Monthly Archives: February, 2019
AMERICA’S WARNER BROS. YEARS.
America’s Warner Bros. Years. Somewhat confusingly, the America story began in London in 1971 where high school students Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley first met. Their fathers were all members of the US Air Force, and at that time, were stationed in London. Far from home, and strangers in a foreign country Dewey, …
THE ENIGMATIC WILLIAM ONYEAEBOR
The Enigmatic William Onyeabor. Enigmatic. That was the perfect word to describe synth funk pioneer, William Onyeabor who died on January 16th 2017 aged just seventy. Nigerian music lost a musical pioneer. However, William Onyeabor was, without doubt, one of the most mysterious and elusive musicians in musical history. There’s a good reason for this, Much of William Onyeabor’s …
ZAKARY THAKS-KINGS OF TEXAS’ GARAGE ROCK.
Zakary Thaks-Kings Of Texas’ Garage Rock. During the sixties, garage bands sprung up all over Texas, and some recorded a handful of singles, before disappearing. Others never got that far. Many recorded just the one single, and played a handful of gigs, before calling it a day. Nowadays, they’re long forgotten. They however, played just a walk-on …
BUDGIE-A CASE OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
Budgie-A Case Of What Might Have Been. The roots of hard rocking Welsh trio Budgie, can be traced to Cardiff, in 1967. That was where the band were formed. Originally, Budgie were known as Hills Contemporary Grass. However, after playing several gigs in 1968, Burke Shelley, Tony Bourge and Ray Phillips decided to changed the band’s name to …
THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF SEA LEVEL.
The Life and Music Of Sea Level. By August 1975, all wasn’t well within The Allman Brothers. It hadn’t been for the last couple of years. That was despite The Allman Brothers being at the peak of their popularity. Their last three albums had sold over a million copies and were certified platinum. Meanwhile, The Allman …
OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS’ MAJOR LABEL YEARS.
Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ Major Label Years. Ozark Mountain Daredevils roots can be traced back to 1971, when a group of friends in Springfield, Missouri began playing as Family Tree. By 1972, the band had changed its name to Ozark Mountain Daredevils and were being managed by folk rock duo Brewer and Shipley. This came about …
HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO-SMELLS FUNNY.
Hedvig Mollestad Trio-Smells Funny. Label: Rune Grammofon. Ever since the Hedvig Mollestad Trio was founded in 2009, this inimitable group has been pushing musical boundaries and creating inventive and innovative genre-melting music. That is the case on their latest album Smells Funny, which was released by Rune Grammofon. It’s the sixth album since the Hedvig …
THE RISE AND DEMISE OF A MUSICAL EMPIRE.
The Rise and Demise Of A Musical Empire. Musical history is littered with examples of entrepreneurs who thought they could make money out of running a record company. The only problem was, they lacked the specialised skills that were required. There was a way round this, by surrounding themselves with music industry professionals. Then they …
THE BLUE NILE-CONTRARIAN YET PERFECTION PERSONIFIED.
The Blue Nile-Contrarian Yet Perfection Personified. Enigmatic, reluctant and contrarian are words that best of describe The Blue Nile. They’re the complete opposite of most bands. The Blue Nile have been described as publicity shy. That’ is an understatement. Ever since Paul Buchanan, Robert Bell and Paul Joseph Moore formed the Blue Nile, they’ve been …
JOHN MILES-MUSIC AND BEYOND.
John Miles-Music and Beyond. Forty years ago in 1976, John Miles released his most successful single Music. Since then, every time John Miles’ name comes up in conversation, Music is mentioned. That must be frustrating for the English singer-songwriter who released ten albums between 1976 and 1999. This is a reminder that there’s much more …
THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF VASHTI BUNYAN.
The Life and Music Of Vashti Bunyan. Vashti Bunyan was just twenty when she was “discovered” by Andrew Loog Oldham. This wasn’t the direction Vashti envisaged her career heading when she left her London home and headed to the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, the art school at Oxford University. Alas, the dreaming …
LINDA PERHACS: THE NEWLY CROWNED QUEEN OF PSYCHEDELIC FOLK.
Linda Perhacs-The Newly Crowned Queen Of Psychedelic Folk. The Linda Perhacs story is a case of what might have been, for the seventy-four year singer who nowadays, is regarded as the true Queen of psychedelic folk. Linda Perhacs career began in 1970, when she released her debut album Parallelograms on Kapp Records. Sadly, Parallelograms which nowadays, is regarded as a psychedelic folk …
LINDA JONES-THE TRAGIC STORY OF THE LOST SOUL QUEEN.
Linda Jones-The Tragic Story Of The Lost Soul Queen. As 1972 dawned, twenty-seven year old Linda Jones was a successful soul singer. She had already enjoyed five hit singles and her debut album had sold well. This looked like it was just the start of a long and successful career for a singer who had the …
THE MONKEES: FROM FOLK AND ROLL TO THE PSYCHEDELIC YEARS AND BEYOND.
The Monkees: From Folk & Roll To The Psychedelic Years and Beyond. On September the ‘8th’ 1965, the Daily Variety contained an advert that said: “Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series.” This was a new sitcom that had been written by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider about a struggling rock …
THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF FUZZY HASKINS
The Life and Music Of Fuzzy Haskins. Between 1970 and 1977, Fuzzy Haskins was a member of not one, but two of the most prolific and successful funk bands of the seventies,..Parliament and Funkadelic. They released a total of fourteen albums, which sold in excess of 2.5 million copies. Still, though, Fuzzy Haskins found time …
HARMONIA-A SUPERGROUP AND “THE MOST IMPORTANT BAND IN THE WORLD.”
Harmonia-A Supergroup and “The Most Important Band In The World.” Throughout musical history, innovative music has often failed to find an audience upon its release. It’s only much later, that the music’s importance and innovation is recognised. Musical history is littered with examples. This includes the group that Brian Eno once called : “the most important band in the world,” Harmonia. Despite such high praise, Harmonia’s …
FOUR DECADES OF MAKING MUSIC: THE CLUSTER STORY.
Four Decades Of Making Music: The Cluster Story. The Cluster story began in the Zodiak Free Arts Lab in West Berlin when Hans-Joachim Roedelius first met Dieter Moebius. Little did they know that they were about to embark upon a musical journey that would last five decades. During that period, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius …
EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER SEVENTIES HEYDAY.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s Seventies Heyday.The seventies were a golden age for rock music. Especially progressive rock. One of the giants of British progressive rock were Emerson, Lake and Palmer. They were formed in 1970, and went on to enjoy commercial success and critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. That was the case right …
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