Locomotive: We Are Everything You See 1970

Unknown and obscure band, Locomotive (originally The Locomotive) were a British band in the 1960s, from Birmingham. Their musical styles ranged from jazz to psychedelic rock and ska, and their original line-up featured Chris Wood, later of Traffic, and drummer Mike Kellie of Spooky Tooth. Birmingham's Locomotive took a strange musical path, but on their way this innovative band created

several classics. Traffic's Chris Wood was an early member, but it was vocalist/guitarist Norman Haines who took control. Having recorded for the Direction label, Locomotive moved to Parlophone for "Rudi's In Love", a bluebeat/rocksteady song which established the group's name. However, Haines then pulled an abrupt volte-face, unleashing the almost gothic "Mr Armageddon" in 1968. Haines then completed Locomotive's lone album "We Are Everything You See" with the aid of Mick Taylor (trumpet), Will Madge (keyboards), Mick Hincks (bass) and Bob Lamb (drums), before disbanding them altogether and forging The Norman Haines Band.
                              

They had a minor UK hit in 1968 with "Rudi's in Love", before turning to progressive rock with their

only album, "We Are Everything You See", released in 1970. The group was formed in 1965, originally as the Kansas City Seven, by trumpeter Jim Simpson, with singer Danny King, saxophonists Chris Wood and Brian "Monk" Finch, organist Richard Storey, bass player Pete Allen, and drummer Mike Kellie. All the members had previously played in local bands in Birmingham.
                          

Chris Wood remembered; "We were playing what I then thought was jazz but now know was twelve-bar sequences on piano, bass and drums. We'd do the occasional wedding reception, social club, British

Legion meeting on Saturdays. You'd have to play standard waltzes and foxtrots, but we tried to do as much jazz as we could get away with." The band was first known as "The Kansas City Seven" but this was later considered too jazzy for a future chart act who were now including lots of blues and soul numbers into their show. The group gained recognition for their energetic live performances and soon had bookings for as far away as London where they played many times.
                     

Locomotive recorded an album at the Abbey Road Studios in London with producer Gus Dudgeon. By this time, however, the band decided to perform more progressive rock, based around Haines' keyboard

skills. Because of their uncertainty over how it would be received, the record company delayed the release of the album. A single, a version of a Question Mark and the Mysterians song, "I'm Never Gonna Let You Go", was released but failed to make the chart. Haines left the group in 1969, reportedly turning down an offer to join Black Sabbath and eventually forming the Norman Haines Band.
Locomotive Disbanded in 1971. Haines died in 2021, aged 75.
                          

For those not familiar with this album, "We Are Everything You See" is a wonderful mix of late 1960s British psychedelia and early progressive rock with some tracks having heavy jazz overtones.

MEMBERS  

                                           

Norman Haines - lead vocals, piano, organ, mellotron, harpsichord,
Mick Hincks - bass, backing vocals, lead vocal (B3), laughter
Bob Lamb - drums, percussion, facial expressions
John Caswell - Vocals, Electric Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar
Keith Millar - Vocals, Electric Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Piano, Organ, Mellotron, Harmonica

Pete Allen bass guitar (left in 1966)
Mike Kellie drums (left in 1966)
Danny King lead vocal (left in 1966)
Brian "Monk" Finch saxophone (left in 1966)
Jim Simpson trumpet (left in 1967)
Richard Storey saxophone, organ (left in 1966)
Chris Wood saxophone, flute (left in 1966)
Joe Ellis bass guitar (joined 1966 - left 1967)
Norman Haines lead vocal, keyboards (joined 1967, left 1970)
Bill Madge saxophone (joined 1966, left 1969)
"Mooney" Mazzone drums (joined 1966 - left 1967)
John Barry saxophone (joined 1966 - left 1967)
Mick Hincks bass guitar, vocal (joined in 1967)
Bob Lamb drums (joined in 1967)
Mike Taylor trumpet (joined 1968, left 1969)
John Caswell guitar, vocal (joined in 1970)
Keith Millar guitar, keyboard, vocal (joined in 1970)
Andy Hughes bass guitar
                            

