floors. One of the residents Herr Turnowski volunteered (or was he paid?) to help us soundproof it. This was done and we had somewhere to rehearse any time we liked. We put together an original set and proceeded to take Austria by storm. I can remember one time there were a series of gigs run I think at the Stadthalle with a name band playing each night. We beat the attendance attendance for Budgie who were very popular at that time.

The song was recorded in the studio of Peter Mueller, Vienna. Date, again not exactly sure but it would I think have been released in 1971/2. Composers are credited as Elegy.

We recorded the single 'No Direction' / 'Pain' at the Studios of Peter Mueller, Vienna (He still has his studio, Soundmill, there today). Incidentally, 'No Direction' was featured on a compilation called the 'Austro Pop Story' released as a double album (Atom 400.006) 1974. The only other recording to my knowledge is the one done at Club Electronic, which was done by placing a single mike in front of a PA speaker which is why the quality is so bad. I have tried to reduce the bass which was overpowering, but hopefully you can get an idea of what we were like from it anyway. By then Steve Day had replaced George. I don't recall why this happened but because of the work we had, a sixth person, Gary Murphy, had been brought in to help roadie. I think he can recount how it went from here better than I.

I can't recall how many gigs we did with Gary, but I have this memory of the band going from strength to strength after he joined. I added keyboards to my gear and the music took on a different steer again. I would say we were going in to prog rock territory. What caused the demise of the band, I'm not sure.
I stayed in Vienna with Paul for a while and played with a Jamaican tennis star Lance Lumsden in a band called Company Mood. This was fine as a stop gap but did not meet what we had in Elegy.

Elegy was a band that could have gone places with the right management but sadly is only to remain a long distant memory.

Chris Cox - Flute, keys and vocals: Elegy, 1970 - 1972.

*** ELEGY: SOME RECOLLECTIONS, by Gary Murphy ***

Following the demise of Hellmet (which I do know more about) I bumped into Terry Aiken (singer for both bands) at the end of 1971, he said that he was now living and playing with another band in Vienna (Austria) called Elegy, and they had released one single on the Atom label 'No Direction'/ 'Pain' I asked him if when they returned I might join them as roadie/general assistant, as I was working at a dead-end job unloading rail trucks!
So just after Christmas we all piled in the transit and winged our way via Dover towards Vienna.
It wasn't a very comfortable journey as it was bitterly cold, the van had no heating and we eventually arrived in Austria in heavy snow!
The line up of the band in addition to Terry on vocals was - Paul Seager lead guitar, Chris Cox keyboards & flute, a Russian guy called George on bass (who was eventually replaced by Hellmet's lead guitarist Steve Day) and Ian Lambert on drums.
They never played in the UK, and normally gigged only in Austria, but did venture over the border into Yugoslavia for one short tour, before eventually folding at the end of 1972.
I only stayed with the band a couple of months before moving south to Graz ( Elegy stayed in Vienna). I ended up working in a publishing/printing firm for some months. I spent most of my time in Graz living & sitting in with some of the bands in that part of the country. One of the better groups I played with was STS a sort of Austrian version of Crosby Stills Nash (all songs were sung in
German and in the local dialect)! They went on to make many successful albums and I think are still going. Sometime during the autumn I left the firm and joined up once more with Elegy but this time as their drummer. Ian had had enough and returned to England but left his drumkit behind for me to use!
I played several gigs with Elegy (including a concert in Graz) where I had made many new friends and got to know most of the local musicians in my previous time spent there.
It was a great gig and certainly the best I had played with Elegy.
As the year drew to a close the band wanted to return to England for Christmas, basically the group fell apart with no desire to return or re-form. I believe the reason Elegy split was due to not enough gigs - financially they were extremely poor and made more money doing sessions than gigging which eventually led to their demise and probably a longing to go back to friends & family in England.

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*** A CHAT WITH KENNY YOUNG, by Paul Cross ***

Kenny Young, esteemed in our circles for his 1960's CBS work, was also the writer of "Don't Go Out Into The Rain" and "Just A Little Bit Better" for Herman's Hermits, "Under The Boardwalk" for The Drifters, not to mention one of the best and least appreciated 1970's pop classics, "Last Stage For Silverworld"....

PC: Where and when were you born?
KY: I was born in Jerusalem, grew up in New York, in the last century....

PC: Which came first, producing, songwriting or performing?
KY: I started as a songwriter / folk singer. Wrote and produced my 1st single in 1963 for The Charmettes, 'Please Don't Kiss Me Again', which was a top 50 hit US (top 5 in NY).

PC: Producing, songwriting or singing? Which did (or do) you prefer?
KY: My first love is songwriting, but singing and producing come to me quite naturally, (not that nature has ever provided anyone with natural production activities, although it does when it comes to singing).

PC: I know you released 45s by K.G.Young, Blue Yogurt. You were in Fox (the Noosha version) and Yellow Dog. Can you give me any more examples of releases of your songs by other artists? And your production duties?
KG: Produced and wrote all of Clodagh Rogers hits, Fox hits, Yellow Dog hits, Quincey Jones hit- ('Ai No Corrida'), Kenny Rogers, Shirelles, Ben E. King, Drifters, Sam and Dave, Rickie Lee Jones...

PC: Why was the rather formal "K.G.Young" used for the 'Spider' single?
KY: For the heck of it really nothing more- I didn't like to use my real name for certain projects because I liked keeping my options open as I was doing many productions at the time.

PC: What does the 'G' stand for in K.G.Young?
KY: Goofball.

PC: Was 'Spider' inspired by a real person? If so...
KY: An ex-girlfriend who shall remain nameless!

PC: Was 'Spider' your only solo 45 of the 60's? If not...?
KY: I did a single called 'Arizona' for CBS and soon afterwards did solo projects for Warner Bros. Records in the early 70's 'Clever Dogs Chase The Sun' 'Last Stage For Silverworld' singles- 'Wake up Navajo' and 'Rosalis' on WB. (I may have forgotten some other solo projects, sorry)

PC: Who was Roly Daniels? [Kenny produced/wrote Roly's groovy 'Run Diane' (CBS 4748) 16/01/70.]
KY: An Irish balladeer.

PC: Was Blue Yogurt an actual group? Session musicians? If so, who else performed?
KY: Actually, Blue Yogurt was just an outlet for my demos. The single was done for a lark and turned into a band.

PC: Which musicians became the band? Did you gig?
KY: Don't remember the musicians who played on that- need time for research which I don't deem important enough (for anyone) to do. Didn't gig.

PC: Why did you re-cut 'Umbrella Man' as Blue Yogurt?
KY: I think I actually did 'Umbrella Man' with Blue Yogurt before The Searchers... I may
be wrong.

PC: There were other pseudonymous releases...
KY: The Seagulls, The Squirrels, San Francisco Earthquake, The Squares, and many more (all US releases).

PC: Were you a CBS member of staff, or a free-lance producer?
KY: A free-lance producer.

PC: How did The Searchers get to do 'Umbrella Man'?
KY: I asked United Artists if I could produce the band - first we disguised them as Pasha ('Somebody Shot The Lollipop Man') then released 'Umbrella Man' under their own name. I was then was asked to produce the Fortunes ''Cool it' Coke commercial in US by American Breed.

PC: Are there many unreleased performances of yours from 60s/70s in existence?
KY: Yes, not sure how many, but there are many.

PC: You are something of a "cult" figure.
KY: You say the sweetest things!

PC: What are you doing today?
KY: Writing a book and recording new stuff in my studio. Recently recorded with Groove Armada.

PC: A book of memoirs?
KY: I'm writing a bunch of tales from my life experience, I don't call it memoirs or autobiography. It will have lots of interesting stories and experiences, and my philosophies. That's it. I'm hoping it will be published by the time I'm finished- no rush.

PC: What are your fondest memories of those times?
KY: Big Ben, and the presence of John Lennon and Ringo at a reception for one of the bands I worked with and wrote for - Reparata and the Delrons ('Captain Of Your Ship').

PC: Thanks Kenny!

'Spider', by K.G. Young.
A barefoot, rose-cheeked lady there called Spider
Smiled at me as I sat right beside her
Her deep brown eyes were sayin' somethin' to me
As if that little Spider always knew me

Spider (Spider ahh)
Won't you let your hair down
Spider (Spider aah)
Make my head go round and round
and round and round and round
and round and round and round
and round

Later that same night we got familiar
As she said "yeah" the first time I asked "will ya?"
Aahh aahh ah ah ah
The grapefruit moon is shining high above her
The liquorice sky tells me she loves us
Hope your spiderweb is gettin' stronger
'Cos I intend to stay a little bit longer

Spider (Spider ahh)
Baby I'm so glad you found me
Spider (Spider ahh)
Won't you let your arms surround me
around me around me around me around me
around me around me around me
around me

Later that same night she said "I want you"
And I said "you can have me if you want to"
Aah aah ah-ah-ah
Spider (Spider aah)
Spider (Spider aah)
Spider (Spider aah)
Spider (Spider aah)
Spider (Spider aah)
Spider (Spider aah)

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***OZ MOSIS: AN EXCURSUS INTO PANSY POP by Jason "Phyllis" Scott

In the golden annals of toytown pop syke one name is writ large by UK devotees -

THE WORLD OF OZ.

