Thursday, July 31, 2025

The Day After Sabbath 159: Children Of The Grave [Obscure 1970s Black Sabbath Cover Songs]

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Welcome to volume 159! The name of my webzine, 'The Day After The Sabbath', has sadly become true in a way that I did not originally intend when I started 16 years ago, but this is the time we are in now. I won't wax lyrical about the recent sad news, suffice to say this site would be very different, or maybe not exist at all, if it wasn't for Ozzy Osbourne, as with the rest of the Birmingham UK band, Black Sabbath.

I have always been intrigued by cover versions, and have based previous TDATS volumes on the subject already (v105, v138). Since I started, it's been inevitable that a Sabbath-related collection of some kind would happen, and now seems the natural time.

Here we have a set of Black Sabbath cover songs, all recorded in the 1970s or earlier. The "or earlier" part can be explained; the direction of cover goes both ways, and included here are some songs by other acts that Sabbath themselves covered early in their career.

If this was a Hendrix, Cream or Deep Purple covers comp, it would have been easier to make; it is notable, for a band that is so well-known now, how few times the large majority of Black Sabbath songs were covered on record within the 1970s, except for one song elaborated below. The reason for this would seem to be that although Sabbath became popular with a select group of rock fans early-on (the ones with especially excellent taste, hehe), they did not achieve the same duration of mainstream recognition as some other heavy acts during the '70s. I can only assume that they were generally too heavy and scary for the mass market as it was then.

The earliest recorded evidence of Sabbath being covered live was by Scotland's Iron Claw (link), who played their songs at shows from 1970 onward, sometimes before they had even been released by Sabbath themselves, as you will read below.

You can, however, find 'Paranoid' covered in many places in the 1970s, by musical cabaret troupes like The Les Humphries Singers, on several supermarket pop-cover cash-in LPs of the time, and a punk version by The Dickies in 1978. One that has become widely posted since the dawn of the internet is Cindy & Bert's entertainingly bizarre "Der Hund von Baskerville".




Paranoid was apparently regarded as a catchy, floor-filling, chart hit. German No.1, Dutch No.2 and UK No.4, among other top-10 entries around the world, it achieved platinum sales.

I had to include a few examples of Paranoid covers here, but seeing as I could probably do two whole volumes of just that one song, I have looked hard for other songs that were covered during the '70s, and there aren't many. I was lucky to have come across some of these randomly years ago while delving into various countries on other searches. There is no sure-fire way to find them all, as so few are specifically documented or credited as Sabbath covers, and may have names not related the the original song names, on top of that, in different languages.

This leaves the question, how many more are out there? How many Singaporean show band EPs like The Commandos, or small-town USA private 45s like Meloncolony, containing early Sabbath covers, are left to be discovered?

If anyone would like to contribute some contrasting views on this subject, maybe people who were around to remember the '70s (I was at least alive when one of the songs in this set was recorded), feel free to comment at the end of this post, or via my social media / email. I'd be glad to add them here!


TRACKS


01. Orchestra And Chorus Les Humphries - Paranoid (1971)
                            from album Singing Revolution
02. Los Shain's  - Wicked World (1970)
                            from album Singles 1969-1970
03. Crow - Evil Woman (1969)
                            from album Crow Music
04. Iron Claw - Fairies Wear Boots (1970)
                            live unreleased
05. Tyke - Paranoid (1977)
                            from album Picture Postcard
06. Suck - War Pigs (1972)
                            from album Rock Today With The Big Heavies
07. Billy Walker - Changes (1973)
                            from album The Hand Of Love
08. Jiří Schelinger & F. R. Čech - Metro, Dobrý Den [A National Acrobat] (1975)
                            from album Nemám Hlas Jako Zvon
09. Soreng Santi - Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng [Iron Man] (1970s)
                            single
10. Meloncolony - The Wizard (1971)
                            single
11. Skupina F. R. Čecha - Báječní Muži [Into The Void] (1975)
                            from album Báječní Muži
12. The Commandos - Penyesalan [Paranoid] (1970)
                            from EP 'Derita'
13. Elf (Ronnie James Dio) - War Pigs (1972)
                            from album Live At The Bank
14. The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation - Warning (1967)
                            single
15. Crystal Saint - Changes (1973)
                            single
16. The Norman Haines Band - When I Come Down (1971)
                            from album Den Of Iniquity
17. Rolf Kühn - Paranoid (1971)
                            from album New Happy Discothek
18. Flower Travellin' Band - Black Sabbath (1970)
                            from album Anywhere



The Lowdown


Les Humphries was a Brit who ran an international music troupe. They covered pop hits of the time and the performances were of a high standard, often including names that have cropped up here in TDATS before, such as Earl Jordan (of Jodo link), John Lawton (of Lucifer's Friend and Uriah Heep) and Inga Rumpf (Frumpy, Atlantis).

