John Peel's ABC of British Underground Bands (1968)
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- čas přidán 27. 02. 2021
- In November 1968, Disc & Music Echo magazine ran a 5-page feature on the underground scene. John Peel contributed to the feature with his "ABC of Beauty", in which he listed british underground bands that he thought were worth checking out. Really interesting to see his comments on, for example, this promising new band Led Zeppelin. At the time, they hadn't even released their first album.
- Hudba
For me John Peel is one of the greatest contributors to music without being a performing musician.
The sheer number of great British bands in that time frame is astounding.
They weren't all great.
He didn't say they were all great !
So pleased that FAMILY (1967-1973) were mentioned here. John Peel loved and championed the criminally underrated Family. They were regulars on his BBC radio show Top Gear. It's a pity that, unlike other British groups of this era, they never "ended up in the grip of the Americans". I saw them several times between 1968 and 1970 and those early Family gigs were unforgettable. Great memories.
fidomusic It's excellent that you mentioned Family. " My friend the sun " is still so beautiful although Bandstand did get some dodgy reviews. I even remember friends dubious in the same way they felt about Capt. Beefheart's ' Unconditionally guaranteed ". I loved and bought both of them. When was 13 I used to see the acoustic band Tyrannosaurus Rex because of John.
BTW, I was lucky enough to be in the studio when Family recorded their last album. A sad day.
Led Zeppelin - 'could be very good indeed'...
Peel never changed in his quest for new music to listen to. His tastes changed, but he didn’t. And he was still to discover his favorite band - The Fall
Peel was the best promoter of progressive music ever! He really hit full stride in the late 70's/80's when groups were far more sophisticated, sounds more diverse and music and lyrics really dug into a whole spectrum of social issues, especially in Britain. John Peel was a godsend for picking and choosing the era's most credible, heavy hitting messengers.
Well if you consider Jethro Tull progressive then you're wrong about John Peel. He never spoke to Ian Anderson again after Stand Up was released. He loathed the direction they went after "This Was". Personally, I think he was wrong on this one.
@@plantfeeder6677 I've never considered Tull anything but dreadful and they were not a part of the era that I was referencing: Joy Division, The Clash, Smiths, Cure etc etc. on and on, when Peel's voice, opinions, and candid admissions of hero worship just illuminated about a decades worth of the greatest music I'd ever heard!
Incredible guy. Never be another.
@@davidmurray2539 okay I reread your post and you did say LATE '70s. To bad. You missed the really great years and since this was in '68..my story has relevance to this video and is true.
Afa your opinion of Jethro Tull, by the time your musical journey began, they were crap. I refer to only their first 5 lp's which was relevant again to this video...after they released Thick as a Brick, they sucked.
@@plantfeeder6677 Yes, sorry for my lack of clarity there. It's only my opinion and taste in music but I hope it wasn't just me in all the world who'd endured listening to an entire side of Aqualung, out of politeness to a friend, and emerged with the impression that if this grew into a trend, the future landscape of rock might just have been significantly fouled. But who knows? John Peel is the one person I can think of who had the powers of persuasion to maybe make me reconsider and reassess my opinion of Jethro Tull, right? Opportunity missed?
@@davidmurray2539 well he WAS crazy about their first lp...This Was, so there's your sign which one to listen to.
When I was 14 yrs old (1977) John Peel introduced me to a world of music most people didn't know about or care about. He cared about it though and that came over the airwaves and into my impressionable young mind. I met a woman ten years my senior and she had also been enlightened by Peel when she was around 14 (1967/8)..My mind is still in that state of openness ready to discover new things. In part this is due to the influence of John Peel.