The position of the World of Oz at UK pop syke's zenith is undeniable (at least by true fans of UK pop skye). And, yet, at the same time, some folks are equally determined to erase that name. The problem is that UK psychedelia has become a battleground, a scene of internicine warfare. It's the hard-line psychedelic fans who see themselves as guardians of some vague ideal, versus the pop syke fans, who are seen as corrupters and defilers of psychedelia's templum sacrum.
The hard-liners (too many of whom speak and write with conviction on something about which they have little direct knowledge), wish to evict the popsters from the temple, and towards whom they show a great deal of hostility. Some people who claim knowledge of psychedelia are so hung up on rock's dated macho posturings and "groupie shagging" ethos that they are afraid to embrace material that is deemed to be twee, effete, light-hearted, juvenile...even girlie and romantic. For such people, looking cool and looking hard is more important than the true message of the LOVE REVOLUTION. It is a common activity of such people to compare psych with syke and to illogically posit that the former is somehow "superior" to the latter. This is as naive and futile as arguing that green is better than red, or air is better than water...
The matter of a record's twee-ness can cause much heated debate. Like anything, twee can be done in a right or a wrong way. In terms of twee as syke device, Keith Harris and Orville got it wrong. Kermit the Frog's nephew got it wrong. But the World of Oz got it right!
Twee (a pejorative to most people) was but one of many weapons used to attack bourgeois suburban values. Bands such as the World Of Oz took twee to new levels (although I must quickly add that not all they did is classifiable as twee). To be camp, lisping, mincing, to be childish, lazy, dreamy, was to defiantly reject straight (parental) notions of strength, morality, work, duty, discipline, the manly virtues. Tweeness and effeminacy were guaranteed to piss off retired colonels and outrage old blue-rinsed ladies from East Cheam, so the surface attributes of the gay world: camp mannerisms, outrageous fashion, vicious humour, perceived deviance, an outsider status... were embraced fully. The more outré, the more effective. Even in an era when the maculine-feminine boundaries were blurred, even at times erased, the World Of Oz (and in particular their songs, hair, poses and general style) stood out as being particularly, defiantly effete. The World Of Oz were one of the first significantly camp bands in British Pop, they beat Jagger's Hyde Park gender-bender performance and the pancake prancings of Bolan, Bowie, The Sweet, et al, by years; and they did it with the confidence and elan of natural-born posers.
A propensity for humour and wit were also much in evidence in pop syke: to cause one to smile, giggle...then laugh outrageously and uncontrollably is, as any satirist knows well, an effective weapon to deflate pomposity and flatten the egos of opponents and targets. Pity that rock seldom (intentionally) made us laugh. It is somewhat ironic that pop is seen as trivial, ersatz, less valid than rock, principally because commerciality is sneered at. Particularly as the "real" freak-out merchants were on the whole just playing at being "psychedelic" and moved on to the next fad as soon as fashions started to change. We should contextualise the World Of Oz correctly: not in terms of some peripheral, cash-in exploitation or dilution of the psych scene (afterall, one could argue that all "psych bands" were exploiting the scene; and everyone other than say the Floyd and the original 'Spontaneous Underground' set were outside the "real" scene), but as one of the most talented outfits to evolve from the paisleyfication of British pop. Song for song, I honestly believe that they were the equal of, perhaps even better than, the Bee Gees of the same period.
Lyrically, the World Of Oz's songs are, to my mind, amongst the most original, most curious, most evocative and surely most imaginative British pop songs of the era. Why, just check out these random quotes-

the derisive:
"He chased us round the big top hat
For laughing at his spastic cat" ('Jack')

the suggestive:
"Lying on a long grass lawn
Watching nature being born
Rolling madly in the hay
Wondering what games to play" ('The Hum-Gum Tree')

the emotive:
"Sorrow is the one thing we both share
Leaving sadness melting in the air
'Like a tear, I'll kiss your face" ('Like A Tear')

the horrific:
"Black and white rainbows took him away
To a place where Licorice Allsorts were made everyday
Black and white rainbows are only part of his dream
But Peter thought they'd plunged him in an Allsorts-making machine
'Oooh, please don't cut me up, please!
Please don't cut me up, please!' " (Peter's Birthday')

the spiritual:
"Now at the end of your journey of grace
Have you seen your maker's face?" ('Willow's Harp')

and the ridiculous:
"Who wants to marry a muffin man?
No-one does, or so it would seem
I'll have to marry my muffin machine" ('The Muffin Man')

The World Of Oz epitomised the Regency Dandy look- jackets with high collars, narrow shouldered, deep lapels, brocade, double breasted, flounces, ruffles. This look formed a recognisable third wave of hippie/psychedelic fashion: the first being the mod-going-odd look of sober suits with flashes of organza, silk scarves, gaily coloured pinstripes, Levis jackets, brooches, granny glasses); the second being the fully-blooming Flower Power look, a riot of kaftans, paisley, bells and beads. The third wave, which was effectively a more tailored, mainstream/pop, boutique-lead reaction to hippie sloppiness, a mix of commercial appeal and glamorous exoticism, matched in musical terms by Wayne Bickerton's florid productions, was sadly the last great expression of colour before the scene was submerged betwen a wave of greasy denim, great coats and dirty, bedraggled hair. The World Of Oz did this style better than any other British band.

In 1968, for a precocious young nancy boy like myself, the aestheticism of the Oz world was the perfect antidote to one dominated by football terraces, pints of beer, Woodbines, Brylcreem, short back & sides, stand up, sit down, don't talk back, chew your food twenty times before swallowing, boiled veg and spam, outside privvies, Izal loo paper and the whole deep povera of expression and individuality, the grindingly dull, lumbering monochrome juggernaut of decrepit, received values - die Alte Ordnung.
The World Of Oz represented impossible dreams made real. They brought colour, expression, and joie-de-vivre into my life, and all done in a most aesthetically pleasing manner, accessible and mercifully with none of the dull hang-ups of "serious" rock.

If the Toy Town realm of 1968 Brit Pop can be seen, in historical terms, as little more than a wrong turn into a cul-de-sac, an aborted and embarrassing experiment in pop fraudulence, soon swept away on a bullish wave of mordant "heavy" rock, it was nonetheless, a glorious experiment. A short lived Golden Age, over which the World Of Oz reigned supreme!

(The most enjoyable fan-appreciation of the World Of Oz which I have read was by John Hanrattie in 'Toffee Sunday Smash', No.2. What John lacked in knowledge was amply compensated for by his love and enthusiasm for their music. I hope that I too have ben able to impart my love to you dear and patient reader.)

WORLD OF OZ (line up #1): 01/68 -
Christopher "Robin" Evans - vocals/guitar
David "Kubie" Kubinec - guitar/organ
Tony Clarkson - bass
David Reay - drums
Christopher Evans and David Reay were ex-members of Danny King's Mayfair Sect, a band dubbed by one writer as "one of the seminal groups on the mid-'60s Birmingham beat scene". A band SO SEMINAL in fact that the writer got the name wrong (he called 'em "Denny King's Mayfair Sect"!!!!).

WORLD OF OZ (line up #2):
Christopher "Robin" Evans - vocals/guitar
Geoff Nicholls - organ
Tony Clarkson - bass
David Reay - drums
David Kubinec went solo. His first single being 'Schop'/'The Lady Loves' (Parlophone R 5762) 1969. 'Schop' [Pronounced "show pee"] is a smooth ballad with an echo of the Oz style. The flip is soft pop with a hint of folk. Think: Peter Sarstedt B-sides of the same year. Both tracks were self-penned and produced by manager Barry Class.

WORLD OF OZ (line up #3):
Christopher "Robin" Evans - vocals/guitar
Geoff Nicholls - organ
Tony Clarkson - bass
Rob Moore - drums
After the band folded (circa mid '69), Christopher Evans (after temping in The Casuals) and Rob Moore went on to Kansas Hook, who of course also later became The Casuals, before recording as American Jam Band (see last month's SFA and elsewhere this month, for further details)

NOTE: These line-ups supersede/expand upon and correct all previously published versions (e.g. 'British Psychedelic Trip Vol 1' LP/CD, Record Collector's "Psych Trip", 'Rubble 12', etc.),everyone in fact, barring 'Marmalade Skies' who got it right!

*** AN OPERA FOR ALL OF US, by Mark Frumento ***

THE CHESAPEAKE JUKE BOX BAND - 'The Chesapeake Juke Box Band' ([USA:] Green Bottle GBS 1004)), 1972.

Thanks to this entry in 'Fuzz Acid and Flowers', the Chesapeake Juke Box Band LP has stayed under the radar of pop-sike fans:
"Housed in a gimmick cover, an album with female vocals mixing commercial rock with odd tracks." (Well, they got the part about the gimmick cover correct!)

The LP is the creation of singer/songwriter/producers Steve Sawyer and Rusty McFinn and it is a very special record. To my ears it ranks among the best American pop-sike records of all time. That its influences are primarily British gives us good enough reason to speak of in these pages.

Though it may sound hard to believe those influences range from The Beatles to Genesis to Roy Wood… with a good bit of Mark Wirtz and the rest of British musical history tossed in for good measure. It helps that the song writing is stellar - so few acts can sustain complex, longish songs with high production values like the ones found on this album. Hard to believe that the creators have stayed hidden for so long. The record’s producer and arranger, Ron Frangipane, seems to still be working in the business but web searches have turned up nothing else by either Sawyer or McFinn.

The record kicks off with a Sgt Pepper-type opening track called "Until We Meet Again." The song cleverly name checks Shirley Temple, Paul McCartney, Tiny Tim and Perry Como among others and breaks into a chorus of "I love Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."
Three tacks in is "Jennifer," the first masterpiece of the album. With its wonderful falsetto vocal, Genesis style guitar work and music box intro the song comes off as kind of progressive sounding Teenage Opera.
"Has To Be," side one’s closing track includes driving horns, fairground organ, phased Lennon-like vocals and incredible drumming. The meld of musical influences is so expertly devised and delivered that it’s hard to believe the record could get any better…

However, side two, subtitled Martha & Wally Fizbee’s Memorabilia, continues the trend. The first track, "Daisies for the Eighth of May" is easily my favorite song on the LP. Words cannot describe this stunning song. Imagine everything you love about British pop music of the late 60s tossed into a salad spinner and you may get the idea. In one of the best sections of the song, we are finally treated to the first female vocal so accurately observed in the Fuzz, Acid and Flowers review.

The next three songs "Sad Night in Boston," "Fizbee’s Tavern" and "Chesapeake Juke Box Band" continue the general theme of the record and its wonderful production values. Strange that the record sounds so much like a Mark Wirtz production that you’d swear the man himself was behind it. It’s easy to think of it as The Teenage Opera 60 years on.

The LP closes with "The Door’s Unlatched," the most overtly psychedelic track on the LP. The highlight here is the phased vocals.

There are very few, if any, British or American records I can point you to if you are still not convinced by my review of this record. It reminds me a bit of The Family Tree album but the song writing is more mature than on that record. Just treat yourself to some well-produced faux British pop by looking for the novelty jukebox cover in your nearest thrift store. And thank Fuzz, Acid and Flowers that you didn’t pay three figures for it.

~Special notice to the incredible record collectors on the 'Pop 45' Yahoo Group. They are the ones who really deserve the credit for noticing this LP.

