This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2020) |
Opal Butterfly | |
---|---|
Also known as | The Cardboard Heaven |
Origin | Oxfordshire, England |
Genres | |
Years active | 1968–1970 |
Labels | CBS Polydor |
Opal Butterfly was an English psychedelic rock group from Oxfordshire, which was active between 1968 and 1970. Although the band itself did not gain widespread success, the musicians did go on to conduct successful musical careers. The band included Simon King (drums) and, for a short time, Lemmy, who later joined Hawkwind. Further members were Robert "Robbie" Milne (lead guitar), Allan Love (lead vocals), Richard Bardey (bass guitar) and Tommy Doherty (rhythm guitar). The band released three official singles in the heavy psychedelic rock style before disbanding. [1]
Before becoming Opal Butterfly, the group was known as Cardboard Heaven. It was formed in 1967 in Oxfordshire. The original line-up consisted of Roger Warner (bass guitar) Robbie Milne (lead guitar), 17-year-old Simon King (drums), Alan Cobb (keyboards) with vocals shared by Stuart Thornhill and Denny Sutcliffe. Locally, the band performed at clubs and dance halls with a repertoire of R&B and blues standards. Even though the group attracted a considerable following, King left to form Opal Butterfly. [2]
Later in the year, King formed his new band and recruited Milne on guitar. The remaining line-up were associates of the two and included Allan Love (vocals) Richard Bardey (bass guitar) and Tom Doherty (guitar), Regarding the name, Doherty said, "Butterfly by itself was a bit dull, so we thought of something more colourful". [2]
The group began recording demos and received the interest of CBS Records. These included cover versions of "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Wind Up Toys", both tracks by The Electric Prunes. [3]
In 1968, the band released its first official recording, "Beautiful Beige"/"Speak Up", which was described[ by whom? ] as a solid piece of harmonial psychedelic pop, but made no impactful gains. The group's most notable recordings came in 1969 with an organ-backed cover version/remake of The Who composition "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" with the B-side being "My Gration Or?". Despite radio play, the single only gained them local support and the band revamped its line-up and changed labels to Polydor. Most notably, the band acquired Lemmy Kilmister, who met the band at a shop called The Chelsea Drug Store in the King's Road, Chelsea. He started a friendship with King who then asked him to join, which lasted until the group's decision to kick him a few months later. [4] With the new label, the new line-up released a single, "Groupie Girl"/"The Gigging Song". For this final effort, the band returned to its roots as the songs were more blues influenced in nature. However, the single caused a slight uproar when the cover showed a nude woman and radio stations refused to play it. Throughout 1969 and into 1970, the band had a tour in Britain for sets of 90 minutes. The band featured in the Derek Ford film, Groupie Girl (1970), as Sweaty Betty. [5] Lemmy did not contribute to any recordings or the film. [6] One last line-up change did not affect the band's fortunes and it broke up in 1970. Kilmister and King co-operated once again in Hawkwind.
Milne formed another Opal Butterfly line-up with replacement musicians (namely Ray Owen (vocals) David O'List (guitar), Stan Decker (bass guitar) and Mike Burchett (drums) but this only lasted a short while. Doherty and King formed their own version of Opal Butterfly and were not too pleased with Milne forming his own version, so in 1969 Milne joined the New Look Soul Band which later became Fine China.
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard rock, progressive rock and psychedelic rock. They are regarded as an influential proto-punk band. Their lyrics often cover themes of urban life and science fiction.
Ian Fraser Kilmister, better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he was the only continuous member, and a member of Hawkwind from 1971 to 1975.
Pink Fairies are an English proto punk rock band initially active in the London underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, such as playing for nothing outside the gates at the Bath and Isle of Wight pop festivals in 1970, as well as appearing at Phun City, the first Glastonbury and many other free festivals including Windsor and Trentishoe.
John Charles Edward Alder, also known as Twink, is an English drummer, actor, singer, and songwriter who was a central figure in the English psychedelic and proto-punk movement.