A
00:56 The Action
1:04 The Alan Bown
1:10 Al Stewart
1:15 Andromeda
1:21 The Crazy world of Arthur Brown
1:26 Aynsley Dunbar
B
1:32 Bakerloo line
1:38 Barclay James harvest
1:43 The Beatles
1:47 Bee Gees
1:54 Blonde on blonde
1:58 Blossom toes
2:07 Bonzo dog doo-dah band
2:16 Brian Auger trinity & Julie Driscoll
2:22 Bridget St. John
C
2:29 Caravan
2:38 Cat Stevens
2:43 Chicken shack
2:47 Cream
D
2:53 Deep Purple
2:58 Deviants
3:08 Donovan
3:19 Duncan Browne
3:26 Duster Bennet
E
3:30 East of Eden
3:37 Eclection
3:44 Elmer Gantry's velvet opera
3:50 Eric Burdon & the Animals
3:57 Eyes of blue
F
4:02 Fairport convention
4:09 Family
4:16 Fleetwood Mac
4:25 Free
G
4:30 Giles, Giles & Fripp
4:35 Gillbert O'Sullivan
4:42 The Gods
4:54 Gordon Smith
5:04 Gun
H
5:11 Harsh reality
5:15 The Hollies
5:20 Honeybus
I
5:22 Idle race
5:29 Incredible string band
J
5:34 Jackie Lomax
5:38 Jeff Beck group
5:44 Jethro tull
5:59 Jimi Hendrix experience
6:05 John Mayall's bluesbreakers
6:13 John Dummer blues band
6:22 John Martyn
6:29 The Johnstons
6:34 John Hiseman's colloseum
6:37 July
K
6:41 Kinks
L
6:47 Led Zeppelin
6:56 Lesley Duncan
6:59 Liverpool scene
7:07 Love sculpture
M
7:14 Manfred Mann
7:19 Moody blues
N
7:25 The Nice
7:33 Nirvana
P
7:39 Pentangle
7:46 Pink Floyd
7:58 The Pretty things
8:08 Procol Harum
8:14 Pete Brown's battered ornaments
R
8:20 Ralph McTell
8:24 The Rolling Stones
8:32 Roy Harper
S
8:42 Sallyangie
8:52 Savoy Brown
8:57 The Scaffold
9:07 Skip Bifferty
9:15 Small faces
9:23 Soft machine
9:29 Spooky tooth
9:36 Strawbs
T
9:42 Taste
9:50 Ten years after
9:56 Third ear band
10:03 Tim Hollier
10:08 Traffic
10:13 Tyrannosaurus Rex
V
10:20 Van der Graaf generator
W
10:33 The Who
10:40 The writing on the wall
Y
10:48 Yes
Z
10:53 The Zombies
11:12 Some other bands John mentioned, but i couldn't hear them all properly.
John Peel is one of my heroes in the realm of music. His shows brought new music & constant joy, whether from Pirate Radio or the BBC.
Holy Holy! This is just a new wad of bands to look into. It just never ends. The amount of artists making great music in the late 60's never ceases to amaze me!
I seen some of these bands in old London Town in 1968-69, glad to hear a mention of great Bands like east of Eden and Caravan as they often played in the Lyceum in London, a place that was basically an Acid House back in those days.
It must have been so cool to get a shout out from John Peel!
"The Stones are still full of good things and will continue to surprise you for years" - how prophetic!
So fun to revisit this era. 1968 an iconic year for music - believe there is a book entitled 1968 endorsing it as such! Loved the archival photos! Thank you!
Probably the best year for innovative rock music until, well, pick a year between 1978 and 1980
We here in southern California (San Bernardino to be exact) were familiar with John Peel in his John Ravenscroft the DJ persona on AM radio. He showcased some damn good tunes and bands we hadn't heard before.
I love learning about these bands. So many I never heard of. Thank you!
My hero among DJs despite never having heard a show of his until many, many years after the fact in recordings found across the pond here in America.
"Sallyangie", 20 year old Sally Oldfield and her younger brother Michael... :-) Play their 'Children of the Sun'. The crazy Mike, still a kid, even then had a Tubullar Bell moment in the background.
Quite a list! Quite a year! Many of them spawned so much great music in the next few years ... if not the next few decades.
True!
I read this article when it was first printed. shaped my taste in many important ways....
Peel was quite accurate in his critical analysis of the present and future.
So so many Kevin Ayres, Soft machine, Gentle Giant and all the regulars like Stray and Plato great times I was 18 in 1970 and beginning to think that it probably is better to burn out than fade away ( in the process of fading away as we speak) ✌
🖖👍
That was pretty cool. Thanks. Cheers!
I've just come across your channel and subscribed. What a brilliant idea and format you have ... I'm fascinated by old music magazines. You get a different perspective on music when you read the contemporary musings of journalists. Sometimes they get it right; sometimes they get it wrong; sometimes they get it right but we still haven't come round to their way of thinking. In this list of the British Underground Bands of 1968, John Peel does all of this.
Thank you! Glad you enjoy the channel.