*** *** *** ***

*** CHRIS DUFFY: KINDERPOP WEIRDNESS, by Gordon Bennett ***

CHRIS DUFFY - 'Mr Jones, Mr Brown, Mr Smith (And Not Forgetting Charlie Green)'
(SNB 55-3681) 1968.
A Ray Singer production I guess, although -typically of the SNB label - on the 'technical' side, only the engineer, Paul Clay, is credited on the label.
A tone deaf cockney boy delivers a cheerful (or irritating, depending on your taste, or lack of it) slice of Kinksian observational-based toytown pop song. It has been described as "a kid doing Bowie doing Anthony Newley doing a Bowie pastiche".
Built on a tune which seems to base itself around the rhythm of a rag and bone man's pony, ponderously plodding through the back streets of Deptford. Stopping to pick up some lumber. Moving on. Stopping for a dump. Moving on:-

"Mr. Jones has gone to sleep
on the local rubbish 'eap
Someone ought to wake 'im
before they come an' take 'im
Oh, wouldn't it be fun to let 'im sleep
till they come...

"Mr. Smith is in the park
and Charlie Green 'as 'ad a lark
He's put a Guy Fawkes rockit
In his jacket pockit
and Mr. Smith will soon be off to Mars
with a whooosh!"

In the immediately post-Keith West era, such kinder pop whimsy must have seemed like a good idea, or a good laugh, or both. Simon Napier Bell wrote the song and one must surely wonder what it was that he hoped to achieve. There was a chance (albeit extremely remote) of a left-field "novelty hit" but was this really novel enough?
It's novel, but not novel enough to stand out. Weird, but not weird enough for very weird 1968. Ambitious and yet base and lowly. In many ways, this song defies categorisation, although it represents a reductio ad absurdam of pop syke's most treasured conceits.
The song also includes some of the most gloriously contrived and forced rhymes in pop history -

"Mr. Brown is down the shops
his wife said go and buy the chops
But in the pub he's wavin'
spendin' wot she gave 'im
Buying lots of beers and double scotch
for his friends"

'Records', as Charles Shaar Murray wrote, 'as bad as this ought not to be forgotten'. Although it must be said that the hummable melody and production are beyond refute, at the end of the day, it must be said that the title, performance and they very idea of this song (which I assiduously refuse to refer to by its full title!) are just plain peculiar, but somehow not peculiar enough.

*** CLASSIC REPRINT ***

From 'Toffee Sunday Smash' No. 2:-

THE WIMPLE WINCH STORY- AN INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KING, by John Hanrattie.

I consider it one of the great injustices of the world that a band with the magnitude of Wimple Winch is still largely ignored. Attempts are being made at redressing this failure which occurred at the hands of the record buying public, with Bam Caruso in England seemingly spearheading the movement. If you are one of the highly unlucky (or highly confused) and haven't heard Wimple Winch, or even the Just Four Men yet, get yer ass in gear! It's fairly easy to get a good sampling of the band's sound due to their appearance on a couple of different volumes of the Rubble Series. But before you go rushing out the door without your car keys, sit down and read this, my personal effort at redressing sins committed by an ignorant populace.
For any of you readers who fall into the above category (God forbid!) Larry King (formerly Arends) was the drummer for the Just Four Men, an excellent Liverpool beat group that eventually metamorphosed into Wimple Winch, with Larry naturally staying on as drummer. 'Nuff said about that, we'll let Larry tell the story.'

JOHN: How long had you been playing drums before you joined the Silhouettes, and were they your first band?
LARRY: I'd been playing drums for about three months prior to helping form the Silhouettes, and in effect they were the first group I ever played with.

JOHN: Was the band very popular on the club circuit in Liverpool? Any recollections of being chased down the street by hordes of girls?
LARRY: It took a while to build up the name, although Huyton where we first started in 1961, was a very small community when it came to bands. We started playing regularly at one or two youth clubs, and soon after a few weeks the regular audience knew us by our first names. Eventually, after Dee Fenton and the Silhouettes had come and gone, and the Just Four Men came into being, that was when the chasing began. But the peak of it arrived when the Just Four Men had toured with Del Shannon, the Rolling Stones, and Herman's Hermits. It was common practice then to sneak away from venues to avoid the crowds, although if they found out where we had parked the
mini-bus anything loose on it would be torn off as a souvenir. The vehicle was frequently covered with lipstick slogans. It cost us a small fortune in spares. That was from 1964 onwards, after the Beatles had broken through in the charts, and the fact that we were from Liverpool almost automatically assured that we were mobbed wherever we played. Considering we had not yet
charted nationally in the top ten, it was quite an amazing time.

JOHN: In Allan Williams' book where he recounts his days as the Beatles' manager, he talked about the violent gang fights at the Liverpool dances. Was it really as bad as he made it seem?
LARRY: Yeah, gang fights did happen at certain venues, although not all of them. There was a time when we promoted our own gigs in Whiston, that's on the outskirts of Liverpool and in 1962 there was a problem with the local yobbos. They would get angry when the girls stood around in front ogling the bands, and often their boyfriends would start trouble just to mess up the night. Mind you we did command some respect from the toughies, for when we got tough ourselves they often relented. However the worst fight we ever played among was in St. Helens where a riot broke out. That was in the town hall. The whole place went berserk! We played at first, while the fighting
was going on, but when chairs and bottles headed in our direction, we got off the stage using our bodies to protect the gear, 'cause in those days Vox amps were like gold dust, and anyway, broken limbs could be fixed free at the local hospital. Eventually about fifty police arrived and quelled the
mob, although what caused it in the first place still remains a mystery. I didn't really think we were that bad! The local newspaper had it under the headline "Riot at Rock Dance" which didn't do us much use.

JOHN: Did your fee as a band go up once the group began recording as the Just Four Men? Was the group aware at the time that the material was coming out in America, paired up with Freddie and the Dreamers, on a 45 and an album?
LARRY: Yes, the fees did increase, but then with T.V. and radio exposure too, we did develop into a rather hot commodity. We literally doubled our fee during that year of Just Four Men releases; and we could get well up to two hundred pounds a gig at some venues, which in those days would be
equivalent to about eight hundred pounds now I suppose. Mind you, the costs went up also: roadies, hotel bills, equipment, and so on. We didn't have much to spend anyway. The thing about Freddie must have happened after the first single, "That's My Baby". I have a copy of the American release on Tower and the flip is the same as in this country "Things Will Never Be The Same". I think that's after the disappointment of it not charting as a lot of people expected. Tower must have got cold feet and tried to play safe with "There's Not One Thing". Also, as our management was the same as Freddie's, namely Kennedy Street Enterprises, it was probably done to get our name known to a wider audience. Mind you, whatever the sales were of those records, they must have been after Freddie had made number one in the States for we saw very little royalties, more in keeping with sales like five to ten thousand. I do remember the album - that was made a year or two after he had had his hits. Came and went like a firework in those days.

JOHN: The Just Four Men were getting good tours with groups like the Searchers and the Stones, and seemed very promising, why did EMI drop the band? Was it this that caused a change in direction and name?
LARRY: EMI were -and I believe still are- a funny company to be with. Like most mega labels, Parlophone was great when they first signed you, and they would be prepared to spend money on recording and promotion, but that was only for the first two singles. If the artist failed to click as we did, during the first year, more often that not it was automatically the chop - which is what we got. Alot of people went through that system where the accountants and bureaucrats decided who was worth promoting and who wasn't. It was one of those aspects of the business that I've always strove to change, for I've always believed the artist should have as much control over his destiny as possible. When some faceless guy in an office who you seldom, if ever meet decides your fate, then there's something seriously wrong with that company. EMI, for the most part, were contentedly besotted with the Beatles. Anyone else by comparison were small potatoes, and hardly worth a secondglance. The fact that Ron Richards-who was recording the Hollies at the time, was also our producer didn't seem to make much difference. It was also the fact they dropped us which contributed to the name change, although it was not the only or single most important factor. The change had come over a period of about a year, during which we lost our bassist, Keith Sheppherd,
and got Barry Ashall in his place. We changed our style, and also our outlook on life changed. Effective then, the Just Four Men had ceased to exist as we knew it, and therefore it seemed only natural that the group change its name also.

JOHN: I think everyone would like to know, once and for all, the full story behind the name Wimple Winch. Where does it come from and what does it mean?
LARRY: The name Wimple Winch was made up of two separate words and two separate meanings. "Wimple" meant a medieval head covering which was later to be associated with what nuns wear, and a winch is a device for lifting things. John Kelman, the guitarist, had a book that had a device-a Wimple Winch, being used for drawing water out of a very deep and normally inaccessible well. It was after some discussion that the Wimple Winch was decided on as it seemed bizarre enough to reflect the music that we were then gettin' into. We really weren't too bothered about the meaning of the word then. It didn't seem to make any difference. It was all a question of
having a name different enough to make people want to hear more.

JOHN: Did the new name and freakier approach go over better than what the Just For Men had been doing? Were you guys popular in Liverpool, or was it better for you elsewhere? Did you chart anywhere, either in Britain or on the Continent?
LARRY: Not at first. Indeed, we often insisted that our posters and contracts had underneath it "formerly Just Four Men" under Wimple Winch to help the transition. We were based in Manchester quite a lot in those days as the club scene had almost been killed off by the Mersey boom here in Liverpool. Anyone who was still playing the local circuit post merseybeat
was regarded as something of an also-ran and a failure. You were expected to be a big name and so living in Liverpool all the time seemed to be a bad career move. Nobody else was in it at the time anyway. We lived effectively in two places-Liverpool and Manchester, mainly the latter. Then later we moved to Stockport, where our manager Mike Carr opened his club. Working there on gigless nights meant that we eventually became known around there as they got to know us by our first names. Wimple Winch were regulars at the club and after Mike had us support Hendrix during his "Hey Joe" period, we became very popular locally. One of our singles on Fontana charted locally, and was considered by Fontanta to be bubbling under the national charts. Like the Just Four Men singles, they almost made it nationally, but not quite. There were regions where we had got into the local charts but this was a drop in the ocean compared to the overall picture, and it just meant we missed out.
France and Germany also had a similar situation for we did several tours abroad and we found better crowds in some places compared to others.

