HatsOff, Gentlemen!

Two albums and four years into their existence and with their music already labelled by some as ‘what The Beatles might have done if they hadn’t split up’, in 1973 cheeky Bristol prog types Stackridge found themselves in a studio with their production hero George Martin. But were they about to lose their heads for The Man In Bowler The Hat?

Jo Kendall

Rising from the ashes of the Goon Show-inspired Griptight Thynne and morphing from Stackridge Lemon to just Stackridge, by 1973 the knockabout Bristol pop-proggers had racked up some serious milestones in four years of existence. Initially comprised of Andrew Cresswell-Davis (sometimes credited as Andy Davis) on guitar, keyboards and vocals; James Warren on guitar and vocals; James ‘Crun’ Walter on bass (Crun was also a Goons name); Michael ‘Mutter’ Slater on flute and vocals; Mike Evans on violin; and Billy ‘Sparkle’ Bent on drums, the bandmembers had met in the clubs and bars of Bristol such as Acker Bilk’s Old Granary and The Dug Out. The players’ chemistry went from performing pop and blues covers to original songs infused with a Bonzo Dog Band playfulness and eclecticism, taking in classical…

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Prog Italia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 148

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