Elton's First Album: Not For Sale
dal numero del dicembre 1975 di Circus Raves
di Eliot Sekuler
Way back in the sixties, before there was an Empty Sky or even an Elton
John, pianist Reginald Dwight was enlisted by aspiring producer Tony
King to join what the latter envisioned as a studio band along the
lines of the great Motown sections of the past. It wasn't to be a
touring, full-time outfit, but a recording group and studio back-up
unit that could be revised and shifted to fit the needs of each
individual project that was undertaken. King, who produced the group
along with veteran Chris Thomas (Procol Harum, Jethro Tull), also
enlisted Hollies bassist Bernie Calvert, a pair of Jamaican conga and
cowbell men and present-day Elton John Band members Roger Pope (drums)
and Caleb Quaye (guitar). The group was dubbed the Bread and Beer Band,
and with good reason.
"We used to go down to the pub in the afternoon, have a few beers and
go back to the studio in the evening. Then we'd turn down all the
lights at Abbey Road and get all moody," recalled Tony King. "The
Beatles had been using lots of colored lights while they were recording
- we thought it was terribly avant-garde - so we used to steal them and
use them during our sessions."
King, who now serves as general manager for Elton John's and manager
John Reid's Rocket Records, describes the group's first recorded effort
as a satirical 12-bar blues treatment of the theme to the "Dick Barden
Show," [should be "Dick Barton Show"] the BBC's rough equivalent to our
own Dick Tracy. It was released as a single. "We got some nice reviews
and people said it was interesting in an adventurous sort of way." It
didn't sell.
Nevertheless, Bread and Beer were sufficiently motivated to record an
album, a concept sort of thing that featured reworked arrangements of
popular songs of the day with a few standards tossed in. Among the
songs that Reginald and company tampered with were Sam the Sham's Wooly
Bully, Donovan's Mellow Yellow and even a humorous arrangement of the
Zorba The Greek movie theme. Fortunately or unfortunately, it was never
released.
According to King, the tapes are now the property of John Reid and only
one disc, an acetate presented to Elton on his last birthday, is in
existence. "When I played it for Elton on his birthday," said King, "I
thought It would be God-awful. We were surprised to find that it was
half-decent. I think that if it were lousy, we'd all own up to it,
because it's only between us anyway. But everybody who played on it
still likes it." There is no way, however, that the album will ever be
released.
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