JOHN: What was a recording session with Wimple Winch like?
LARRY: We would arrive at the studios for the first sessions around 9:00 and have the set up according to the requests of the engineers. They had us screened off with sound-proofing gear, so we had great trouble at the start getting into it, but after the first day we got the feel of it. It was all a question of laying down the instrumental tracks, usually in the form of bass, drums, and guitar. Then the take was played back to provide John the basis for his lead guitar work. Then we would put the vocals on afterwards. We used this system for all the singles-A sides that is. The stuff we used
on the flip was usually one take stuff. The track "Typical British Workmanship" for instance had a lot of sound effects to help illustrate the absurd lyrics. These were done amid lots of laughter as we made them up with our voices, so several takes were required on that one. Also, "Rumble On
Mersey Square South" had this problem 'cause we would get a bit embarrassed after a couple of takes, owing to the simplicity of the effect like Barry howling like a wolf and crying like a baby, and making all kinds of police and siren noises over our voices. I mean, humour can be good, but when it's taking up studio time.... the people there got a bit miffed about all the laughing about, but the gist of the sessions were their relaxed and exciting chemistry that would develop with the producer and the engineers. Dick Leahy was the producer and I think this is what made the Fontana sessions memorable and really without any equal. The studio playback had us higher than kites, and everyone who heard the tracks predicted great things for the band. It was a somewhat different story on the vinyl, though, for a lot of the power and excitement was lost. However, Bam-Caruso's recent issues come close to what I remember it sounding like. In those days mono discs were all we had for singles. We actually had arguments with the head of the label about how they had lost the power and punch during the cutting. Eventually they relented over one aspect-the end of "Rumble" and "Atmospheres". The latter track was in fact part two of "Rumble", for on stage we played those running into each other. They really wanted to scrap it all together as being too long for any single use, but we won this argument, but they issued it as a flip on one of the others. I don't think they were very happy with us after that, mainly because we knew what we wanted, and they couldn't-or wouldn't give it to us.

JOHN: Did the band experiment with or participate in the drug scene that was going on at the time?
LARRY: During Wimple Winch days the only drugs we indulged in were the occasional uppers for driving between gigs, especially the long distance tours. This was outside smoking. Somehow or other it seemed a bit stupid. I don't know, I really didn't get into the drug scene at all during Wimple Winch days. In fact none of us did as far as I can recall.

JOHN: Was there a leader in the band, or was it a democratic process sort of thing?
LARRY: There was no leader in the band as such. I suppose when it came down to having the first say it was usually Dee, as he was one of the original founding members and a songwriter. But overall the problems were resolved by argument and discussion. The logistics of getting the band from A to B was usually in my hands for instance, and sometimes with John, who was the other driver. We'd travel abroad and it was him who had to organise the route and everything else, but I usually recruited the help of the AA (something like the Auto Club here in the States, not Alcoholics Anonymous!) and people like that. When it came to the accounts, again I used to do that because I had the brains.

JOHN: I realise the band didn't consider themselves psychedelic, but were there any bands that you guys did? Were you influenced by anybody in particular?
LARRY: The Velvet Underground, the Pink Floyd, the Beatles after their "Sgt. Pepper" album were influences I think. Also the Beach Boys album "Pet Sounds" we considered as breaking new ground, there was the Who of course, a band we felt ought to be reckoned with as they seemed to hold the essence of that energy, that creative live energy, while at the same time combining it with the most esoteric elements that so many of the other bands who were influenced by LSD were concerned with. I think in retrospect, we were probably closer to the Who than any other band around at the time, however not to the extent that we would copy them, more a coincidence. Mind you, a lot of names were around at the time, the Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish, the Jefferson Airplane, although I think they may have come to notice after Wimple Winch had been on the road for some time. Effectively, I cant really say that we were deliberately influenced by anybody, apart from those I mentioned.

JOHN: Was there any friction in the band between members? Did you guys hang out socially?
LARRY: Its hard to say, they all had their differences, like I did. There was friction sometimes serious, leading to threats of quitting and so forth, but it was usually resolved by compromise. I think we all realised we needed each other, despite our differences, and it was this that was a way to holding it together. Sometimes if we had a spell of no gigs we would go
out to a pub or get together in the daytime, eating out or going to see some
friends.

JOHN: What was a Wimple Winch live show like? What kind of equipment did the band use?
LARRY: From my point of view it was bloody hard work, but then drummers always have this problem. The equipment we used were Vox and Marshall, and we had Ludwig drums. That was the basic formula we kept to, apart from the odd changes over the years. The transport we had during Wimple Winch days was a Ford 1500 mini-bus.

JOHN: In the liner notes of the Bam-Caruso album it says that "Atmospheres" took
twelve takes to get it down to single length. Was this true for a lot of the
material the band recorded?
LARRY: Those liner notes on the album "Psychedelic Snarl" are not one hundred percent accurate, but as far as I can remember it was about eight takes for that particular track, and on some songs we got them the first time. "Invisible Man"
was one of them, but we never released that, well, not "we"-Fontana never released it. It's still lying around in the archives somewhere.

JOHN: Was there a conscious effort to change the sound from the "harder" approach of the Fontana singles to the more flower-power sound of the demos like "Bluebell Wood" and "Lollipop Minds"?
LARRY: Not as far as I was concerned. Those flower-power songs were done only as demos. I guess if we had gone into Fontana again, I would've hardened them up a bit anyway. But I suppose Dee as a writer was moving away from the heavier stuff as the time. He was very much into the sort of lightweight things by comparison. I mean Pet Sounds seems to have had a great influence on him later on.

JOHN: What do you consider to be your favourite Wimple Winch track? And your least favourite?
LARRY: My favourite track of those released, "Rumble" I think rates the highest, so does "Save My Soul". And the least, I suppose the first release.

JOHN: Songs like "Atmospheres" and "Rumble" are complicated, intricate songs. Weren't they hard to do live?
LARRY: yeah, but after a while it became easier, but then some of the excitement went out of them also. Mind you, playing the same songs time after time can get a bit boring after a while unless you change the arrangements or improvise a bit-so we used to do this.

JOHN: Did the band ever do any T.V. appearances or BBC radio shows?
LARRY: We did some radio shows for the BBC and the odd regional T.V. appearance, but I can't recall the names of these shows. As the Just Four Men we did Thank Your Lucky Stars.

JOHN: Why the name change, from Arends to King?
LARRY: The name change, from Arends to King was for professional reasons, cause everyone spelled the other one wrong most of the time. Even Bam Caruso spelled it wrong. I was rather pissed off with them over that.

These days, Larry concerns himself with his photography business in Liverpool, as well as editing his own small newspaper entitled "Spheres" (named after "Atmospheres"), though I understand it recently merged with another small Liverpool paper and is now called "Somethin' Else". Larry is also drumming with a band called the Paragons, who play around Liverpool. It is obvious that he is very busy these days, and I am indebted to him for his time and efforts in this project.

LARRY: The sixties were better times as we all felt something was really happening then. Being in a rock band was a total lifestyle. I think we were regarded as freaks-that is people in bands, just doing what we did to create publicity and make the money. Of course, all those follow throughs like Woodstock and the hippies and so on were infiltrated by the nasty types who ruined it for everyone. There seemed to be a lack of discipline and too much of a free for all attitude that allowed dope pushers and killers to fuck up the whole thing. Today we're paying for those mistakes-the industrialists are still ruining the environment as are the careless people all over the world. Advances in high tech have not improved the quality of life much, and the cost outweighs the benefits. Mind you, it seemed to be the people in bands who've been the real forces then, I mean like the Beatles and Dylan. They had influence over young people, but like any artist, it was of limited effect.

*** *** ***

In a month in which someone (an alleged "investor/collector") paid the oddly symmetrical figure of £1,111 for a stock copy of Tintern Abbey, our editor asks...

*** JUST HOW RARE IS "RARE"? by Paul Cross ***

According to the archives of major companies like EMI and Decca, it was standard practise that approx 500 DEMO COPIES of a single would be pressed. This figure is to some extent variable, but was not usually lower than 200, unless the run was curtailed for any reason. In some instances (The Beatles, etc) a larger number would be pressed, say 800 or 1000.
The majors usually (again The Beatles were a different matter, as were some other big names) initially pressed 2000 to 5000 STOCK COPIES per issue. They would then quickly re-press if demand warranted.
Where a record was a total flop, few STOCK COPIES were ever purchased or even distributed, and so a low number went into circulation, and of course after 30 + years, fewer copies have survived. In many such cases, STOCK COPIES were destroyed: the unsold stock was destroyed after the distributors had returned it to the label, together with the undistributed stock which had not even left the warehouse.
The "rarity" in such cases as the sole Tintern Abbey single is derived not from the initial number of copies pressed but from the number of copies known (or in most cases believed or rumoured) to have survived.
Over the years, the question of just how "rare" this 45 is has been asked time and again, especially in the light of the alarmingly high number of demo and stock copies which have regularly circulated. Many of us only paid a few quid for our copy (or copies!), and know of friends who only paid a few quid, but of these only a relative few are now being re-sold. It's a record that people have a tendency now to hang on to. Although, bearing this in mind, and since this article was first written, yet another copy of this supposed "Holy Grail of psych music" has been sold. It seems that to find this record your quest doesn't have to take you any further than the monthly eBay listings!
The high "value" is another matter. The value of this single is determined not so much by the rarity (after all, there are plenty of cheaper records that are far, far rarer), as by reputation. To this must be factored in the recent raised profile of UK psych, the recent expansion of the market, particularly via eBay, and and hype (from dealers mostly) this record receives and... Bingo! you have a sky high price.
All of this is of course taboo. Collectors don't wish to contemplate that their prized rarity is actually more common than they fervently believe, and the dealers don't want you cottoning on cos then you might not pay them so much for a copy.

THE FUTURE:
The long-term (10 years +) economic prediction (based on comparative market models, changing demographics, etc.) done by Dr. Christopher Hodkin, regarding UK Psych records is that such prices will fall. This happened with (most) 1930s, 1940s and now 1950s records because those markets shrunk. In the 1970s there was a massive revival of interest in 1950s recordinga, this created a highly buoyant market, but since then many (older) buyers have died, retired or (the younger ones have) moved onto collecting other genres, or moved out of collecting records altogether. $100 1950s records which a dealer could have sold ten, a hundred times over, now gather dust. In time, the same will doubtless happen to psych, it is happening already to some of the less interesting early 60s records (the period preceding psych). Whilst there may presently be (a relatively small number of) obsessive collectors willing to stump up extortionate prices, it should be borne in mind that this is unsubstainable over time. The old-timers will die or leave the collecting field (due to impoverishment as a result of retirement), the same will then happen to the more fickle younger fans, followed by relatively less and less new blood coming into the scene to sustain it and so over time the scene will die and the market will stagnate.

