Sour Milk Sea (band)

Last updated

Sour Milk Sea
Origin Oxford, England
Genres
Years active1969–1970
Past membersChris Dummett
Jeremy Gallop
Paul Milne
Rob Tyrrell
Freddie Bulsara

Sour Milk Sea was a short-lived English heavy blues rock band formed in mid-1969 by Chris Dummett, Jeremy Gallop and Paul Milne, students of St. Edward's School. The three were inspired to change their band name, Tomato City, to the name of George Harrison's song of the same name. [1] With the addition of drummer Rob Tyrrell, the original band featured Gallop on rhythm guitar Dummett on lead guitar and Miline on bass. The group is notable for its next acquisition of singer Freddie Mercury (then known as Freddie Bulsara) who would later join the rock band Smile, who changed their name to Queen. [2]

Contents

History

In 1968, Tomato City was formed and composed of Dummett (lead guitar), Gallop (rhythm guitar), and Milne (bass). They did not have a distinct lead singer yet, so Dummett took it upon himself to perform the majority of the vocals in live performances. As Tomato City, the band played locally in the school, mainly classrooms. [3] By 1969, Dummett and Gallop decided to change the group name to Sour Milk Sea. Milne continued to remain as the bass player and the group added Rob Tyrrell, formerly of Genesis forerunner Anon, to the vacant drummer spot. In June 1969, the group became professional, and made their debut at the Guildford City Hall. They supported groups like Deep Purple, Junior's Eyes, and Taste. [4]

The group gained a sizeable local following and could have around 100 people come to their performances. [5] Still, the group lacked a true lead singer and frontman. Freddie Mercury, future lead singer of Queen, was looking for a new band after his previous band, Wreckage, broke up. Mercury saw an advert in the Melody Maker simply stating, "Vocalist Wanted". [6] Mercury would have a successful audition and became lead vocalist of Sour Milk Sea in February 1970. [2]

With Mercury as frontman, the band had the habit of performing two to three times a week. Two gigs, one at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford, and another on 21 March 1970 at Highfield Parish Hall, are the most notable. Despite not yet having a cohesive unit, Mercury still managed to keep the audience entertained throughout the Oxford performance. Sour Milk Sea would perform songs written by Freddie Mercury which included "Lover" Original name for the later on Queen song Liar, "Blag", and "FEWA". Along with Mercury's songs, the band also played live covers of songs like Jailhouse Rock and Little Richard's song "Lucille". [7] Since no known recordings of the band exist, it cannot be determined what other songs the band may have played. The Highfield Parish Hall gig was a charity event just weeks before Mercury would join Brian May and Roger Taylor to form Queen. It is prominent for being the last gig with Mercury and for its write up in the local paper, Oxford Mail . The article includes a biopic of each group member along with the only known photo of the band with Mercury. [5] It also includes lyrics from Mercury's composition, "Lover". [8]

Ultimately, Mercury's drive toward a creative new sound and control of the band would lead to its premature downfall. Mercury and Dummett began living together in Mercury's apartment as close friends. Gallop became worried that Dummett would side with Mercury on the band's musical direction and disbanded the group. The band had been in heated debates ever since Mercury joined just weeks ago. He owned all the equipment so there would be no chance that the group could continue. [6] In April 1970, Freddie Mercury joined the band Smile, which, upon Mercury's insistence, became known as Queen. [9]

Aftermath

Freddie Mercury would go on with Queen to become one of the most successful and enduring acts in history. Within three years Queen would release their debut album, Queen . Chris Dummett would play one last time with Mercury in a practice session at Imperial Lecture Theatre. These same sessions included future bassist John Deacon and the rest of Queen. The collective of musicians would practice future Queen tracks. Mercury hoped to add a second guitarist, but the session did not pan out and Dummett would no longer be included in the band activities. Mercury and Chris Dummett would not cross paths again until 1987. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen (band)</span> British rock band

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor, later joined by John Deacon (bass). Their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie Mercury</span> British rock musician; frontman of Queen (1946–1991)

Freddie Mercury was a British singer and songwriter who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Mercury defied the conventions of a rock frontman with his theatrical style, influencing the artistic direction of Queen.

<i>Queen II</i> 1974 studio album by Queen

Queen II is the second studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 8 March 1974 by EMI Records in the UK and Elektra Records in the US. It was recorded at Trident Studios and Langham 1 Studios, London, in August 1973 with co-producers Roy Thomas Baker and Robin Geoffrey Cable, and engineered by Mike Stone. It is significant for being the first album to contain elements of the band's signature sound of multi-layered overdubs, vocal harmonies, and varied musical styles.

<i>Sheer Heart Attack</i> 1974 studio album by Queen

Sheer Heart Attack is the third studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 8 November 1974 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Digressing from the progressive themes featured on their first two albums, the album featured more pop-centric and conventional rock tracks and marked a step towards the "classic" Queen sound. It was produced by the band and Roy Thomas Baker, and launched Queen to mainstream popularity in the UK and throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You're My Best Friend (Queen song)</span> 1976 single by Queen

"You're My Best Friend" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by the band's bass player, John Deacon, who wrote it for and about his wife. It was first included on the 1975 album A Night at the Opera, and later released as a single. The ballad also appeared on the Live Killers (1979) live album, and on the compilation albums Greatest Hits (1981), Absolute Greatest (2009) and Queen Forever (2014).

