Tomorrow | |
---|---|
Origin | London, England |
Genres | Psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop, freakbeat |
Years active | 1967–1968 |
Labels | Parlophone/EMI, Harvest Heritage/EMI, Sire |
Past members | Keith West Steve Howe Junior Twink |
Tomorrow (previously known as The In Crowd and Four Plus One) were an English musical group active in the 1960s, whose music touched on psychedelic rock, pop and freakbeat. Despite critical acclaim and support from DJ John Peel, who featured them on his "Perfumed Garden" radio show, the band was not a great success in commercial terms. They were among the first psychedelic bands in England, along with Pink Floyd and Soft Machine. Tomorrow recorded the first John Peel show session on BBC Radio 1 on 21 September 1967. The band included Keith West of "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera" fame on vocals and Steve Howe on guitars, who would later join the British progressive rock band Yes.
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As The In Crowd, (not to be confused with the "Questions and Answers" In Crowd) they recorded the songs "Am I Glad to See You" and "Blow-Up" especially for the film Blowup in 1966. The two songs remained unused when the Yardbirds were hired to film the nightclub sequence that The In Crowd would have appeared in.
As Tomorrow, they appeared in the 1967 film Smashing Time under the name of the Snarks. Bassist Junior (real name John Wood) was ill during shooting of the film and was replaced by John Pearce, a clothes dealer. Again, their music was not used in the film. Instead, the music used in the film is performed by Skip Bifferty. [1]
During 1967 the band released two singles, one of which, "My White Bicycle", was later covered by heavy rock act Nazareth, and as a novelty record by Neil the Hippy (Nigel Planer) of the British sitcom The Young Ones . According to drummer Twink, the song was inspired by the Dutch Provos, an anarchist group in Amsterdam which instituted a community bicycle program: "they had white bicycles in Amsterdam and they used to leave them around the town. And if you were going somewhere and you needed to use a bike, you'd just take the bike and you'd go somewhere and just leave it. Whoever needed the bikes would take them and leave them when they were done." [2]
In Joe Boyd's book White Bicycles – Making Music in the 1960s he asserts the band's performance of “Revolution” one night at the UFO Club was the apotheosis of the 1960s UK underground. [3] Tomorrow also jammed with Jimi Hendrix at the UFO Club. [4] There was a long delay between their 1967 single releases and the eventual release of their self-titled album in February 1968, and the album would fail commercially.
Tomorrow singer Keith West became better known as a participant in Mark Wirtz's A Teenage Opera project that gave him the solo hit single "Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera' (Grocer Jack)" in 1967. His solo success so eclipsed the group that promoters began billing them as "Tomorrow featuring Keith West" and even insisting that the band perform "Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera'" during their shows. [5] West considered this to be what ended Tomorrow, as it rubbed it in for the members that the band was not going anywhere. [5]
Twink and Junior split off and formed The Aquarian Age, which recorded one single before disbanding. West and guitarist Steve Howe in turn tried forming a band with Ronnie Wood (no relation to Junior) on bass and Aynsley Dunbar on drums, but though they recorded a handful of tracks nothing came of it. [5] When two of these tracks were released as a single, "On a Saturday" b/w "The Kid Was a Killer", they were credited to Keith West solo. Howe later joined progressive rock band Yes, whilst Twink joined the Pretty Things in order to complete their concept album, S.F. Sorrow , before forming the Pink Fairies. Junior sometimes played bass with Jeff Beck.
In 2021, the official biography of Keith West, Thinking About Tomorrow – Excerpts from the life of Keith West, was published. [6]
As The In Crowd: [7]
As Tomorrow:
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been adapted as rock musicals. The use of various character roles within the song lyrics is a common storytelling device. The success of the rock opera genre has inspired similar works in other musical styles, such as rap opera.
The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music.
Stephen James Howe is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to learn the instrument himself at age 12. He embarked on a music career in 1964, first playing in several London-based blues, covers, and psychedelic rock bands for six years, including the Syndicats, Tomorrow, and Bodast.
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.
Mark Philipp Wirtz was a German-French pop music record producer, composer, singer, musician, author, and comedian. Wirtz is best known for A Teenage Opera concept album, a project he devised while working under contract to EMI at Abbey Road Studios with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. The first single from the planned album, "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera" by Keith West, was a number 2 hit on the UK Singles Chart in September 1967 and encapsulates Wirtz's signature style, described by Mojo magazine as "Phil Spector scoring Camberwick Green". Another track produced and arranged by Wirtz, the 1966 single "A Touch of Velvet - A Sting of Brass" credited to The Mood-Mosaic featuring the Ladybirds, became well-known in Germany as the theme tune for the Radio Bremen television show Musikladen, and was used by some radio stations and DJs in the United Kingdom as an ident, notably Dave Lee Travis on Radio Caroline.
The Deviants were a British psychedelic rock band originally active from late 1966 to 1969, but later used as a vehicle for the musical work of writer Mick Farren until his death in 2013.
Tomorrow is the only studio album by the English psychedelic rock band Tomorrow. It was originally released in 1968 by EMI Parlophone in the U.K. in a black and white sleeve. A slightly different version of the album was also released in the U.S. in 1968 by Sire Records, one of the first releases on that label. Although it was not a success when it was first released, it is now widely regarded as one of the best psychedelic rock albums ever made.
50 Minute Technicolor Dream is a compilation album that consists of mostly previously unreleased recordings by Tomorrow. Tracks 1–2 are unused demos for the film Blowup. Tracks 7–8 are from BBC Radio 1: "Top Gear", recorded at Maida Vale Studios. Tracks 9–16 are live at "Christmas On Earth Continued" Friday, December 22, 1967, recorded at Kensington Olympia Grand & National Halls.
Keith Hopkins, known by his stage name Keith West, is a British rock singer, songwriter and music producer. He is best known for his single "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
A Teenage Opera is a musical project from the 1960s, created by record producer Mark Wirtz. The first song released from the project was "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera" recorded by Keith West in 1967. The album was not released until 1996, and a stage show was performed in 2017.
Paul Fraser Rudolph is a Canadian guitarist, bassist, singer, and cyclist. He made his mark in the UK underground music scene, and then as a session musician, before returning to Canada to indulge his passion for cycling. He resided in Gibsons, British Columbia, where he owned and operated a bicycle business, Spin Cycle. He has since retired to Victoria, British Columbia.
Geoffrey Downes is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group the Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia.
"Revolution" is a song by the English psychedelic rock band Tomorrow. It was first released as a single in the UK by Parlophone in September 1967. The song also appeared on the group's self-titled album Tomorrow in February 1968. "Revolution" was written by Keith Alan Hopkins and Steve Howe. It failed to break the music charts.
"Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera'" is a 1967 single by Keith West, produced by Mark Wirtz. It was a big hit in Europe, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was part of a bigger "A Teenage Opera" project. The song was written by Wirtz and West, credited as "Philwit / Hopkins".
Never Never Land is the 1971 debut album by the UK underground group Pink Fairies.
"My White Bicycle" is a song written by Keith West and Ken Burgess. It was Tomorrow's debut single.
English Freakbeat, Volume 3 is a compilation album in the English Freakbeat series, featuring recordings that were released decades earlier, in the mid-1960s.
Steve Howe is an English guitarist, active since 1964. He is best known for his tenures with the rock groups Yes and Asia, including his solo albums.
The Fairies were a British rhythm and blues band led by drummer John 'Twink' Alder, who recorded three singles between 1964 and 1965.