@@YesterdaysPapers I just found you out tonight. I've already watched 6 or 7, and I will watch them all. Your pick of subjects is perfect. Your archive images too. Wow. Thank you. My best friend will be so excited by this channel as well. Subscribed of course 💯
@@nathalieplum2137 Thank you very much!
John Peel!!! Defined the era!! Loved his contribution to our music back then!! Killer job
He might have defined a few eras! I can tell you as someone born in 1987, that when I was getting deep into music discovery as a teenager in the early 2000’s, that John Peel Sessions were a way that I discovered dozens of bands, mostly from the past, sometimes present, and almost always something I ended up liking enough to explore their studio albums, with many of those becoming favorite artists.
Point being, I was born 20 years after he got started, and started exploring them more than 30 years after the fact, but I can tell you that, for myself and several other music nerd friends, John Peel’s stamp of approval and/or sessions absolutely meant something to us, and often guided/directed our exploration. His legend lives on, even with him gone, as I’ve no doubt that more than a few of the generation z kids discovering music today are discovering how his interests in a band often means that band is interesting, and that you should check them out. That makes his influence span at least 4 generations, even if he’s not here any longer, and I imagine he’ll be an influence for kids discovering the great bands of the past for years to come, obscure or not. ✌️🤘♾
@@nikolademitri731 yes indeed, well said
Loved hearing a bit of the Deviants playing in the background. Mick Farren was a genius
Slowly catching up to what I've missed as a late arrival, YP, and finally getting to this one. I've often said that the greatest times in music history was when there were bands on the outer edges pushing everyone else to do better. Charts full of one hit wonders is indicative of a healthy music scene. But this list! So much magic and such a varied number of styles! ♥
Peel's single fault was the urge to be a bit kind to everyone, but that slight blemish aside, he was huge and important.
What a lot of British talent on tap in '68...
I love John Peel's optimistic hopes for a band called Led Zeppelin! And, amazingly he foresees great things for so many bands that were soon to become absolutely huge. Britain's greatest ever DJ.
The dude had GREAT taste in music. And even before a band had a record out he booked them and they killed it in the BBC 1 session (talking primarily about punk bands here)
Yes, and he saw the value and quality of all those punk bands when most of the people from his generation thought punk rock was a joke.
@@YesterdaysPapers Word. IMO his 3 Peel sessions with the Ruts compiled on one LP is one of the 15 all time best punk albums, better than The Crack which is missing 3 GREAT songs.
I am however fascinated by this period of his life. We are listening to another Peel.
missing John's succint wisdom, even in the form of these snippets.
I found it interesting that J Peel had not heard Third Ear Band at this point. He certainly made up for that in 1969 as they seemed to be on Top Gear every episode.
...of course he had.
He played autoharp in one track in TEB’s Alchemy
This is a groovy channel.
Subbed!
So much good music in the 1960s, I would love to have been there
This video, and the content! Oh, My, Gawd. I was just thinking of how to get my father to start liking CZcams. Now I have one more card up my sleeve!
I love that I’ve never heard of a lot of these groups. 👍
I know Peel came to champion Soft Machine and Robert Wyatt. I watched this to see what he initially said. He didn't say much, but he soon after became a huge fan.
Another interesting band, that had sadly split up by 1968 was called John's Children, based in Leatherhead in Surrey.
Their main claims to fame were that their guitarist for 6 months was a certain Marc Bolan, the BBC banned their single Desdemona for supposedly obscene lyrics and they were thrown off a tour of Germany for out-Whoing The Who.
One final piece of trivia is that one of their singles Midsummer Night's Scene is one of the rarest ever records released. The last copy that went up for sale many years ago sold for £6,500.
He spotted mike oldfield 5 years before Tubbular bells !!! . In 68, he saw the future of most of the artists who were about to be big in the 70s, floyd, zeppelin, Jeff lynne, fleetwood mac etc..
If I was ever marooned on a desert island, a record-player, generator and fuel for it and a release from each of these artists would see me clear, even though the intervening years have seen great excellence too. Anyone who ever doubted his ability to discern great music should remember that most of these were unheard of at the time.
Fairport convention when they started to play "folk-rock" I discovered in the late 1970 early 1980, as well as Pentangle...
Love!
Love and peace to you John
Spot on about Fairport Convention "Undoubtedly one of the best groups anywhere. There are very few groups I would rather go and hear" and (Peter Green's) Fleetwood Mac "Also getting better all the time...few more entertaining groups on stage" and Free "All very young and very good. They should have recorded by now though.
