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Rare documentary made in Brighton in 1968
- Thread starter Southy
- Start date
NMH
Banned
Being as I've had all their records, I know a bit about The Shivering Span, aka The Mike Stuart Span.
I've had conversations (by email) with two of the original members, one chap I remembered from the day because he was often in The Cottage and that area, and he had enormous muttonchops sideburns that made him look a bit of a spectacle! Nice bloke though, so put that down to a fashion faux-pas of the day.
Gary Murphy | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos
They had a sterling version of 'Come On Over To My Place' which has the words adjusted to be a song about Brighton.
The flip is the wonderful 'Still Nights'
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One of their members tragically 'flew' from a window to his death whilst on an acid trip, and after a period of doubt, they decided to continue with Brian Bennett from Tunbridge Wells, out of the group 'Tony's Defenders'.... who incidentally issued 2 45s, one was really a stellar pop single!
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They covered Mike D'Abo's 'Invitation' backed by a Cat Stevens tune on the next single, not so good.
They once supported Scott Walker and The Herd (with Peter Frampton, considered the face of '68, and later to join Small Face Steve Marriott in Humble Pie).
They then issued an extremely rare and highly sought 'independently released' 45 on the Jewel lable 'Concerto Of Thoughts' backed with 'Children of Tomorrow';
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One more 45 ensued on the Fontana lable ....but it was prompted by the record company who insisted they record two totally awful sides.
I have the acetate, but only for documentation's sake - I flogged the single as it was too awful to keep.
Elektra signed them for 3 singles, one of which got a remixed version in the US, two were issued at the same time in a 'double-pack' promotion that did nothing to get attention whatsoever! All 3 are rather excellent, 'Time' is a brooding slow-burner, and their tracks are all quality
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There was an LP put together as an acetate, and a copy got sequestered to Germany where it was printed into a bootleg album replete with gatefold cover, and that's quite good too.
It's very worthwhile to discover some of the gems of 60's psychedelia and early prog - for which The Span/Leviathan were an example.
I've had conversations (by email) with two of the original members, one chap I remembered from the day because he was often in The Cottage and that area, and he had enormous muttonchops sideburns that made him look a bit of a spectacle! Nice bloke though, so put that down to a fashion faux-pas of the day.
Gary Murphy | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos
They had a sterling version of 'Come On Over To My Place' which has the words adjusted to be a song about Brighton.
The flip is the wonderful 'Still Nights'
[yt]y4UW8ZMUjP8[/yt]
One of their members tragically 'flew' from a window to his death whilst on an acid trip, and after a period of doubt, they decided to continue with Brian Bennett from Tunbridge Wells, out of the group 'Tony's Defenders'.... who incidentally issued 2 45s, one was really a stellar pop single!
[yt]OE3rvg5wdrw[/yt]
They covered Mike D'Abo's 'Invitation' backed by a Cat Stevens tune on the next single, not so good.
They once supported Scott Walker and The Herd (with Peter Frampton, considered the face of '68, and later to join Small Face Steve Marriott in Humble Pie).
They then issued an extremely rare and highly sought 'independently released' 45 on the Jewel lable 'Concerto Of Thoughts' backed with 'Children of Tomorrow';
[yt]DQ6T1-KOTK8[/yt]
One more 45 ensued on the Fontana lable ....but it was prompted by the record company who insisted they record two totally awful sides.
I have the acetate, but only for documentation's sake - I flogged the single as it was too awful to keep.
Elektra signed them for 3 singles, one of which got a remixed version in the US, two were issued at the same time in a 'double-pack' promotion that did nothing to get attention whatsoever! All 3 are rather excellent, 'Time' is a brooding slow-burner, and their tracks are all quality
[yt]rVOfWBe9uOM[/yt]
There was an LP put together as an acetate, and a copy got sequestered to Germany where it was printed into a bootleg album replete with gatefold cover, and that's quite good too.
It's very worthwhile to discover some of the gems of 60's psychedelia and early prog - for which The Span/Leviathan were an example.
Last edited:
NMH
Banned
Having been given a box record player (with that long spindle which flopped several 45s down from a great height!), your intrepid reporter popped into The Cottage with pocket money from my paper round, and picked up second hand singles which I selected carefully, after rummaging with elbows in to get space in that little shop. I believe my first, or one of, was The Yardbirds demo 'A' white lable copy of 'Heart Full Of Soul', which I still treasure ownership of. Who bloody knows what other amazing records I passed up from not knowing what they were at the time!?
fire&skill
Killer-Diller
That was one of the most enjoyable 25 mins I've had in recent times - even if it was a spoof YEARS before Spinal Tap - great find 