Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Velvet Opera |
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Soul blues, rock, psychedelic rock |
| Years active | 1967–1971 |
| Past members | Richard Hudson John Ford Elmer Gantry Colin Forster Jimmy Horrocks Paul Brett Johnny Joyce Colin Bass Dave MacTavish Mike Fincher |
Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, at various times also known as Velvet Opera, was a British rock band active in the late 1960s. Members of the band, Richard Hudson, John Ford and Paul Brett, would later become members of The Strawbs, Hudson Ford and Stretch.
The group emerged from a soul/blues band called The Five Proud Walkers. [1] After supporting Pink Floyd on tour, they were inspired to change their approach and become a more psychedelic outfit. The band consolidated as Richard Hudson on drums, John Ford on bass, Colin Forster on lead guitar, Jimmy Horrocks (Horovitz) on organ and flute (who left early in the band's history [2] ), and Dave Terry on vocals and harmonica. [3] Initially just calling themselves Velvet Opera, they developed their full name when Terry took to wearing a cape and preacher's hat in the style of the title character in the 1960 film adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' novel Elmer Gantry .
They started to make club appearances in London, using electronic backing sounds, and secured a record deal with the short-lived Direction Records subsidiary of CBS Records in the UK. Their first recording was the single "Flames" (November 1967), which also appeared on the CBS sampler record The Rock Machine Turns You On , [3] and was later covered on stage by Led Zeppelin. [4] Further singles and a self-titled album followed, including the track "Mary Jane", which was taken off the BBC playlist after they realised its drug connotations, [4] although the band continued to make regular live appearances on John Peel's Radio 1 programme Top Gear [3] and other BBC radio shows. Around this time, Terry, as lead singer of the band, was regularly being approached as "Elmer." The band found this amusing and joined in and the name stuck: Dave Terry became (and remains) Elmer Gantry.
However, the recording success of the band was limited, and Forster left to be replaced by Paul Brett, who had worked with Gantry in ex–Arthur Brown backing band The High Society. When Brett, Hudson and Ford wanted to take the band in a different direction, Elmer Gantry was the next to depart. The band reverted to the name Velvet Opera, took on 12-string guitarist John Joyce, and released a second album, Ride a Hustler's Dream. This again failed to achieve success, and in 1970 Ford left (to be replaced by Colin Bass), followed by Richard Hudson, both of them joining The Strawbs shortly afterwards. [3] At this point the band dissolved.
In 1971, Forster and Bass formed a new version of Velvet Opera with ex–Tintern Abbey vocalist Dave MacTavish and drummer Mike Fincher. Short-lived, they recorded one single on the Spark Records label. [5]
Meanwhile, Gantry formed The Elmer Gantry Band with ex-members of the Downliners Sect (whose bass player was Paul Martinez, later to also be a member of what became known as The Fake Fleetwood Mac and Stretch). The Gantry band gigged for about 18 months before Gantry joined the cast of Hair in order to sit out his contracts. In 1974, at the invitation of Mick Fleetwood [ citation needed ] and Clifford Davis he agreed, along with musical partner Kirby Gregory of Curved Air, to join Fleetwood Mac for a tour of the US. In the event, Mick Fleetwood never arrived for the start of the tour, which collapsed in litigation with some of the members of Fleetwood Mac, [6] Members of the band later re-formed as Stretch and recorded what has since become a classic track, "Why Did You Do It?", written by Kirby about Mick Fleetwood's actions around the "Fake Mac" saga. Stretch recorded three studio albums, Elastique, You Can't Beat Your Brain For Entertainment and Life Blood. Later, Gantry recorded with The Alan Parsons Project and sang lead vocals on the tracks "May Be a Price to Pay" on The Turn of a Friendly Card and "Psychobabble" on Eye in the Sky . He also provided lead vocals for Cozy Powell's solo album Tilt and sang and wrote for Jon Lord's solo album Before I Forget . More recently, Stretch released the John Peel BBC Sessions and a newly recorded album, Unfinished Business.
The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock.