Los Shain's appear with a very early Sabbath cover, I can count on one hand the number of bands that had recorded Sabbath covers at this point in 1970. They were one of Peru's popular rock acts, you can read more about them in v104 (link).

Crow have appeared here before (vols 1360), they peddled great horn-laden hard rock. Sabbath covered Evil Woman as their debut single in January 1970 at the urging of manager Jim Simpson, who wanted a commercial track. Tony Iommi replaced Crow's horns with heavy guitar.

The Scottish band Iron Claw have featured many times here, in 2011 I interviewed founding guitarist Jim Ronnie at the time of their reformation and new album (link). This live recording of The Claw playing Fairies Wear Boots was made in July 1970, just before Sabbath had released the Paranoid album. This was possible as Iron Claw bass player Alex Wilson was an avid fan of Sabbath, at a time when his band and Sabbath were fledgling acts playing the same circuit. He would memorise Sabbath's songs at shows c.1969 and also create or obtain recordings of them, thus he has some of the earliest DIY recordings of Sabbath ever made. Alex has a youtube (link) where he has uploaded three of Iron Claw's early live Sabbath covers.



Tyke were a trio from Sheffield comprised at this song's time of Paul Jarvis (bass, vocals), Dave Robinson (guitar, keys, vocals) and drummer Ken Markham. It appears their two LPs were fun pub rock affairs, self-released on their own label, Magnum. They covered a number of hits of various styles, and according to Discogs, backed pop singer Dave Berry in their formative years.

Suck formed in what used to be called Rhodesia, in southern Africa. They existed for less than a year but managed to get one of the region's first ever hard rock albums recorded, filled with covers of bands such as Sabbath and Deep Purple, plus a Sabbath-like original of their own called 'The Whip' (see v22). The album is called 'Time To Suck'.

Billy Walker was an American country music singer and guitarist best known for his 1962 hit, "Charlie's Shoes". Nicknamed The Tall Texan, Walker had more than 30 charting records during a 60-year career, and was a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Jiří Schelinger & F. R. Čech, two guys who often worked together, were in the former Czechoslovakia. They have two tracks here, Into The Void and A National Acrobat, from two different albums, and both covers are killer. When I eventually investigate the Czech / Slovakian region of Europe further for TDATS, I will surely dig deeper with these guys!

Soreng Santi was a Thai singer, songwriter, and composer for other artists. This exotic 'Iron Man' interpretation appeared on a Finders Keepers comp entitled "Thai? Dai! (The Heavier Side Of The Luk Thung Underground)", after they first put it out as a limited 7 inch. I'm glad to have come across these releases as they will be very useful when I eventually cover more of South East Asia, I have already done a couple of Indonesian volumes 98 & 106. This is the only early Iron Man cover (if you can call it that) I have come across so far. Crazy to think, but understandable as the single did not perform well on release. 

From my rare singles volume - 155: Space Machines (link):
"Meloncolony - The Wizard. 
Here's a really interesting single on a small Iowa label. The catalogue number puts it somewhere around 1971. Again we have a band doing an early cover of Black Sabbath, with a more fuzzy, psychedelic approach. In particular, the stripped-down production and keyboards give this a very different feel.

On the flipside, they give the same treatment to Speed King by Deep Purple. I have seen this for sale on auctions and in one case the seller claimed it was from Des Moines. I must give the band a hats-off for their name, which I had read many times as "Melancholy" before suddenly realising it is melon-colony, and laughing my head off as a result. Gotcha! Soon after posting this, a helpful member of the TDATS facebook group linked us to a picture of Meloncolony (link), this link shows the band as a three-piece with names left to right below: Wayne Groff (keyboards), Bob Curtis (drums) and Chuck Vail (vocals)."

