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 MISC |
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(Not the White Unicorn, but some of its members in 'Delta'. Picture above appeared in the Surrey Comet titled something like 'Beat group rehearses in the Mayor's attic')
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Early '70s
A reggae version of the Hokey Cokey. Started out in the basement of 19 Victoria Street, Cambridge in the very early '70s, and an early collaboration by players in the two Cambridge bands from which The Movies came. The London studio version involved Chas (of Chas & Dave) and the magnificent drummer Wallace, but its real value was to introduce the future Movies to their first producer, Pete Gage, and agent, John Sherry.
I guess you had to be there.
Flipside of Dr Holman (or perhaps that was the other way around). Poppy catchy Beatles poppy pop. We were all a little vague about Business.
No longer with us, but you can hear him here, Steve Pheasant was a stalwart of the Cambridge music scene in the early '70s. Key player of the Cambridge Jazz Club, then a feature of numerous Cambridge and Edinburgh shows, reviews, and musical happenings. Flute and various saxes. Pocket dynamo. Good friend. The link here is that Jon and Steve were in the band Wild Oats, and one day Steve needed a guitarist for a session with Geoff Castle on keyboards. JC dutifully troops along to find himself with jazzers far more expert, so he retreats to a corner and strums peacefully and to little effect while Steve blows - as usual - mightily. Intriguing mix, with players separated to left and right. Thunderbox
Thunderbox. Cambridge band of the early '70s. Jon and Jools. Public Foot the Roman had great ability, and Dag and Iain Cameron's band(s) Art, but Thunderbox had - as they used to say in the 18th century - bottom. Mike Lewis (sings on FRA), Ray Ancill, Tim Steele, all legendary. Pity this demo from Spaceward - who inherited the Victoria St basement - has been totally naffed-up by age. And live...? Dr Hindsight throws up his hands at this lot. Mono, recorded from the back of some echoing Cambridge hall. Dr H says he needs better tools to make sense of this stuff, so till he gets them, this is all we have. Three guitars (note, Tim).
Transition
Bridging the '60s/'70s, lonely WU and Wild-Oats-members tracks as school band begins to grow up. Paul Bell, Colin Vallance, Rich Fry, Steve Clarke, the memories flood. Boo hoo! (Iain Cameron on flute there, unless I'm mistaken). These tracks may appear naff, but you have to know the context. Several were story-led Show tunes, first for the Two Voices show, a multimedia spectacular put on by Jon and Ray Ancill, then Make Me Make You, Stony Ground, and Poison Glue, a show for the Edinburgh Fringe. Demos recorded at Theatre Projects studios, Neals Yard near Covent Garden, and in a basement of Emmanuel College. Cambridge Footlights In 1970 the band of the Footlights (MD Jon) involved various future Movies, plus Iain Cameron. The Footlights is an undergraduate review, songs and sketches. This one was Gawdstruth, something to do with Godspell, featuring Sarah Dunant. It did the Fringe, and these tracks were recorded at the last show, at the Roundhouse, London. The quality in mono is totally naff, and this is just for those who were there.
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Mid '60s
Demos by members of the fabled school band White Unicorn. The acetetes are just about dead. These are here to encourage school bands of today that their predecessors sounded just as, well, Ambitious. Since Spinal Tap I have had a problem with lyrics like 'world of then'. Made in Kingston in the mid-60s, and obviously the sort of material that the first Cream album borrowed from. Ahem. Missing is a song called 'Christmas Calypso' made with Pete Gage at around the time of Pokey Pokey and Dr Holman. Way up in
Heaven I can hear the angels sing Marvellous! |
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