Some crazy, long forgotten names on that list as well
Some deserved to be forgotten.
They don’t make legends like this anymore cue Teenage Kicks
Top Gear was essential listening. A huge breath of fresh air.
If there was a higher power for quality music if would be John Peel. If it wasn't for him I would get into this music world AT ALL.
i wish i was writing songs when John Peel was alive and i could feel the feeling of hope, alas i am writing now and all hope is gone
I like that he called Led Zeppelin "Remnants of The Yardbirds".
He got the Hollies right. "We already know what they can do. Sometimes they don't do it though".
Interesting that a couple members of Eclection ended up in Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny's band Fotheringay.
Also interesting how he jumps from very obscure buzz bands to The Beatles, Stones, Kinks and The Who.
One of the albums I really regret selling was Giles, Giles and Fripp.
The real Fleetwood Mac ✌
He mentioned "Eyes of Blue", cool.
Free were brilliant, and just teenagers. They could be a household name today if not for the rock and roll toll.
So this is you - reading an old newspaper and adding avaiiable music clips that are just under the limit for prosecution - nice one
Magical and Wonderful memories, when this Beautiful World was free from lunacy.
Yer we are one big corporate mess now
1968 was hardly free from lunacy. Vietnam War, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinated, Russians crush 'Prague Spring', student protests in London, Paris and other capitals, USA almost at war with N Korea.
Prémonitoire! La plupart de ces artistes deviendront des stars absolues!
the most important person in music history. John Peel was The King, not some bloke from Memphis.
The Alan Bown Set were a great live band 😊
Putting all the noticeable (and not so noticeable) acts altogether here really shows how England was far out in front of all other countries combined, US included. It's hard to figure how it happened but glad it did.
About quarter of new bands in the list survived.
John Peel's programme was how i kept up to date with what was happening outside of London in the 1960's
I would have liked to hear his country accent reading this.
Scouse accent you mean...
@@wanderer299a Ok. Peel's 'Provincial ' accent.
@@wanderer299a
A public school boy with a fake Scouse accent.
@@YorkyOne Imagine actually believing that you can’t have a hometown accent just because you went to a good school.
@@wellesradio
But it's a completely fake accent that he started using to capitalise on Beatlemania when he was working on US radio. He also created a man of the people persona for himself. It was all an affectation. Peel was born in prosperous Heswall, which is the other side of the River Mersey beyond Birkenhead - it's not in Liverpool! He may have supported Liverpool football club but he wasn't born there. His 'hometown accent' was actually very posh received English.
Remarkable how much of the music of a period falls away into obscurity.
They've all brought him joy at some point? Would that include all the bands he admitted he'd not heard yet, I wonder, lol? Got to love him, this would be the period before he became northern.
Where did all the great music go? .... I turn on the radio and instantly turn it off . So very lucky to see real bands . I met the stars. What a fantastic era to be alive. I jumped in a bit later than this. But I was surrounded by musicians' from a young age.
If John Peel taught you anything it should be that there is great music in every era if you're willing to put in the work to find it. The Windmill in Brixton is currently one of the epicentres of the best British music being made and if John were around today I think he'd be loving the bands coming out of there.
@@kgatlw9134 Exactly. “Where did all the good music go?” is the very opposite attitude of John Peel. He kept his ears open and he knew that the great music, with some notable exceptions, was not simply a matter of “turning on the radio.” Different eras speak to different generations. Me personally I never liked 60’s white British blues bands. I love American blues, but can’t stand blues based British bands. That’s just me. If you were into them, however, and many people were, then it was a golden age for you. That’s the thing: it’s was the golden age for something or someone. If you don’t like today’s music, it’s not the music’s problem. It’s yours.
@@kgatlw9134 of course very few bands were aired on commercial radio. But , there were more record labels back then that embraced talent.
Peel continued to find good music (as well as still enjoying the good old stuff) until he died. He was one person in music who never trotted out this “everything was better back in the old days” crap, so open your fucking mind if you’ve got one.
Perhaps you aren't trying hard enough as every decade has great artists. Lol, only joking I can't turn on the radio nowadays either even though I'd like to hear something new and inspiring, it just doesn't happen, then again there haven't been any new genres either for a long time.
Beatles and Bee Gees as underground bands
Bee Gees , underground ?