*** 'LULU', by Amanda Cohen ***

No, not the pint-sized age-less chanteuse with the Irn-Bru vocal chords, but the name of a song, the flip to 'Toby's Shop' by Italian(?) popsters Cyan, about which I waffled and enthused so rapturously in last month's SFA. 'Lulu' is also a chanteuse, "the greatest girl in town" a sex bomb from 1920's Paris. The Paris of Josephine Baker, flappers, drinking champagne from silken slippers at Maxim's.
With its double-tracked (phased) megaphone lead vocal (a typically "1920s" sound which was hijacked and de-/re-contextualised by the perm-haired pretty boys of the Psych Generation) , the bounciness of a 'Zebedy Zack', the sky high ambitions of The Beatles and the feel of 'Circus' by The Koobas, with its repeated oompah-oompah rhythm, sudden bursts of bubblegum brass, slide-whistle, high-register keys, and 'Lady Madonna'-style long fade, 'Lulu' is a glittering 5-star popsyke winner. The "time waits for no-one" refrain underscores the song as a vanitas, a memento mori. Lulu is young, talented beautiful, but when the grains of sands in the hourglass, that so perfectly mirrors her divine figure, have finished running, she herself will be little more than dust.
The first half of the 1970s were so rich in the sounds that we have come to call pop skye, that to this day those years still represent a vast terra incognita for the intrepid explorer. All he needs is to remove the welded-on "60s-only" (patent) blinkers and strike out on his own to search for the pleasure domes of Xanadu.

Please allow me also to make a note that Cyan have nothing at all to do with the neo-proggers of the same name who cut the 'Echoes' album. Also, Cyan's other singles, with the exception of the wonderful, Macca-esque 'Louise (My little Ship)', whilst being sterling examples of glittering pop magic, are much less syke-orientated. Catchy and commercial, even twee they may be, but in no way bendy enough for the glaze-eyed SFA mouth-frother crew.

*** THE CASE OF THE MISSING SYD, by Derek Gunning ***

Despite his career ending (at least in terms of contemporarily released products) over 30 years ago, Syd Barrett remains warm, if not exactly hot, media property. Barely a month passes without his photo or an article about his work / his "tragedy" appearing in some mag or other. More column inches are devoted to the musically long defunct Barrett than most artists with a far higher public profile. He has become a legend. There are regular trawls through the EMI archives by those desperate to find even the tiniest snippet of tape once blessed by his musical hand. Some bad bongo playing, a sneeze, or a fart are rescued from oblivion. Even now there are those daft twats who still "know where Syd Barrett lives". Fanzines have proliferated, as do web sites and on-line forae. He is an object of fascination (and indeed unhealthy obsession) from the well-meaning to the downright crazed. Lurid stories abound and it's all fed back to us and made hip and groovy under the tawdry "acid casualty" banner. Rock's pathetic attempt to glamorise drugs and mental illness, and churn out the age-old artist/genius/madman myth. That Barrett has for so long been sitting high in rock's firmament (there! you can just see him to the right of God, next to Nick Drake and slightly below Lennon) says much about the nature of celebrity, especially the destruction and exploration wreaked by an invasive media, but really says very little about his music.
Somewhere along the way, we've all got so wrapped up in the endlessly re-told tales of Mandrax and Brylcream, bizarrely painted fridges, shaved head, refusal to lip-sync, one chord strumming blah blah blah, the whole iconic "Syd as Rimbaudian crazed genius" hype, that we've lost track of the original point of our interest - the sounds emitted through speakers when stylus came into contact with spinning vinyl disc.
With all the focus on Syd's hair-dos, his paintings and his trips to the local shops to buy some carrots, his solo work has fallen off the radar. We've taken for granted the media-constructed image of Syd Barrett for so long, even got bored with him, with reading about him, grown contemptuous even, that we've switched off because Syd Barrett it seems is everywhere. And so we haven't actually noticed that the thugs have made off with the family silver; for all intents and purposes Syd Barrett has quietly been evicted from his shabby caravan in the UK psych field. While he dominates the retro-media mags and the listening hours of specific Syd devotees, he is noticeably absent from the parallel UK psych-centered universe. Syd Barrett is missing from the underground. Lost in action, a victim of media saturation bombing. He isn't discussed much on psych fansites and he barely ever gets a mention here in SFA.
But worst of all is that in the high street mag's largest attempt at a systematic overview of British psych-related records (well, not really it's more a look at some "collectable"/"valuable"/"rare" psych-related releases, but it suits my argument), Syd barely got a mention. The writers didn't even list his post-Floyd solo work despite chucking him a bone by the backhand in a piece on the Soft Machine, in which it was stated that -
" 'The Madcap Laughs' and Kevin Ayers' 'Joy Of A Toy' [also omitted!], despite being hillariously absent from the series, were "two of the final ["final"?!?!] flourishes of British Psychedelia from two of its most important figures".
Whilst much of his solo work is ragged, uneven, unfinished "difficult", almost tuneless, annoying and dispiriting, material such as 'No Good Trying', 'Love You', 'No Man's Land', 'Late Night', 'Love Song', 'Dominoes' and 'Octopus' sound right and feel right and by Jove! they are right!
In 'Golden Hair' Barrett makes even James Joyce sound tripped out; and the lengthened vocal sound, double tracking and keyboards alone on 'Long Gone' rank among the greatest treasures of the UK genre. Syd's music is the perfect antidote to the seemingly unstoppable march of straight society to homogenise and pasteurise pop music and pop star, and in fact to homogenise people too.
But Barrett's auto-destruct (and supposed "lost in the woods" type auto-diagnosis) attributes together with half-truths and lies have overshadowed and engulfed his musical legacy. Then, this ruin has been set upon by the necrophiles and sickos and exploited by a pack of media dogs whose principal lust is for money. Sadly the attentions of the cult audience - the British psych head - who first made him famous have long since been focussed elsewhere for their aural kicks.
Maybe it is now time for British psych to reclaim Barrett the solo artist. To reclaim him from the mountain of anecdotes and legends about his life and his "madness", and to listen afresh to his music, and to reposition his solo work not on the periphery in the dying rays of psychedelia but at the very heart of the genre.

*** MORE AMERICAN JAM BAND, by Paul Cross ***

AMERICAN JAM BAND - 'Jam Jam' / 'Back On The Road' (Youngblood YB1056) 1972.
Following the recent things wot I wrote in SFA, I dug this 45 out and gave it a spin after years of never playing it. I was surprised, following what I was lead to believe, that the A-side was written by C. Evans, namely Chris Evans of Kansas Hook and the American Jam Band, AKA Christopher Robin of the World Of Oz!!! The lead vocal on the A-side is easily recognisable as his voice.
'Jam Jam' opens with enough phasing to sink a battleship - and is spookily similar to Esprit De Corp's 'If (Would It Turn Out wrong)' - before moving into a psych-tinged Glam stomper, with same tune as and only slightly different lyrics to the 'American Jam' single (Parlophone R5971) 1972.

It can now be confirmed that the single had a curious history. Rob Moore of the band had no knowledge of the release (and hence the source of the statement in SFA 27 to the effect that it "is the work of a different outfit.") and still has no idea how it came to be released. However upon listening to a copy of the 45 in my possession, he stated that 'Jam Jam' is the work of the same band (AKA Kansas Hook), and is "an early run through before the lyrics were changed", recorded at A.I.R Studios. Rob remembers the band talking to Youngblood in 1971, but as far as he was concerned, things went no further.
The B-side, the stodgy 'Back On The Road' is certainly the work of an entirely different - and unrelated - band.

Oh yeah, I also should have said before: 'Manhattan Woman', the B-side of 'Echo Park, by Kansas Hook, was a cover version of the track by Tin Tin. It has (to my ears) a slight edge over the original.

~Many thanks to Rob Moore and Chris Smith.

*** PREVIEWS ***

'GREAT BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC SINGLES BOX' VOL 1 (Acme AC45BOX 1)
Facsimile edition of 6 singles. Limited edition 500 copies only.
(1) Tintern Abbey - Vacuum Cleaner / Beeside (Deram)
(2) Accent - Red Sky At Night / Wind Of Change (Decca)
(3) Syn - Created By Clive / Grounded (Deram)
(4) Virgin Sleep - Secret / Comes A Time (Deram)
(5) Attack - Try It / We Dont Know (Decca)
(6) Ice - Iceman / Whisper Her Name (Maria Laine) (Decca)

'GREAT BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC SINGLES BOX' VOL 2 (Acme AC45BOX 2)
Facsimile edition of 6 singles. Limited edition 500 copies only.
(1) Attack - Neville Thumbcatch / Lady Orange Peel (Decca)
(2) Human Instinct - Renaissance Fair / Pink Dawn (Deram)
(3) Flies -I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone / Talk To Me (Decca)
(4) Poets - Wooden Spoon / In Your Tower (Decca)
(5) Fire - Fathers Name Is Dad / Treacle Toffee World (Decca)
(6) The End - Shades Of Orange / Loving Sacred Loving (Decca)

Two boxes containing a dozen classic singles from the Decca/Deram labels. Taken from the mastertapes, housed in attractive psychedelic boxes and and with booklets. First time ever reissued legally. Amazing!!!
Available mid June+/-
Pre-orders from sales@acmerecords.co.uk and nick@heyday-mo.com
Due in May: the following comp from The New Untouchables to coincide with 'Modstock' featuring current line-ups of The Yardbirds, The Creation and The Action:

