Music and Sound 1969 - 1975Prior to 1976 I was involved in music. When at the age of 8 a cousin arrived with a guitar. I was transfixed. When aged 10 I went with a friend and his dad to Denmark street - London's Tin Pan Alley - to get his first guitar and shortly after bought my first acoustic guitar. By 13 I assembled my first band in a church hall. Around this time I heard the first Piper at the Gates of Dawn and In a Badda Da Vida, then By 14 I played my first gig and I met a mixed race-guitarist who was phenomenally talented and also the drummer Jeff RIch who was jazz oriented by ended up in Status Quo for a stint. By 17 I gigged at Imperial College as a two piece (people hadn't seen a two piece band before). By 18 we had a 5 piece, sold all our equipment and bought an E Type Jaguar, all the band had a ride and sold it for more money at another auction - bought our equipment back and used the profit to make an album... Later on I helped mix a live album with the Liverpool Philharmonic and by 1975 had composed a series of compositions which you'll find here. The recording standards are from Trident Studios through to one mike dangling in 'the right place'. These are in no particular order but you'll here ca complexity revolving around progressive rock and jazz rock. In 1975 I was about 22 and the last piece here is called 'Even Stranger' this with a mike in the room is a 9 minute rehearsed piece which we never got to record properly with the incomparable Tony Lowe on Guitar - I'm on bass on all of these pieces with an occasional lead guitar on things like Witch of the North Shore (from 1971 when I was 18). Fromn todays point of view these are all pretty over the top - but I was very young and prone to going for it.
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1976
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Even Stranger (composed by all of us circa 1976), Live recorded on a single stereo mike hangtng in the centre of the same rehearsal studio as the video to the right - 10 minutes 14 seconds. I play Rickenbacker 4001 stereo Bass, Fred on Piano, Akai on Drums, Tony Lowe on Guitar. There is no picture - simply black on screen.
Strange Mercy - the track with the same name as the band - 7 minutes 21 seconds - I guess this was us setting out our table really, complex music, vocal harmonies, eclectic references. For my money this recording is a bit dry - but you can easly hear what's going on. Tony Lowe on Guitar, Gary Heath on keyboards. Paul Hammond (Atomic Rooster) on Drums. No pictures
Further Back in Time - 1971
Dark and Stars and Roses - from the album, 1971 (I'm 18) Linda Vocals Terry Bass/vocals, Tom Drums, Mick Guitar, Gary Keyboards
The Long, Soft, Silent Years - from the album, 1971 Linda Vocals Terry Bass/vocals, Tom Drums, Mick Guitar, Gary Keyboards
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A rehearsal from early 1976 - working on Even Stranger - I'm 23 here.
There are some experiments where I'm sliding around the fret board Below - Planetside, composed by the band around 72/73 (I'm about 19/20) Tony Lowe on guitar, Gary Heath keyboards, Paul Hammond (Atomic Rooster) on drums recorded around 73 we re-recorded this in Trident Studios.
Witch of the North Shore - from the album, 1971 Linda Vocals Terry Guitar/vocals, Tom Drums, Mick Bass and Sax, Gary Keyboards
Side 2 of the album Q.B.D. - from the album, 1971 Linda Vocals Terry Bass/vocals/guitar, Tom Drums, Mick Guitar, Gary Keyboards
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