Hall of the Mountain Grill is the fourth studio album by space rock band Hawkwind, released in 1974. It is regarded by many critics as a career highlight.
Stand by Your Man is an EP released in 1982. It is a collaboration of the bands Motörhead and the Plasmatics. It is notorious as the reason "Fast" Eddie left Motörhead, more so than the bad reception the EP received. Lemmy and Wendy O. Williams had organised to do a duet of the famous Tammy Wynette country song, though most critics, and fans, to this day are baffled by the choice, Wendy coming from the punk scene in the mid-late 1970s and Lemmy from a mixture of Rock genres.
"Motorhead" is a song written by Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister while he was a member of the English space rock band Hawkwind. It was later recorded by Motörhead, as he called it this instead of Bastard on his then manager's advice.
Warrior on the Edge of Time is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind. Many of the lyrics are by Michael Moorcock, and the album is loosely based on the concept of Moorcock's novel The Eternal Champion. It was the band's highest-charting studio album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 13, and was their third and last album to make the US Billboard chart, where it peaked at number 150. Reviews have been mixed, with Melody Maker panning the album and particularly criticizing the vocal work while the All Music Guide has praised the album for features such as the songwriting. This would also be the last album to feature the band's bassist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, who was fired from the band one day before the album's release.
"Iron Fist" is a song by the British heavy metal band Motörhead. It was released as a single in 1982, in 7" pressings in blue, black and translucent red vinyl.
"Hellraiser" is a song written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, and Lemmy Kilmister. The song was recorded by Osbourne for his 1991 album No More Tears and also by Motörhead for their 1992 March ör Die album. Motörhead's version was released as a single.
Doremi Fasol Latido is a 1972 album by English space rock band Hawkwind. Recorded at Rockfield Studios and released on United Artists Records, it was their third album since their debut, Hawkwind, in 1970. It reached No. 14 on the UK album charts.
The '1999' Party is a live album by Hawkwind recorded at the Chicago Auditorium Theatre on 21 March 1974 released retrospectively in November 1997 by EMI. It was issued for the first time as part of EMI's re-releasing re-mastered versions of the Hawkwind back catalogue. A further budget single disk derived from this set titled Hawkwind Live 74 was issued in April 2006.
Masters of the Universe is a 1977 compilation album by Hawkwind covering the years 1971 to 1974 while the group were contracted to United Artists Records. It is the group's second compilation album, after the previous year's Roadhawks, and was compiled and released without the band's input or approval.
"Silver Machine" is a 1972 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single on 9 June 1972, reaching number three on the UK singles chart. The single was re-issued in 1976, again in 1978 reaching number 34 on the UK singles charts, and once again in 1983 reaching number 67 on the UK singles charts. The original mix has been re-released on the remasters version of In Search of Space.
Simon King is an English drummer most noted for his work with Hawkwind. He was described in 1985 by British rock magazine Sounds as the 'definitive rock drummer.'
Greasy Truckers Party is a 1972 live album by various artists recorded at a February 1972 Greasy Truckers concert at the Roundhouse in London. The concert featured three bands, Man, Brinsley Schwarz, and Hawkwind, and musician Magic Michael. Originally a double vinyl album, in a limited edition of 20,000 and sold at just £1.50, it rapidly sold out, and became a collector's item.
In the world of British underground rock, the Greasy Truckers Party ... ... looms about as large as the Monterey International Pop Festival does in American rock lore; it wasn't the biggest gig ever played by the bands involved, but for reasons of exposure, and resulting word-of-mouth, and the excerpted live album that followed, it came to define what they were capable of.
Sam Gopal were an underground British psychedelic rock band who formed in 1966 and released their first album, Escalator, in 1969.
Kings of Oblivion is the third album by the UK underground group Pink Fairies, released in 1973.
The Head Cat is an American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist/bassist Lemmy, drummer Slim Jim Phantom and guitarist Danny B. Harvey. Lemmy died in 2015 and as of 2017, former Morbid Angel member David Vincent took Lemmy's place as vocalist and bassist.