'TAILOR MADE BEAT' (Sanctuary) CD comp (and probably also on 2-LP!)
1. Sexologie - Danyel Gerrard
2. Du Hast Mich - Howard Carpendale
3. Glory Be (My Mix) - Daisy Clan
4. Electric Latin Soul - Flash & The Dynamics
5. Hip Hip Hurray - Snap Shots
6. No No No - Ola & Janglers
7. Mess Around - Marmalade
8. Take Me Back - Plastic Penny
9. Born A Free Man - Pipps
10. Easy To Know - Gentle Influence
11. All You - Sonny Burke Quartet
12. Nowhere To Run - Les Lionceaux
13. I Surrender - Bonny St. Claire
14. Billy Sunshine - Judi Scott
15. Babelatando - I 5
16. Hey Hey Bunny - Los Gatos Negros
17. I Think I'm A Man - Chopper
18. Bring Your Love Back To Me - Simon K & Meantimers
19. Loot - Steve Ellis
20. I'm Alive - Don Fardon
21. Just The Same As You - Knut Kieswetter
22. Ring The Changes - David Walker
23. Mary Mary - Strangers
24. You'd Better Get Goin' Now - Zoot
25. Hard Headed Baby - Driftin' 5
26. Cos' It's Over - Summer Set

The following Past & Present items are due 26th April 2004. All are available from Heydal Mail order, email: nick@heyday-mo.com
'WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT' (Past & Present PAPRBOX09) 3 x CD comp (Boxed)
DISC ONE: The Tremeloes: Suddenly Winter, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich: The Sun Goes Down, Billy Fury: Baby, Get Yourself Together, Mae West: Shakin' All Over, Dion: Purple Haze, The Sweet: Time, Gene Vincent: Bird Doggin', Dave Clark 5: Maze Of Love, Troggs: Maybe The Madman, Hermans Hermits: Daisy chain Pt.1, Bobby Darin: I Can See The Wind, Billy J. Karmer: Chinese Girl, Bee Gees: The Ernest Of Being George, Muddy Waters: I Just Want To Make Love To You, Chris Farlowe: Moanin', Mud: flower Power, Hollies: Try It, Bobby Vee: (I'm Into Looking For) Someone To Love Me, Dusty Springfield: Crumbs Off The Table, Manfred Mann: There Is A Man, The Love Affair: Sea Of Tranquility, Paul Jones: The Dog Presides, Mindbenders: My New Day & Age, The Four Seasons: Look Up Look Over, Peter Wyngarde: Rape
DISC TWO: Bobby Vee: (I'm Into Looking For) Someone To Love Me, Mae West: Shakin' All Over, Muddy Waters: I Just Want To Make Love To You, Dion: Purple Haze, Gene Vincent: Bird Doggin', The Chipmunks & canned Heat: The Chipmunk Song, Del Shannon: I Think I Love You, Bo Diddley: Elephant Man, Four Seasons: Look Up, Look Over, Pat Boone: Song To The Siren, David McCallum: Communication, William Shatner: Mr. Tambourine Man, Howlin' Wolf: Smokestack Lightning 68
DISC THREE: Tremeloes: Suddenly Winter, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich : The Sun Goes Down, Billy Fury: Get Yourself Together, Mud: You're My Mother, Billy J. Kramer: Chinese Girl, Bee Gees: The Ernest Of Being George, Sounds Inc: Dead As A Go Go, Hollies: Try It, Troggs: Maybe The Madman, Hermans Hermits: Daisy Chain Pt.1, Manfred Mann: There Is A Man, Paul Jones: The Dog Presides, Mindbenders: My New day & Age, The Sweet: The Juicer, Chris Farlowe: Moanin', Dave Clark 5: Maze Of Love

'WE CAN FLY' VOLUME 5 (Past & Present PAPRCD2058) CD comp.
1. CIRCUS, 2. HARSH REALITY, 3. IVEYS, 4. OLD GOLD, 5. HUMAN INSTINCT, 6. KEITH REIF, 7. EPISODE SIX, 8. GNOMES OF ZURICH, 9. SAKER, 10. KIM FOWLEY, 11. LOOT, 12. BUNCH, 13. MONTANAS, 14. GROEP 1850, 15. CHRIS MCCLURE, 16. FRUIT MACHINE, 17. GIORGIO, 18. EAST OF EDEN, 19. I CURUI, 20. ELMER GANTLY'S VELVET OPERA, 21. GIBSONS, 22. ORANGE PEEL, 23. MIRAGE, 24. CEDARS, 25. CUBY & THE BUZZARDS, 26. THE SILVER EAGLE 27. NITE PEOPLE, 28. THE NOCTURNES, 29. DANNY MCCULLOCH

'THAT DRIVING BEAT' VOLUME 5 (Past & Present PAPRCD2056) CD comp.
1.CHRISTIANS CRUSADERS - Honey Hush, 2. JUNCO PARTNERS - As Long As I Have You, 3. RATTLES - Say All Right, 4. HOT SPRINGS - All I Know About Love, 5. THE ELCORT - Searchin', 6. THE OUTSIDERS - Keep On Doing It, 7. BRIAN DIAMOND & THE CUTTERS - Bone Idol 8. THE REVOLUTION - Shades Of Blue, 9. BO ST RUNNERS - Get Out Of My Way, 10. CORDUROYS - Too Much Of A Woman, 11. STOVEPIPE NO.4 - My Babe, 12. SOUL AGENTS - Seventh Son, 13. ZEPHYRS - Sweet Little Baby, 14. MARK 4 - Going Down Fast, 15. JIMMY ROYAL & THE HAWKS - I'm Leaving You, 16. MOQUETTES - You Came Along, 17. MIDKNIGHTS - Just For Me, 18. DAVE DAVANI - Tossin' & Turnin', 19. MEL TURNER & THE MOHICANS - Doin' the Ton, 20. BOSTON CRABS - Alley Oop, 21. PENTAD - Silver Dagger, 22. BANSHEES - I Got A Woman, 23. MIKE COTTON SOUND - I got My Eyes On You, 24. JIMMY POWELL & 5 DIMENSIONS - I'm Looking For A Woman, 25. LONG & SHORT - Love Is A Funny Thing, 26. GARY FARR & T-BONES - Don't Stop & Stare, 27. SELFKICK - Gosh! I'm Your Woman, Not Your Wife 28. JUST FOUR MEN - Don't Come Any Closer, 29. HUSTLERS - Sick Of Giving, 30. OUTLAWS - Keep A Knocking

'INSTRO HIPSTERS' VOLUME 5 (Past & Present PAPRCD2057) CD comp.
Artists: 1. SOUND SIXTY-SIX, 2. TONY BRANS BAND, 3. HARRY STONEHAM, 4. JOHN MAYER & INDO JAZZ, 5. JOHN DANKWORTH ORCHESTRA, 6. GRAHAM BOND ORG, 7. BRIAN BENNETT, 8. JOHN SCHROEDER ORCHESTRA, 9. ALAN MOORHOUSE ORCHESTRA 10. GALACTIC FEDERATION, 11. VELVET FOGG, 12. HOWIE G. CONDER, 13. POWERPACK, 14. MIKE COTTON SOUND, 15. ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN, 16. HERD, 17. ALAN HAVEN, 18. LES YPER SOUNDS, 19. TITAN STUDIO ORCHESTRA, 20. THUNDER COMPANY, 21. Ray McVay ORCHESTRA, 22. GABRIELI BRASS, 23. MIKE CARR & TONY CROMBIE, 24. IVOR SLANEY & HIS ORCHESTRA

*** REVIEWS ***

QUINTESSENCE - 'In Blissful Company' (Repertoire REPUK 1009) CD
Quintessence are yet another of those incredibly talented bands who have been forcibly removed from the spot-lit centre stage by a new breed of collecors/anoraks and deposited somewhere in the stygian gloom. As Chris Welch puts it in his thoroughly enjoyable amd most excellent sleevenotes:-

"Of all the diverse groups that emerged during the late Sixties, this band was perhaps the most inventive, exotic and yet sadly overlooked. While the spotlight shone brightly on bands like Pink Floyd and Procol Harum, it seemed Quintessence were destined to remain forever 'underground'."

For those of us who can still remember such delightful gatherings as 'Implosion' at the Roundhouse, Quintessence were one of the highlights of the hippie scene and served up a genuinely psychedelic brew strongly-laced with Hindu spiritual vibes. Some have said that perhaps it was the religion which later put people off, but I think it's mostly due to the fact that post-'Rubble'/post-'Choc Soup' pop has taken centre stage on the psych agenda and anything without a snappy soul-derived backbeat, a catchy pop arrangement and syrupy great dollops of studio frills, has been pushed to one side by the revisionists, dealers, comilers, journos and self-styled 'psych gurus', all those who like to keep things neat and simple (mostly to cover up their own inadequacies). Bands such as Quintessence whose loose jazzy structures, religious message, obviously genuine commitment to the ideals of the underground, and decidedly non-pop sound just don't fit in the revisionists' pigeon hole, (this is inspite of the most obvious elements - Jim Morrison vocal vibe, trippy lyrics, Hendrixian guitar bursts and Barney Bubbles presentation). Quintessence have been ostracised, neglected. Now they're only for the head-strong, for those of us wilful old gits who can remember what the London scene really sounded like, and perhaps for anyone who's big enough to want to find out for themselves. To you this digipak CD reissue of the beatific 1969 debut album is strongly recommended.
Om mam sat.
Both sides of the 45 come as bonus tracks.

MELLOW CANDLE - 'Swaddling Songs' (ACME) CD: (ADCD1040) LP: (ADLP1040)
The Acme gang have done it again - another excellent re-issue job! This time it's the classic mega bucks folk-rock beauty from Irish hippies Mellow Candle.
SFA-ers will most probably be most interested in the addition of two bonus tracks - both sides of the SNB 45 'Feeling High'/'Tea With The Sun'. Whilst neither track are "psychedelic" (despite being hyped as such in some quarters), they are nevertheless two lovely pop curios which have never hitherto been reissued and will doubtless be of interest to those who've never heard the original single.