SINGLES

Broken Heart/A Message To You Rudi (Direction 583814) 1967
Rudi's In Love/Never Set Me Free (Parlophone R 5718) 1968 (25)
Mr. Armageddan/There's Got To be A Way (Parlophone R 5758) 1969
I'm Never Gonna Let You Go/You Must Be Joking (Parlophone R 5801) 1969
Roll Over Mary/Movin' Down The Line (Parlophone R 5835) 1970
                                    

ALBUMS

We Are Everything You See (Parlophone PCS 7093) 1970

                         

Locomotive – We Are Everything You See
Label: Zap! – ZAP 5
Format:    Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: UK
Released: 1988
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Prog Rock

SIDE ONE

                                           
                                                           

A1. Overture
Arranged By – Nigel Phillips/Written-By – Nigel Phillips, Norman Haines
A2. Mr Armageddon
Written-By – Norman Haines
A3. Now Is The End - The End Is When
Written-By – Mick Taylor
A4. Lay Me Down Gently
Written-By – Norman Haines
A5. Nobody Asked You To Come
Written-By – Nigel Phillips, Norman Haines
A6. You Must Be Joking
Tenor Saxophone [Solo] – Chris Mercer, Lynn Dobson/Written-By – Norman Haines
A7. There's Got To Be A Way   (Written-By – Norman Haines)

SIDE TWO

                          
 

B1. A Day In Shining Armour
Written-By – Nigel Phillips, Norman Haines
B2. The Loves Of Augustus Abbey - Part One
Written-By – Nigel Phillips, Norman Haines
B3. Rain
Arranged By [Strings] – Nigel Phillips/Lead Vocals, Written-By – Mick Hincks
B4. The Loves Of Augustus Abbey - Part Two
Written-By – Nigel Phillips, Norman Haines
B5a. Coming Down
Written-By – Moskowitz, J. Byrd
B5b. Love Song For The Dead Che
Written-By – J. Byrd
B6. The Loves Of Augustus Abbey - Part Three
Written-By – Nigel Phillips, Norman Haines
B7. Time Of Light And Darkness
Written-By – Norman Haines
B8. I'm Never Gonna Let You Go
Arranged By – Paul Buckmaster/Written-By – George Fischoff

Recorded at E.M.I Studios - Abbey Road
Originally released on February 01, 1970 by Parlophone Records (UK), LP - PCS 7093, re-released in 1988 by Zap Records (UK), LP - Zap5

MP3 @ 320 Size: 111 MB
Flac  Size: 291 MB

The Nits: In The Dutch Mountains 1987

 

Dutch alternative pop group formed in 1974 in Amsterdam. In 1989, the band name "The Nits" was

changed to simply "Nits". Their musical style has varied considerably over the years, as has their line-up with the core of Henk Hofstede (the group's lead singer and lyricist), Rob Kloet, drummer, and Robert Jan Stips (Supersister, Gruppo Sportivo, Golden Earring), keyboards.
                              

                            
Their biggest hit in the Netherlands was "Nescio" (1983), a tribute to the Dutch author Jan Hendrik

Frederik Grönloh. The major hit that brought the band to the attention of an international audience was "In the Dutch Mountains" (1987). Other well-known Nits songs include "J.O.S. Days", "Adieu, Sweet Bahnhof" and "Sketches of Spain". Top 10 albums include Omsk (1983), In the Dutch Mountains (1987), Urk (1989), Doing the Dishes (2008) and Hotel Europa (2015).
                                  

The Nits originally consisted of Henk Hofstede (vocals, guitar), Alex Roelofs (bass), Michiel Peters (guitar) and Rob Kloet (drums). Influenced by British pop music, especially the Beatles, they also incorporated influences from new wave music into their sound. They made their live debut in 1974, and

released their self-financed, limited-run debut LP, The Nits, in 1978. This brought them to the attention of Columbia Records, for whom The Nits would continue to record for the next 22 years. Their major-label debut, Tent (1979), carried on the new wave style of The Nits, but was considerably more polished, partly due to the influence of producer Robert Jan Stips. On New Flat (1980) and Work (1981), which made increasing use of synthesisers, "Hofstede reveals a growing aptitude for creating little emotional postcards."
                                 