Given that was written in November 1968 and, that very month, one of the two bands you so sneer at as "underground" released an LP featuring a nine minute performance art sound collage, I reckon "underground" might not be all that far from the mark.
The Who and Fairport Convention..plus their individual stuff, also love the unmentioned Steeleye Span, some great Music in that ABC....grew up listening from the 50s to present day, What a Journey so far....
Steeleye Span had yet to be formed (1970). Founder member Ashley Hutchings was still with Fairport in 1968.
@@YorkyOne Steeleye Span started 1969.. yes I was aware John Peel ABC was 1968, anyway it was about he time I started o get into Folk/Rock...
@@thfccfht
Agreed, although December 1969 only just qualifies - early rehersals and I don't think they had a name at this point. Your musical time frame looks to be similar to mine. As you say, quite a journey!
@@YorkyOne Seems so, according to my Mother I would listen to the radio from a very young age, even now I have memories of listening to Doo Wop and Rock n Roll during the 50s..I am 70 now.
@@thfccfht
I'm nowt burra young lad - 69.
The pretty things should have been huge, great band
John Peel was a big fan of Jeff Lynne's band The Idle Race.
They're a wonderful look at Lynne's early song writing. I enjoy them very much!
The BBC had one position which obviously meant that the winner would be famous like it or not. He was expected to be fair and eclectic (part of the job). He was of course and humble (as if there were something not to like). It was fantastic luck and you knew that he definitely knew what he had and that he’d be around for a long time.
In 1968 John Peel is full of praise for Jethro Tull but he would soon fall out with Ian Anderson.
Think he went off Yes, T Rex pretty quickly and although he championed Cream they led the kind of improvised, instrumental solo proficiency he later eschewed).
@@davidpollard4051 He dumped Marc Bolan after I think Hot Love or Get It On because Bolan had done the most heinous thing in his eyes, gone commercial.
09:20 What was that comment about the Small Faces "support for violence" mean?
Did the American band from Detroit called SRC ever sell records in Britain? Their first record in particular was a masterpiece.
Peel's comments were ok but too brief to provide any real assessment. Best part of this vid were the ultra cool photos (many new to me!) and the uncredited backing music. Let's hear it for the Deviants, Accent, Skip Bifferty and Gods!!
Great bands, no doubt. Criminally underrated.
The problem with John Peel's recommendations were that he recommended so many bands that it was impossible for all of them to make it big. Many did,and many bands he recommended had musicians who went on to star in other bands or fronted their own successful ones
Great stuff but why no pic of Bakerloo Line?
Please do a documentary on art wood . Ronnie wood s brother .
👍👍👍
Honeybus, "She flies like a bird through the sk-y-y-ay". (the Nimble ad) Can't Let Maggie Go.
Love that song.
Family great band
I agree. Love them.
Yes! I saw them several times between 1968 and 1970 and they were fantastic live. Music in a Doll's House is a classic psychedelic album. They are criminally underrated and it is a tragedy they never made it in the US. One of the best bands of all time.
@@fidomusic yes agree. Ive got the lps music in a doll and their 2nd lp too. Live they must have thrilled
Not sure where to write this..... Band's Missing ???? Downliner's Sect = Country Sect LP. SAHB well worth looking into. Ditto: Edgar Broughton Band. Babe Ruth {First Base}.
Sensational Alex Harvey Band in '68 ??? Edgar Broughton Band was still an unknown entity in '68. would soon change.
Babe Ruth - 1970.
The Downliner's Sect - broke up 1968.
SAHB - 1972.
Edgar Broughton Band - formed 1968 but only got a record deal December that year so basically unknown.
*John PeeL* .....always trustworthy .....agreed for 90 % with this summation of which most I bought .
Apart from the single "My Baby's Rich" ......pre Uriah Heep , the Gods were pretentious dross . Love Peel's advertisement of The Nice first LP ,which was included as a bonus track on a recent Nice compilation.
1968 was too early for The Edgar Broughton Band to be included , while Mick Farren's Deviants apparently were already around at the time ,
they didn't fulfil their promise though. Even though Mick Farren's 1977 "Vampires Stole My Lunch Money" is a buried treasure.
Nonsense, "Genesis" by the Gods is a great album I love it a lot (although the interval 'robot noises' I could do without), the second one is more pretentious though
@@tonycaniggia Yeah , you're right it had some interesting tracks .