'PSYCHODELICIAS: Vol. 7 - NINETEEN SOUTH AMERICAN SURF & INSTRO GREATS FROM THE 60s' (What's That Sound 676807) CDR comp. Limited edition: 35 copies only.
1 - Los Holys - Choque de vientos
2 - Los Belkings - Confesiones a media noche
3 - Los Derbys - SOS
4 - Los Sonic - La chica del vestido verde
5 - Los Belkings - Ilusionate chica
6 - Los Incas modernos - Besame mucho
7 - Los Belkings - Rompe o las
8 - Los Belkings - Funerales
9 - Los Holys - El hombre desnudo
10 - The Golden Stars - Past verde
11 - Los Jaguars - Selena
12 - Los Belkings - Tal como tu eres
13 - Los Bonny Boy's Hot's - virgennes del sol
14 - Los Belkings - Tema para jovenes enamorados
15 - Los Jaguars - La rosa negra
16 - Los Belkings - Bolido de fuego
17 - Los Holys - Spectro I
18 - Los Holys - Hawai 5-0
19 - Los Jaguars - Evasion
The final (or is it???) volume in the series gathers up some non-psych groovers from the Latin countries. A lovely way to wrap things up. Hipefully this series will be tree-ed, so more peepe will be able to enjoy these sounds.
Available exclusively from pepperlander@hotmail.com

*** *** *** *** *** DOWNUNDER PSCENE *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

*** 'THE HAPPY PRINCE', by Paul Hodges ***

THE LA DE DA'S - 'The Happy Prince' ([New Zealand:] EMI/HMV SCXO 7899) 04/69.
The La De Das were one of the greatest outfits to come out of 1960s New Zealand. They had their origins in a local (Auckland) R&B/beat band, The Mergers, who started out in 1963. They are best known as "New Zealand's Rolling Stones" and held in particularly high esteem for their awesome cover of the S.Duboff - A.Kornfeld song 'How Is The Air Up There?' ([NZ:] Philips PF 338077)) 05/66, a powerful bone-crunching blast of what Lenny Kaye would later call "punk" and Phil Smee would call "freakbeat" (but which the band would have called something else at the time).

In the Spring of '67, whilst recording 'Find Us A Way', the second La De Das' album, the La's bass player, Trevor Wilson, came up with the idea of a musical version/interpretation of Oscar Wilde's 'The Happy Prince', (first published London, 1888) a truly revolutionary idea for something which would, by the end of the sixties, be called a "concept album" or a "rock opera", but an idea so revolutionary in early 1967 that no-one other than Bruce Howard (keyboards) took it seriously.
Slowly, Trevor and Bruce made plans and pieced the project together, and luckily the rest of the world started to catch up. In Melbourne later that year, the La De Das saw The Twilights performing at Bertie's in Melbourne:-
"Fresh from their recent trip to England, decked out in the latest Carnaby Street gear, The Twilights were currently wowing local audiences with their famous note-perfect live renditions of the entire Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album."

The sudden realisation that the times were indeed a-changin hit the Las instantly and with great force.
Following five month's back home, the La De Das returned to Australia in February '68. This time the band were thoroughly psychedelic and featured sitar, flute, mandolin and cello, performing material by Traffic in their amazing live shows. The album evolved slowly until late in the year the first tracks were rehearsed, and in early 1969 recording of the album commenced using two electronically synchronised 4-track recorders, which meant that 'The Happy Prince' was by default, Australia's first 8-track recording! It was finally released in April of that year.

I have never quite come to terms with just how brilliant this album is! It is, that most over-used of terms, a genuine work of art.
It opens with mellifluous flute and the first of Adrian Rawlings' readings from Wilde's classic story...

"High above the city, on a tall column, stood the Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold..."

'Covered In Gold', the first track, is a masterly slice of soulful pop. Hammond and brass to the fore, with excellent pacing, pauses, anticipations, and a Phil Keys' lead vocal with tons of passion on the theme of life's injustices. In fact, Keys' lead vocals are impressive throughout the entire album. they're powerful yet without recourse to rock's most tiresome clichés.
'Ruby For The Lady' has a similar arrangement to the opener and is also on the subject of the unjust distribution of wealth; with flute replacing brass, but retaining churchy Hammond. It is slow paced and majestic.
The next two tacks were also issued as a 45 (Columbia DO 8802) 1969: 'Come And Fly With Me' ("Come and fly with me up in the sky with me...") is a great pop groover with a delicious Hammond coda which links perfectly with the intro to 'Swallow, Little Swallow'. "Swallow" is a pop-skye swayer with a fairground vibe and curious time signatures.
'You Can't Take It With You' again contains some funky Hammond moves, with monologue interludes ("What is the meaning of the word 'success'? Do you think it could be money? Perhaps it's better that they save their money? But it's they who ought to know, you can't take it with you when you go") topped off with an almost histrionic, wobbled, double-tracked lead vocal and oodles of delicious studio trickery, in particular the low-lying backwards fuzz guitar! Simply purr-fect.
'Life Is Leaving' is beautiful, a flute-lead intro, then organ, then piano.
'Tales Of The Nile' displays the influence of Traffic, and has a backwards backing track throughout, decorated with lovely harpsichord trills. It's a wee bit like XTC/the Dukes doing their 60's psych retro-bit but 20-years ahead of time.
'Winter Song' is a great pop track lavishly decorated with tasty fuzz guitar-keyboard interplay.
'Lullabye' isn't a lullaby in the normal sense, this is about the eternal sleep of death; melancholic sitar-pop which has me thinking of the Pretty Things (circa 'SF Sorrow') on a downer.
'Civic Pride' is tasty progressive pop, and 'Chant' is a rousing work of two halves to finish the album - the first half is a sitar lead chant/hymn with a maori vibe, the second half is full of choral Hallelujahs!

Theatrical, camp as hell in parts (as befitting Wilde), but never flippant or obtuse, the subtle nuances and aesthetic socialism link the two eras, as does the Wildean "Cult of Beauty". Beautifully written pop songs are done justice by wonderful performances and sympathetic arrangements. The songs are linked thematically, but they also stand alone, and can be appreciated outside the context of the story. And the readings from the story (abridged, edited highlights) are not simply there to link the songs together in an artificialmanner but with their accompaniment of low-key acoustic guitar or Hammond, they are an essential component of a fully-integrated artistic whole. It must also be added that the abridgement of Wilde's text is masterful, it maintains the essential elements of the tale, even if it dispenses with much of the delicious purple prosody.

The best way to appreciate this album is to enshroud yourself in silk and velvet, draw the heavy curtains against the sun, drape yourself over a chaise longue or a pile of Moroccan cushions, fill up your opium pipe and totally get into the right mood, with the left-hand side of your brain in late-60s Australasia, the right-hand in fin-de-siècle London...
'The Happy Prince' easily ranks alongside the best British releases of the era. And its music & narrative format, cannot fail to face comparison with 'Ogdens' (Small Faces) or 'Letherslade Farm' (Jigsaw). Against such works it easily holds its own. But also, like those twom albums it is criticised out of hand by those who have missed the very point of the exercise, and feel that the narrative parts somehow "get in the way" of the music.
If all "concept albums" sounds this good, and achieved such a sharp focus (due mainly to the time the album was in gestation), then the term "concept album" would not be one of abuse and censure.
Curiously, in 'Dreams, Fantasies and Nightmares', Vernon Joynson et al., pass no comment on this masterpiece (which, bearing in mind most of their other musical judgements) is probably no bad thing!!! In striking contrast, for the most impressive La De Da's internet presence, visit the band's entry on the very fab Milesago site: http://www.milesago.com/Artists/ladedas.htm

*** ADRIAN HAWKINS, by Bill A. Bong ***

The sonorous voice of the narrator of 'The Happy Prince' belongs to celebrated poet, performer, organiser, promoter, wit and racontour(he'd also been labelled "ratbag, stirrer and hipster"!), Adrian Rawlins (b.1939 d.12/9/2001).
Adrian was also MC of Australia's first underground rock festival, the Woodstock-inspired Ourimbah, NSW "Pilgrimage For Pop" held on Australia Day weekend, 24-25th January 1970 and attended by 10,000 hippies. In January 1971 he also hosted the Myponga and Wallacia festivals.
His voice also appears on the album 'Twelve Selves' by former Soft Machine member Hugh Hopper. The album includes voice loops recorded by Hopper in 1963, and also features the voices of Daevid Allen, William Burroughs and Arthur Brown.
Adrian's statue, suitably immortalised as the laughing guy in the top hat, stands on Brunswick Street in Melbourne.

In 1968-69 Adrian was closely involved with The La De Das, and attended many of the rehearsals for the album. He was profoundly impressed with the work, going so far as to compare the music to Dvorak.
Unfortunately Sweet Peach the outfit who'd promised the Las a release of the album, cancelled the deal in late 1968, leaving the disappointed Trevor Wilson with little hope of ever realising the project. However, on his way north to Townsville in December 1968, Adrian stopped off in Sydney to catch the La De Das at the Here Disco in North Sydney. Learning of the collapse of the Sweet Peach deal, he exhorted the band not to give up and his enthusiasm convinced organist and main writer Trevor Wilson to give it one more try. Gathering support from manager Harry Widmer and the Cordon Bleu agency, Barry Kimberly of publishers Essex Music, and EMI, Wilson managed to stitch together a deal to record the album for EMI under producer David Woodley-Page. Adrian was invited to read the excerpts from Wilde's story, which were used to link the various musical segments. His voice is so well-suited to the material, that it is almost as if Wilde himself was resurrected.

*** LYRICS ***

'Tales from the Riverbank', by THE JAM.

Bring you a tale from the pastel fields
Where we ran when we were young
This is a tale from the water meadows
Trying to spread some hope into your heart
It's mixed with happiness - it's mixed with tears
Both life and death are carried in this stream
That open space you could run for miles
Now you don't get so many to the pound

True it's a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it's a dream that I'll always hang on to
That I'll always run to
Won't you join me by the riverbank

Paradise found down by the still waters
Joined in the race to the rainbow's end
No fears no worries just a golden country
Woke at sunrise, went home at sunset

Now life is so critical, life is too cynical
We lose our innocence, we lose our very soul

True it's a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it's a dream that I'll always hang on to
That I'll always run to
True it's a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it's a dream that I'll always hang on to
That I always run to
Won't you join me by the riverbank
Come on and join me by the riverbank

'De Nata, Fresa y De Limon', by MIKE Y TOTI.

Soy el mensajero del dulce frio de color,
Hago que repiquen las campanillas
del paladar.
Soy el heladero, si, que ya llegó.
Y los niños vienen hacia mi como por imán.

Déme un helado, por favor,
de nate, freas y de limón,
oh oh oh oh.
Démelo muy grande, por favor.
con chocolate que es mejor
oh oh oh oh.

Con mi carro blanco al verano le doy sabor.
Todos los chiquillos un arco iris van a probar.
Por unas monedas doy menos calor.
Todos, todos viéndome venir se relamen ya.

Déme un helado, por favor,
de nate, freas y de limon,
oh oh oh oh.
Démelo muy grande, por favor.
con chocolate que es mejor
oh oh oh oh.