After the synthesized hijinks and tomfoolery that blighted much of Henk, the Nits -- once again a four-

piece with the addition of bassist Joke Geraets -- opted for a return to simplicity with In the Dutch Mountains. The result was an album that probably did more to seduce listeners far beyond their homeland than any other, not least because it was the first to secure a release in the U.S. and the U.K. Yet although it was recorded live in the studio direct to two-track tape, this is no mere exercise in bash-it-out, one-take boogie. It's a warmly atmospheric set that contains some of the Nits' most fully realized work to date.
                                               

Many of the songs are inspired by childhood memories, including the title track with its reference to the young Henk Hofstede's assumption that there must be mountains beyond the borders of his home town

of Amsterdam. A massive hit across continental Europe, "In the Dutch Mountains" still generates a storm of applause at Nits concerts. Another live mainstay is "J.O.S. Days," an atypically rustic song about Hofstede's failure to make his local football team, featuring sampled acoustic guitar and (real) harmonica. This contrasts sharply with the dreamy "Two Skaters," at around seven minutes one of the longest songs in the Nits' repertoire and as close as they've ever gotten to an exercise in pure atmospherics.
                             

Other highlights include "The Swimmer" (yet another in a long line of film references), with frenzied accelerating piano assaults framing a delicate melody; the faintly berserk "An Eating House"; and the

gorgeous lullaby "Good Night," with Hofstede's tender vocals cushioned by a remarkably convincing brass band sample. On the vinyl edition, this made for a wonderful coda to the album, but for the CD release three bonus tracks -- none of them quite in keeping with the rest -- were tacked onto the end. Nevertheless, In the Dutch Mountains marked the beginning of a richly creative five-year period that the Nits have yet to top.

The Nits – In The Dutch Mountains
Label: CBS – 467417 2
Format:    CD, Album, Repress, Sony Music
Country: Benelux
Released: 1987   
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock

TRACKS

                           

01. In The Dutch Mountains    3:26
02. J.O.S. Days    3:13
03. Two Skaters    6:51
04. Pelican & Penguin    3:57
05. In A Play (Das Mädchen Im Pelz)    3:36
06. Oom-pah-pah    1:21
07. The Panorama Man    3:28
08. Mountain Jan    4:42
09. One Eye Open    3:16
10. An Eating House    5:53
11. The Swimmer    3:50
12. Goodnight    2:44
13. Strangers Of The Night    4:27
14. The Magic Of Lassie    1:38
15. Moon And Stars    4:30

Flac Size: 302 MB

 

Fad Gadget: Gag 1984

 

Francis John Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), known also by his stage name Fad Gadget,

was a British avant-garde electronic musician and vocalist. He was a proponent of both new wave and early industrial music, fusing pop-structured songs with mechanised experimentation.
                                 

As Fad Gadget, his music was characterised by the use of synthesizers in conjunction with sounds of

found objects, including drills and electric razors. His bleak, sarcastic and darkly humorous lyrics were filled with biting social commentary toward subjects such as machinery, industrialisation, consumerism, human sexuality, mass media, religion, domestic violence and dehumanization, often sung in a deadpan voice.
                              

For all intents and purposes, Frank Tovey was best known as the man behind Fad Gadget, one of the

most significant cult acts of the post-punk boom. As Fad Gadget, Tovey and his revolving door of conspirators released several singles and four full-length albums that stretched the boundaries of pop music during the late '70s and early '80s. And after Tovey started making records under his own name in the mid-'80s, he continued to remain as unpredictable as ever, working within the realms of Cajun, blues, and folk, in addition to furthering his journey into experimental electronics.
                        

Humorous, dark, strange, puzzling, wild, honest, confrontational -- these adjectives exemplify Tovey's lengthy body of work and his legacy of daringly physical performances. (Tovey's stage antics included

numerous acrobatic feats and a penchant for shaving his copiously foamed body.) While Fad Gadget's contemporaries included the likes of Cabaret Voltaire, the Human League, Wire, the Normal, and Soft Cell, Tovey and company's records never quite achieved the underground notoriety or the chart success enjoyed by his peers. Regardless of the level of recognition, Tovey's unique contribution to electronic music is undeniable, and so is his influence upon it. As the years go on, the recognition continues to gather steam.
                           