John Ford is a British musician. He relocated to the United States in the mid-1980s and now resides on the North Shore of Long Island, New York.
Hudson Ford were a UK rock band-style duo, formed when John Ford and Richard Hudson left Strawbs in 1973. The original line-up featured Hudson and Ford along with Chris Parren on keyboards, Mickey Keen on guitars, and Gerry Conway on drums. Conway left in May 1974 prior to the recording of Free Spirit and was replaced by Ken Laws. Mickey Keen left the band in December 1974 and was replaced briefly by Mick Clarke, formerly of The Roy Young Band. Clarke moved to the United States in 1975 and was not replaced. The line-up remained stable from that point until the group dissolved in late 1977.
Paul Brett was an English classic rock guitarist. He played lead guitar with Strawbs, The Overlanders, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, The Velvet Opera, Tintern Abbey, Fire, Roy Harper, Al Stewart, Lonnie Donegan. He switched to twelve-string guitar in the 1970s.
From the Witchwood is the third album by the English band Strawbs. It was recorded at Air Studios in London during February and March 1971 and reached number 39 in the UK Albums Chart on 17 July 1971.
Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios is the third album by the Strawbs, mostly recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 11 July 1970. The album reached number 27 in the UK Albums Chart.
Grave New World is the fourth studio album by English band Strawbs, their fifth overall. It was the first album to be released after the departure of Rick Wakeman, who was replaced by Blue Weaver, late of Amen Corner.
Bursting at the Seams is the fifth studio album by English band Strawbs, released on 26 January 1973 by A&M Records. It was the first album to be released after the departure of founder member Tony Hooper and the recruitment of Dave Lambert. It contains their two most successful singles and peaked at No. 2 in the UK Album Chart and No. 65 in Canada.
Richard William Stafford Hudson is an English musician who played drums and sitar for the Strawbs. He later joined forces with bassist John Ford to form a duo, Hudson Ford, in which he played guitar and sang.
"Benedictus" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1972 album Grave New World.
"Lay Down" is a single by the Strawbs which reached No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1972 - their first hit. It was included on their 1973 album Bursting at the Seams.
"Part of the Union" is a song by English band Strawbs, featured on their 1973 album Bursting at the Seams and was the band's most successful single, peaking at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. It also reached No. 10 in the Irish Singles Chart.
Don't Say Goodbye is the thirteenth studio album by English band Strawbs.The album featured material originally recorded for the unreleased album "Heartbreak Hill" using the same arrangements. "Heartbreak Hill" was later released in 1995 eight years after this album was released.
Strawbs in Concert is a live album by English band Strawbs. The tracks are taken from recordings of two BBC In Concert programmes from 1973 and 1974.
The Very Best of the Strawbs: Halcyon Days is a compilation album by English band Strawbs. Although credited to Strawbs it does contain three Hudson Ford tracks and a Dave Cousins solo track. The album was released as a 2-CD set in the UK and US. The US release has a slightly different title and a different track listing.
The Complete Strawbs is a live album by English band Strawbs. It was recorded in 1998, at their 30th anniversary concert at Chiswick House. The concert was also filmed and later was released on DVD. More than four different incarnations of the band performed. Wherever possible, the tracks were performed by the original musicians, although there were exceptions. Keyboard players John Hawken, Andy Richards and Rick Wakeman were unable to attend, but Wakeman's son Adam deputised for them. Original bass player Ron Chesterman and one-time drummer Tony Fernandez were present at the concert but did not perform.
Stretch were a 1970s British rock band that grew from the collaboration between vocalist Elmer Gantry and guitarist Kirby Gregory. Gantry had been the frontman of Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, and Kirby had been a member of Curved Air.
Lay Down with the Strawbs is a live album by English band Strawbs. It was recorded at Robin 2 in Bilston and features the "Hero and Heroine line-up" of the band with a guest appearance of former member John Ford.
Graham Patrick "Kirby" Gregory, often credited simply as Kirby is an English musician best known for playing with rock bands Curved Air and Stretch. He now works in the field of addictions counselling.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