A mi primero,
señor heladero.
Mire que se cuelan,
tenga mi dinero.

Deme un helado, por favor,
de nate, freas y de limon,
oh oh oh oh.
Demelo muy grande, por favor.
con chocolate que es mejor
oh oh oh oh.

~ The Spanish-language version of 'Ice Cream Man'.

'My Friend Jack' [first version], by THE SMOKE.

My friend Jack eats sugarlumps
My friend Jack eats sugarlumps
Oh what beautiful things he sees
Oh what beautiful things he sees
He's on a voyage across an ocean
waves of his mind are set in motion
lost in a wonderland of cloud and of sound
My friend Jack eats sugarlumps
My friend Jack eats sugarlumps
He's seeing things you can't imagine
landscapes in sound revealing to him
more than a million shapes the eye could never see
can't you see how happy he is
nothing seems to put him down
people think that he's just crazy
he's the weirdest cat in town
My friend Jack eats sugarlumps
My friend Jack eats sugarlumps

He's on a voyage across an ocean
waves of his mind are set in motion
lost in a wonderland of colour and of sound
My friend Jack eats sugarlumps
My friend Jack eats sugarlumps

'It Could Be Wonderful,' by THE SMOKE.

In just a little while you're going to say
'What is more beautiful than being groovy?'
You just wouldn't listen to me
But you can't hold out much longer
And then as your head starts spinning
You reach out for someone stronger
And if you think about it
(It could be wonderful)
There's no-one you can rely on
(If could be wonderful)
And as just as your head starts spinning
With nowhere to hide, you Turn On
And as the pain is eased you start to dream
And in a little while you'll feel groovy
You're gonna find out some day
(It could be wonderful)
That I'm trying to make it easy
(it could be wonderful)
And then when you realise it just knowing you know you will please me
Relax and dream awhile your eyes will clear
And in a little while you'll feel groovy
It could be wonderful
You're gonna find out some day
(It could be wonderful)
That I'm trying to make it easy
(it could be wonderful)
And then when you realise it just knowing you know you will please me
(It could be wonderful)
You just wouldn't listen to me
But you cant hold out much longer
(it could be wonderful)
And then as your head starts spinning
It could be wonderful
You reach out for someone stronger
It could be wonderful

'Old Feet, New Socks', by THE SMOKE.

Sitting by the riverside apart from friends the other day tied to last night's stone one could feel vibrations through his finger half a foot away for reasons of his own and another cried look from my left knee come round chips and again he cried look from my right knee come square chips but you can't teach old feet new socks and that night we speak an hour looking for something to deflower but were put down but then two went off alone to look for something of their own hells angels were found and one was obese and her face as appalling and another was small with a mouth to pour coal in but you can't teach old feet new socks and the games that we play are enjoyed by us only and the sounds that we say are absorbed by the lonely but you can't teach old feet new socks but you can't teach old feet new socks no you can't teach old feet new socks no you can't teach old feet new socks no you can't teach old feet new socks sitting by the riverside apart from friends the other day tied to last nights stone one could feel vibrations through his finger

'Sitting In A Dream', from THE BUTTERFLY BALL AND THE GRASSHOPPER'S FEAST.

I'm just passing time before the Ball
Playing my guitar
I don't have to be where I don't want to be at all
Maybe I'll go far
Going nowhere, sitting in a dream
Ahhh...in a dream

Sitting in a landscape full of sighs
Dream away the day
Making up a tune about the blueness of the skies
This is where I'll stay
Going nowhere, sitting in a dream
Ohhh...in a dream

Watching as a red and white balloon
Sails across my mind
In between the images that drift along my tune
Smile as they unwind
Going nowhere, sitting in a dream
Ahhh...in a dream

~ The whole concept of 'The Butterfly Ball' was one germinated and rooted in the whimsical obsessions of the late 60s - fairytales, childrens' stories, grotesquerie and phantasmagoria welded into a cohesive artistic form. A form which itself clearly echoes 'Sgt. Pepper' and the 'Teenage Opera'. Much of the music of 'The Butterfly Ball' whilst performed by a plethora of musicians (not a few of them actual 60's "heroes") is, it has to be said, a product of elaborate and bloated 64-track mid-'70s zap rock (all synth blasts and obsessions with soul-style vocalising), yet, there was real magic here. Magic which fell on the death ears of those spotty middle class kids obsessed with 20-minute guitar solos, those slightly younger, far less articulate inner city glue sniffers, and other miscreants. They couldn't see the concept as anything other than "Walt Disney as sung by Ronnie Dio", rather than as the marvellous hommage to English eccentricity and whimsy that it is.
But those of us lovers of English eccentricity and whimsy, nonsense and fantasy, childhood idylls and creepy shivers - most especially those of us who by then (1974) were thoroughly dispirited with "progressive" rock's metamorphosis from splurging post-acid creative fountain into the foetid swamp of stadium rock - could plainly see that enough echoes of psychedelia's golden dreams remained to slowly start getting our own LOVE juices re-flowing.
Whilst this track, with its dreamy, trippy lyrics and beautiful string arrangement, is the best example of the long cool opaline shadow of psychedelia which flits and falls occasionally across the Grasshopper's shimmering woodland scenes, it isn't the only one, there's much to find along the fern-fringed track: 'Dawn' with its Floydianesque pastoral trillings, and of course the Beatles pastiche 'Love Is All', a belated Summer of Love anthem are both especially worthy of our aural attentions.
And all inspired by the poetry of William Plomer and the bejewelled artwork of Alan Aldridge, one of the most talented limners of the British fantasy-psych school,

*** LETTERS ***

Re. SIMON REYNOLDS (SFA 26):

Many thanks for latest SFA - a goldmine as usual.
Does anyone have further details of "Return to Eden" by Simon Reynolds, mentioned as being the finest piece of writing on UK psychedelia ? I tried a booksearch and got a nil.
Regards,

Mark Valentine.

~ Thanks Mark, 'Return To Eden' by Simon Reynolds is in 'Psychedelia Britannica: Hallucinogenic
Drugs in Britain' Ed. Antonio Melechi. (Turnaround: London) 1997. ISBN: 1 873262 05 1.
A superb book, highly recommended. There's an earlier, shorter version in Simon Reynolds and Joy Press 'The Set Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'n' Roll' (London: Serpents Tail) 1995.

Re. WILD COUNTRY (SFA 27):

Hello Paul,
Very interesting the Wild Country article...
By the way I got another single from a band of the same name, from 1972: 'Song Of The Lonely Traveller' / 'I'm So Happy Today' (Anglo Records TPMA 11). It's a twee country-pop ballads genre (like the worst Prelude songs) and boths songs were penned by Robert "Bobby" Fisher and Marc Roberts, so I think no relations with the previous band. Just to avoid all of you spending a fortune on it! I didn't, luckily!

Gianpaolo Banelli.

Re. THE SPECTRUM (SFA 20):

Hi gang
being an old fan and a friend of Tony Atkins the guitarist, I am writing to say that 'Music Soothes The Savage Breast' is my favourite too. Incidentally, did you know that the guitar solo was by Jimmy Page (pre-Led Zeppelin and a good friend of the band).
All the best,

Len Davies.

Re. TALISMEN, LACE, AUBREY SMALL (SFA 23):

Hello all at Sweet FA,
I have no idea who you are but your site came as one of the most pleasant suprises I’ve had in a long, long time ! ! My name is Peter Pinckney and I figure in your list of Bands and musicians. To put the record straight I began playing in The Talismen (not The Sons of Man) and to add to this you have a query against two other members of the band John Bullock (bass) and Dick Ray (drums) We then changed the name to Lace.
Voilà! I still play here where I live in Toulouse in the south of France where I still keep the name of
Aubrey Small alive with some French guys. I’m still recording with a company here called Luckystone and the CD’s are sold via the Internet. Sadly Graham Hunt, one of the best drummers I’ve ever played with, died a few years ago. God rest him. One other small correction…….part of the Evening News report of Lace recording at EMI was wrong…… I DID lend my pedal to George Harrison! ! !
If only I’d asked him to sign it!
There you go. Thanks for rekindling some fantastic memories.
Cheers,

Peter Pinckney.

Re. BILL FAY (SFA 27):

I would like to correct one thing from my Bill Fay review: it was Bill's mother who died not his father. Though this fact doesn't change the gist of the review that the death promtped Fay to use the CD as an opportunity to celebrate his family.

Mark Frumento.

Re. PAUL GADD / 'SOUL THING' (SFA 27):

I don't own a copy of this single but I think you'll find (& I'm doing all this from memory as my collection is in storage) that the track was written by easy listening/libary legend Keith Mansfield, appearing in instrumental form on his superb 1968 All You Need Is... LP for CBS + on a CBS 45 - as well as on at least two KPM libary albums in different renderings & I think under different titles (Mansfield was a shameless recycler of his own material), it was also recorded, this time with lyrics & under the title of House Of Jack by James Royal (on 1969 CBS LP+45 with Mansfield producing).
Both Soul Thing & Jack are well known on the EZ/"SpeedLounge"/Northern scene I believe & yes, both a very groovy indeed. I think there may be other vocal versions under this title too - let me know what you discover.
Mansfield certainly knew how to wring a bob or two out of the same tune!

Magic Martin.

*****************************************************************************
SFA 28 (vol. 3, no.4) April 2004:
EDITOR: The Rt. Hon. Paul St. James Cross
DEPUTY EDITOR: Dominic Reynolds
CONTRIBUTORS: Gordon Bennett, Bill A. Bong, Amanda Cohen, Chris Cox, Paul Cross, Mark Frumento, Derek Gunning, Gary Murphy, Keith Payne, Dom Reynolds, Phyllis Scott
All contents, Copyright © SFA 2004. Except all lyrics, and - -
'THE WIMPLE WINCH STORY- AN INTERVIEW WITH LARRY KING, by John Hanrattie':
Copyright © Toffee Smash Productions.

Sweet FA is a non-profit making & non-capital generating publication. No part of the contents may be reproduced for gain. It's strictly for personal use and educational purposes only.
Mess with us and we'll come round in the middle of the night and stuff a bat right up yer nightdress.
Please note: The opinions expressed by writers in SFA are not always the editor's own.
Got that???
*******************************************************************************
At a point between fate and destiny