Meloncolony Iowa band
Meloncolony on stage (source)

From my limited understanding, The Commandos were an Indonesian / Singaporean act who usually worked as backing band for various pop singers. They recorded a solo 7 inch EP in 1970 with a song called 'Penyesalan' (Regret), and nowhere on the record does it credit Black Sabbath or Paranoid. I have encountered his kind of cheeky international plagiarism many times before, and it's not the only example in this comp alone!

Elf was Ronnie James Dio's first hard rock band before going on to fame in Rainbow and beyond. This track is from a live bootleg that purports to be at "The Bank" in Cortland, NY, 1972. They also regularly covered Led Zep, Jethro Tull and Link Wray among others. At this time the band was still called The Elves but changed to ELF when their album was released later the same year. You have to assume that Ronnie, 'Ronald Padavona' at the time he was in Elf, had no idea he would eventually join Black Sabbath, when he was covering them in New York bars. Guitarist David 'Rock' Feinstein has also become a notable name in US metal since. As such he's appeared here in TDATS twice before in (v126) & (v155).

The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation's track is here as another example of something Sabbath covered for their debut album. The Retaliation was a vehicle for Dunbar, after stints in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Jeff Beck Group. He continues to perform occasionally with the World Classic Rockers, a band he has been part of since 2003, which features a rotating lineup of classic rock musicians.

Crystal Saint is a left-field find. The credited writer and (presumably) singer is Lyndy Mar, although she obviously didn't write this side! The 45 is on the Wichita, Kansas label, Kanwic Records.

The Norman Haines Band's tune here may not immediately strike you as Sabbath-related, but this tune was recorded by Earth, the previous form of Sabbath, whose demos have been floating around bootleg land for years. Although "When I Come Down" was not released by Haines' own band until 1971, he shared the same manager as Earth, Jim Simpson, which granted Earth early access to some of Haines' compositions. As luck would have it, this year (2025) sees the first ever officially sanctioned release of the Earth demos, coming in September from Big Bear Records, Jim Simpson's own label. (link). Exciting stuff!

Rolf Kühn was a German jazz composer and performer (clarinet and saxophone), born September 29, 1929, in Cologne. In the early '70s he made a couple of 'Happy Discothek' pop cover LPs, and thanks to those we have this entertaining instrumental of Paranoid! This particular record also has novel renditions of Black Magic Woman and The Kinks' Apeman.

Flower Travellin' Band were one of Japan's premiere early heavy acts along with the likes of Blues Creation and 'Speed, Glue & Shinki'. At that time, and to this day, Japan showed a total understanding and appreciation for metal and took to it like a duck to water, as you can hear on volume 36: Rising Sun (link).

-------------------------------------------


If you liked this please explore this site further, with 150+ similarly researched collections and articles / interviews. My social links are below, I also have a youtube channel (link).

Thanks for reading! I'm off to nosh on a bat's head sandwich....
Rich


Further listening:
The Day After The Sabbath 95:   A Shrine To DooM Foregone [second doom special]
The Day After The Sabbath 105: Goin' Down [covers special]
The Day After The Sabbath 138: Get Out Of My Life, Woman [covers #2]



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Thursday, June 19, 2025

The Day After The Sabbath 158: The Underground Set [1970s Italian Library & Instrumental Heavy Psych]

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Welcome to volume 158! This collection of various artists was inspired by the comp’s namesake, an Italian instrumental act named (on record) as The Underground Set. That was not actually their real name, which we will get into later. I have been aware of them for a long time and used them the first time a couple of years ago in the second all-instrumental comp, #148 (link). At the time of researching that one, and subsequently discovering new names like Mirageman for the Italian vol156 (link), I got the idea of compiling a volume of Italian instrumental heavies, as I have encountered so much quality in that arena from Italy over the years.

A lot of this comp reminds me of instrumental bands I dig like 35007 and Monkey3. In a lot of ways it sounds very modern and not so much of its time like conventional '70s hard rock usually does. Instrumental compositions tend to lead the composers into more progressive sounds.