@@PAULLONDEN my own favorites on the album are the opening tracks "Towards the Skies" & "Candles Getting Shorter" as well as "Looking Glass" & "Plastic Horizon" which are quite epic tracks showcasing Ken Hensley's abilities
Not to forget Lee Kerslake, his drumming is great throughout
Stunning ,thé Moody Blues were there ,they did thé 1rst prog LP !!! Well before and better than thé yes ,Genesis,Crimson ,marillion ,Roxy cohortes !!!
bonzo dog was the late great neil innes' first band
anyone who is bashing this isnt paying attention...peel was doing twitter before twitter
I once owned a fuzz pedal that was owned by the guitarist for this band. Never did see them live. Pity.
I don't think a lot of viewers would recognise Nirvana that John Peel recommends . Blossom toes was a good group.All in al a pantheon of sixties groups.
A lot of the choices disappeared interestingly into obscurity
Great. What album is playing in the background? Someone below says it is the Deviants? Sounds great.
Yes, the first song is "You've Got To Hold On" by the Deviants.
Red sky at night by the Accent. One of the great singles of the era.
Anyone know where his comment on The Small Faces and support for violence comes from???🙄 Never heard of anything like that.
A fantastic list but what about the Move?
Was john peel on the band of gypies puppet sleeve cover album.?
Yes! Peel, Dylan, Hendrix and Brian Jones.
Jeff Beck Group “ neurotic”? Rory Gallagher “lunatic“? Any guesses as to the identity of the guitarist Peel recommend to The Nice, to replace O’List?
Steve Howe auditioned for The Nice, but according to Keith Emerson turned them down when they asked him to join.
@@robertmac9057 thank you for that info
@@robertmac9057 Yes, he was my first thought. But Peel said "shame they didn't follow my advice." This appears to suggest someone else. I'd love to know! (And there's only Lee left to ask, now. 😥 )
Bee gees….. underground, wow man
Funny thinking today that when Zep started they were seen as Jimmy Page's underground band. Once Whole Lotta Love came out as a single that was all she wrote. I thinketh Jimmy and boys doth protest too much about not liking or wanting singles. Without Whole Lotta Love the incredible climb to the top may have taken another year or more.
Whole Lotta Love was from their second album...they were successfully sued for stealing the lyrics (the court ruled that the music was derivative but "sufficiently different" from the original because of Pages unarguably hard work. But they still lost). WLL became famous in the US and elsewhere because it was "dirty" and banned...appreciation for the (great) music was secondary.
On their first album the most famous single, followed by Communication Breakdown is Dazed and Confused...which they stole from Jake Holmes, a jingle writer (Be all you can be, in the Arrrrrmy), from an album he released in the 60's.
So no. Getting the right producers, career/BUSINESS management is what made them and others of this era a "thing".
Idle Race and Nirvana are amazing groups.
that list, which may not even be half of the british bands in 1968 worth listening to, is more than any given bands from germany in the last 60 years, included the ones not worth listen to :D. just to put it in perspective if one starts to talk about the deutsches kulturvolk...
He was right about the moody blues!
Any idea who or what the song at 8:15 and again at 9:14 is?
ELMER GANTRY'S VELVET OPERA >>> Great Album
Agreed. Love that record.
@@YesterdaysPapers Yup ..definitely a favourite .
Just lately learned that the singer (real name David Terry) had a hit in '74 with "Why Did You Do It" from the band Stretch .
2:44
The blonde woman in Chicken Shack was Christine Perfect later known as Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac.
Best band on the list 7:19
Should have made the soundtrack to 2001, yes that would have been great
Hey can you credit the music that plays in the background while you're going through the ABC list? Some of that s**t sounds tight.
No mention of Terry Reid - that's a bit of a shame.
I think at the time of Peel’s listing, Terry had only released one or two pop solo singles & wouldn’t have been considered “underground.” His earlier stint with Peter Jay certainly didn’t carry any hipster weight. All that would change in time & he’d be shortlisted for GOAT.
@@VonL You're probably right. I first saw him a couple of years later or so, and was hooked from the very first note he sang. Greatest of all time? He was a contender, certainly. But it remains a mystery to me why he never gained the same kind of widespread recognition as some of his contemporaries. OK, he said "no" to Jimmy Page, and he had contractual problems. But what a singer, what a performer, what great backing musicians - he should have been huge, whatever the setbacks.