<i>Queen</i> (Queen album) 1973 debut studio album by Queen

Queen is the debut studio album by the British rock band Queen. Released on 13 July 1973 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US, it was recorded at Trident Studios and De Lane Lea Music Centre, London, with production by Roy Thomas Baker, John Anthony and the band members themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">'39</span> 1976 song by Queen

"'39" is a song by British rock band Queen. Composed by lead guitarist Brian May, it is the fifth track on their fourth studio album A Night at the Opera. The song was also the B-side to "You're My Best Friend".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liar (Queen song)</span> 1974 single by Queen

"Liar" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by the lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1970. The song featured on the band's 1973 debut album Queen. A heavily truncated version of "Liar" was released as a single – backed with "Doing All Right" – in the United States and New Zealand by Elektra Records in February 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smile (band)</span> British blues rock band, precursor to Queen

Smile were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 and was the predecessor of the band Queen. The band was formed by Tim Staffell and Brian May, who later went on to form Queen. They were later joined by drummer Roger Taylor, who also went on to form Queen. They recorded six songs and disbanded in 1970. These songs were titled "April Lady", "Step on Me", "Polar Bear", "Earth", "Blag", and "Doin' Alright". These songs exist on the CD Ghost of a Smile. "April Lady" was dedicated to Roger Taylor's girlfriend at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Las Palabras de Amor</span> 1982 single by Queen

"Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" is a rock ballad by the British rock band Queen. It was released as the third single from their 1982 album Hot Space. It is sung mostly in English, but with several Spanish phrases. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song proved more popular in the United Kingdom than their previous single ("Body Language"), reaching No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart.

Humpy Bong was an English folk rock band formed in London in 1970, by former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen and Irish folk rock singer Jonathan Kelly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sour Milk Sea</span> 1968 single by Jackie Lomax

"Sour Milk Sea" is a song written by George Harrison and released by English rock singer Jackie Lomax as his debut single on the Beatles' Apple record label in August 1968. Harrison wrote the song during the Beatles' stay in Rishikesh, India and gave it to Lomax to help launch Apple Records. Lomax's recording is a rarity among non-Beatles songs since it features three members of the band – Harrison, who also produced the track, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Performed in the hard rock style, the song also includes musical contributions from Eric Clapton and session pianist Nicky Hopkins. It was the first of many Harrison productions for artists signed to the Beatles' record label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Deacon</span> English musician and songwriter (born 1951)

John Richard Deacon is an English retired musician who was the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits "You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bites the Dust" and "I Want to Break Free"; co-wrote "Under Pressure", "Friends Will Be Friends" and "One Vision"; and he was involved in the band's financial management.

The Magic Tour was a European concert tour by the British rock band Queen in 1986. The tour was in support of their latest album, A Kind of Magic, and featured 26 shows across Western Europe. In addition, the band performed one show behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary.

The Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour was the first world concert tour by Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, joined by singer Paul Rodgers under the moniker of Queen + Paul Rodgers. The tour was Queen's first since The Magic Tour in 1986, and the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in November 1991. The band's drummer Roger Taylor commented; "We never thought we would tour again, Paul (Rodgers) came along by chance and we seemed to have a chemistry. Paul is just such a great singer. He's not trying to be Freddie." Bassist John Deacon also did not take part due to his retirement in 1997.

Anon were a band made up of pupils from Charterhouse School in Surrey. Members of the group would eventually merge with another Charterhouse group, called Garden Wall, to form the progressive rock band Genesis. The band formed in May 1965 and split up in December 1966. It originally consisted of Rivers Jobe (bass), Richard Macphail (vocals), Anthony Phillips, and Rob Tyrrell (drums). They were later joined by future Genesis guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford on rhythm guitar. During a short period of time, Rutherford was forced to leave the band by his house master at Charterhouse and was replaced by Mike Colman.

"Lily of the Valley" is a song by British rock band Queen. It was written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, who also plays the piano and provides all the vocals on the track. It was originally featured on Queen's third album, Sheer Heart Attack, released in 1974, and is one of the album's few ballads.

<i>A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975</i> 2015 live album by Queen

A Night at the Odeon is a live album by the British rock band Queen. The album is the first official release of the band's Christmas Eve performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975, filmed by the BBC. The show was broadcast on BBC2 and BBC Radio 1, and included one of the first live performances of "Bohemian Rhapsody". It is the band's most popular bootleg.

Aaron Buchanan & The Cult Classics are a British rock band formed in 2016 by former Heaven's Basement vocalist Aaron Buchanan and signed to Listenable Records. Band members include Aaron Buchanan (vocals), Laurie Buchanan, Tom McCarthy, Mart Trail (bass) and Paul White (drums). The band cite 1990s grunge rock influences and came together for first rehearsals in June 2016 initially with Kev Hickman formally of RavenEye on drums, this was followed up with a full UK tour alongside InMe starting on 17 October 2016 through to 23 October. The band continued to tour through 2017 with appearances at Download Festival, a full UK tour alongside Life of Agony and a European tour with Royal Republic in support of The Man With Stars on His Knees album. The band has also toured with the likes of Skid Row, Buckcherry and Skindred amongst many others.

References

  1. ↑ Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury (Jones 75)
  2. 1 2 "March of the Black Queen". themarchoftheblackqueen.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "A Man With a Goal and a Dream". geocites.ws. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury (Jones 75 – 76)
  5. 1 2 "Sour Milk Sea". queenpedia.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Freddie Mercury: biography". freddie.ru. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Queen Before Queen". brianmay.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Peter Lemieux (September 2013). The Queen Chronology: The Recording and Release History of the Band. Across The Board Books. ISBN   9780991984046.
  9. ↑ "Band Members". queenonline.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Mark Blake (22 March 2011). Is This the Real Life? The Untold Story of Queen. Hachette Books. ISBN   9780306819735.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.