Tovey made his first public appearance as Fad Gadget in July of 1979. Two months after that, the first

Fad Gadget single, The Box, was issued.  Fireside Favourites, was released by the end of 1980. While Tovey did the lion's share of synth work on the album, percussionist John Fryer, bassist/guitarist Eric Radcliffe, drummer Nick Cash, and synthesist Miller chipped in with contributions. The albums Under the Flag and Gag were released in 1982 and 1984, respectively.
                                    

The move into dance and soul-influenced territories -- along with relatively traditional production values for the time -- resulted in lighter and less urgent music, but Tovey's lyrics steadfastly refused to

approach anything resembling mundane or fantasy-based. Tovey was more likely to be compared to Bob Dylan than Gary Numan, as his lyrics favored the everyman over machines and aliens. Personnel-wise, Under the Flag featured guest vocal turns and saxophone blurts from Alison Moyet (Yaz), and Gag included some guitar work from Rowland S. Howard (the Birthday Party).
                          

In his later years, Gadget began to perform at festivals and also supported his former colleagues and

Mute label-mates, Depeche Mode, on their European tour. He was working on a new album at the time of his death. Fad Gadget suffered from heart problems since childhood, and died of a heart attack on 3 April 2002 at the age of 45. In 2006, with the Pyros and family, he has two movies dedicated to him, Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey and Grand Union: A Documentary.

                             

His album Gag was ranked #76 in Treblezine's list of "The Top 100 Best Post-Punk Albums".

Fad Gadget – Gag
Label: Mute – CDSTUMM15
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue
Country: UK
Released: 1991   
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Electro, Experimental

TRAXS

                        

01. Ideal World  (Guitar – Rowland S. Howard)   5:39
02. Collapsing New People  (Producer – Daniel Miller)   4:22
03. Sleep  (Vocals – Morgan Tovey-Frost)   3:25
04. Stand Up    3:30
05. Speak To Me    3:23
06. One Man's Meat    4:06
07. The Ring    3:53
08. Jump      4:09
09. Ad Nauseam  (Guitar – Rowland S. Howard)   6:32

Double Bass, Guitar, Synthesizer [Bass] – Dave Rogers
Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Celesta, Marimba, Performer [Tuned Bottles] – David Simmonds
Producer – Frank Tovey, Gareth Jones
Vocals – Barbara Frost, Frank Tovey
Voice, Viola – Joni Sackett

AD NAUSEAM   LYRICS

 
            

Tarred and feathered like a gutted chicken
Stuck in a rut out of luck Ad Nauseam
Sew up my lips and cut my throat
I choke on the gag but I don't get the joke

Spineless and fish-like, I swim in the mire
I swear like a saw-tooth, fin-flap and gill
Scrap this ludicrous chain of events
Tear away from book-form and screen-time

Scream 'till I hoarse and strapped to my carriage
I bite on the bit of spittle and white bait
Cloven hooved I scratch at my thorax
Yelling I loathe you and smelling a rat
The price that I paid in suicide notes
Sighing and screwing and fucking about
Name a disease that's not out to tease me
Spike through the tongue and eyeballs are razored

Snap your teeth on concrete and order
Don't say what you feel if it stinks of disorder
So tell me that you hate me
And I will feel good
The price that I pay is measured in years
Sucker on the exhaust of crime lights
So sew up my mouth and then slit my throat
I choke on the gag but I don't get the joke

                  

Tarred and feathered like a gutted chicken
Stuck in a rut out of luck Ad Nauseam

 

                  

Sew up my lips and cut my throat
I choke on the gag but I don't get the joke

Spineless and fish like, I swim in the mire
I swear like a saw tooth, fin-flap and gill
Scrap this ludicrous chain of events
Tear away from book-form and screen-time

So tell me that you hate me
And I will feel so good
Sew up my mouth and then slit my throat
I choke on the gag but I don't get the joke

Sucker on the exhaust of crime lights
Sucker on the exhaust of crime lights

Sew up my mouth and then slit my throat
I choke on the gag but I don't get the joke

