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July started out in the early '60s as an Ealing-based skiffle act working under the name of the Playboys, and then metamorphosed intoan R&B outfit known as the Thoughts and then the Tomcats, through which John "Speedy" Keen passed as a drummer. The finalTomcats lineup, which evolved out of an unrecorded band known as the Second Thoughts, found some success in Spain when theywent to play a series of gigs in Madrid in 1966. They returned to England in 1968, the group's lineup consisting of Tony Duhig onguitar, John Field on flute and keyboards, Tom Newman on vocals, Alan Jamesplaying bass, and C ...read more
July started out in the early '60s as an Ealing-based skiffle act working under the name of the Playboys, and then metamorphosed intoan R&B outfit known as the Thoughts and then the Tomcats, through which John "Speedy" Keen passed as a drummer. The finalTomcats lineup, which evolved out of an unrecorded band known as the Second Thoughts, found some success in Spain when theywent to play a series of gigs in Madrid in 1966. They returned to England in 1968, the group's lineup consisting of Tony Duhig onguitar, John Field on flute and keyboards, Tom Newman on vocals, Alan Jamesplaying bass, and Chris Jackson on drums, and changedthey their name to July. The band lasted barely a year, leaving behind one of the most sought-after LPs of the British psychedelic boom(on the Major Minor label in England, and Epic Records in the U.S. and Canada). Their sound was a mix of trippy, lugubrious psychedelicmeanderings, eerie, trippy vignettes ("Dandelion Seeds," "My Clown"), and strange, bright electric-acoustic textured tracks ("FriendlyMan"), with some dazzling guitar workouts ("Crying Is for Writers") for good measure, all spiced with some elements of world music,courtesy of Tony Duhig (who has since come to regard July as an embarrassing element in his resume). Their first single, "My Clown"b/w "Dandelion Seeds," has come to be considered a classic piece of psychedelia while the album is just plain collectable, despite someshortcomings. The band separated in 1969, with Duhig moving on to Jade Warrior, Newman becoming a well-respected engineer, withMike Oldfield's Tubular Bells to his credit, and bassist Alan James later working with Cat Stevens and Kevin Coyne, among others. Of thevarious reissues, Bam-Caruso's 1987 Dandelion Seeds is the most accessible, with Essex's The Second of July consisting of previouslyunissued recordings from 1967. « hide |
Similar Bands: Pink Floyd, Rainbow Ffolly, Kaleidoscope (UK), Jade Warrior Contributors: Mad., Britch2tiger, aresx, Britch2tiger, manosg,
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