MP3 @ 320 Size: 92 MB
Flac  Size: 260 MB

Fad Gadget: Incontinent  on Urban Aspirines HERE

Hawklords: We Are One 2012

 

Hawklords were an English music group active between 1978 and 1979. Members were from

Hawkwind, who were inactive during that period, (Robert Calvert – vocals, Dave Brock – guitar and Simon King – drums) and a local Devon group named Ark (Harvey Bainbridge – bass and Martin Griffin – drums) with the addition of former Pilot keyboardist Steve Swindells.
                                       

In 1978, the band released their first full studio album 25 Years On. A tour programme was sold at this

gig detailing the weird science behind the '25 Years' project. After the tour, the band were to tour North America, but Calvert, wishing for the return of King, dismissed Griffin who then concentrated on his studio business and playing for Richard Strange before returning to Hawkwind for the 1981 Sonic Attack album. 

                

Swindells recalls the five members spending time at Rockfield "where we rehearsed and jammed and

wrote... Calvert was suffering definite mental problems when we were there. I think he was going through a divorce from his novelist wife, Pamela, and he was very unstable." Calvert left the band going on to write the novel Hype and recording an accompanying album, and he never appeared on any of the recordings released from these sessions.
                                     

Swindells wrote "Shot Down in the Night" at these sessions, and the band considered it ideal for single release, but with the band having no record contract Swindells departed when offered a solo deal,

resulting in the album Fresh Blood. The remaining three members were joined by Huw Lloyd-Langton (lead guitar) and Tim Blake (synthesizers), choosing to revert to the name of Hawkwind and embarking upon a UK Winter 1979 tour resulting in the album Live Seventy Nine. Swindells' studio version and Hawkwind's live version of "Shot Down in the Night" were released as singles simultaneously in 1980, both featuring Lloyd-Langton and King.
                                

In 2008 a new Hawklords formed around Harvey Bainbridge, with drummer Dave Pearce (ex-Bevis Frond), guitarist and keyboard player Jerry Richards, vocalist Ron Tree (ex-Hawkwind singer) and

bassist Tom Ashurst. The band's critically acclaimed 2015 album release, R:Evolution reached number 15 on the Official UK Top 30 Progressive Rock Chart and was in the top 75 for over two months. A “Full-blown sonic slab of classic British space-rock”, it has been nominated for best rock album of 2015 by One World Music Awards. In 2016, the same line up, augmented by guest vocalist Kim McAuliffe, released the album Fusion (LORDS1016)
                                                       

Hawklords – We Are One
Label: Not On Label (Hawklords Self-released) – HAWKLORDS 0912
Format:    CD, Album
Country: UK
Released: Sep 24, 2012
Genre:Rock
Style: Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock

TRAXS

                                    

01. We Are One    4:07
02. Mothership    4:47
03. Shut Up    3:20
04. Time Split    3:57
05. The Ancient Ones    5:21
06. Sun Child    6:00
07. Flight    4:44
08. Digital Age    5:44
09. Global Warning    5:17
10. I Am The Wind    5:25
11. Wake Up    4:16
12. Water Drum    4:43
13. Event Horizon    8:00
14. Is It A Dream?    4:07
15. Spark In The Dark    5:19

Bass, Synthesizer, Sound Designer [Audio Sculpture] – Adrian Shaw
Drums – Dave Pearce
Guitar [Guitars], Synth [Synths], Whistle [Penny Whistle] – Jerry Richards
Keyboards, Organ [Farfisa], Synth [Farfisa] – Steve Swindells
Synth [Synhs], Keyboards – Harvey Bainbridge
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Sounds [Oscillators] – Ron Tree
Written-By – Shaw (tracks: 2 to 4, 6, 7, 12), Pearce (tracks: 3), Bainbridge (tracks: 7, 10, 12), Richards (tracks: 1, 2, 5 to 8, 13), Constable (tracks: 10, 15), Tree (tracks: 1 to 6, 9, 11, 14, 15), Swindells (tracks: 7)
Recorded at The Earth Lab, Manor Studios and The Music Complex Studios, London, December 2011 to may 2012.
                                               

MP3 @ 320 Size: 174 MB
Flac  Size: 520 MB