I had already been developing an interest in general library music, after doing this webzine, especially the movie-orientated vol100 (link), which brought me into contact with tracks from KPM, one of the biggest British library labels. After downloading a few 1970s rock-orientated KPM albums, I was amazed to recognise some of the tracks from TV adverts and shows I had seen as a kid in the '80s, such as The Sweeney (link).

So, we have here a combination of Italian instrumental groups and composers, the majority of which worked in library and soundtrack music. Library music being compositions made with the intention of being licensed “off the shelf” for use in films, TV, theater and any other purpose where they might be useful to a producer of such things. Italy is traditionally one of the most fertile grounds for such music, fuelled by its natural talent for arts and music and its prolific post-war film industry. 


TRACKLIST


01. I Marc 4 - The Trip (1970)
                            from album I Marc 4
02. The Underground Set - War In The Night Before (1971)
                            from album War In The Night Before
03. Blue Sharks - A "Watt" Too Much (1972)
                            from album It Became Crystal
04. Silvano Chimenti - Il Cuore Degli Operai (1971)
                            from album Sonorità Nel Lavoro
05. Nenty (Nello Ciangherotti) - Ciminiere Fumanti (1971)
                            from album Sonorità Nel Lavoro
06. I Gres - Hot Dogs (1974)
                            from album I Gres
07. Piero Umiliani - To-Day's Sound (1973)
                            from album To-Day's Sound
08. Gianni Mazza - Esacerbato (1972)
                            from album Nevrosi
09. Giuliano Sorgini - Mad Town (1974)
                            from album Zoo Folle
10. Francesco De Masi - Il Tallone Di Achille (1972)
                            from album Ettore Lo Fusto
11. The Underground Set - Slaughter On The Motor Road (1970)
                            single
12. The Reverberi Group - Memento #5 (1972)
                            from album The Reverberi Group
13. Silvano Chimenti - Contrazioni (1972)
                            from album Droga
14. GLL (Golf Lima Lima) - Speed Limit (1975)
                            single
15. Blue Phantom - Distillation (1971)
                            from album Distortions
16. Era Terziaria - Mondo Vellutato (1972)
                            single
17. Free Action Inc. - Life Story (1970)
                            from album Rock & Blues
18. Mirageman - Paralysis (1972)
                            from album Thunder And Lightning
19. Gabriele Ducros - Dopping 2000 (1976)
                            from album Freedom Power
20. Filippo Compatti - Rock Noise (1978)
                            single


01. I Marc 4 - The Trip (1970)
album: 'I Marc 4'
A perfect opener for this set, '60s beat meets psych in the typical suspense-building style of a library track designed for fitting movie scenes. The name 'I Marc 4' comes from the initials of their members: Maurizio Majorana (bass), Antonello Vannucchi (keys), Roberto Podio (drums) and Carlo Pes (guitar). I Marc 4 recorded most of Armando Travaioli's compositions, and recorded with famous composers like Ennio Morricone & Piero Umiliani.

02. The Underground Set - War In The Night Before (1971)
album: War In The Night Before
One of the best & heaviest albums from the mysterious world of psychsploitation & Italian library music, in my humble opinion. After decades of speculation, and respected archivist Vernon Joynson writing it was an English band, Nuova Idea drummer Paolo Siani admitted it was they who recorded both Underground Set albums, in a Musikbox magazine interview. The music is far heavier than Nuova Idea's output, and this seems to be because it was composed by Le Orme's & Nuova Idea's producer, Gian Piero Reverberi, along with his brother Gianfranco Reverberi, who appear again later in this set as The Reverberi Group.

03. Blue Sharks - A "Watt" Too Much (1972)
album: It Became Crystal

Here's a funky nugget from a library project involving composer / musician Stelvio Cipriani, along with Carmelo Carucci and Ipcress (Giorgio Zinzi). Cipriani crafted over 200 film scores, blending jazz, funk, and orchestral melodies. Carucci started with beat group I Romans and composed for anime like Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. Zinzi was a composer known for his evocative film scores, including La Costanza della Ragione (1964), L'arma, l'ora, il movente (1972), and Bazooka pour un espion (1966).

04. Silvano Chimenti - Il Cuore Degli Operai (1971)
album: Sonorità Nel Lavoro

Here's a pulsating little number with expressive guitar and atmospheric touches. The 'Sonorità Nel Lavoro' library album is a great one for psych guitar pieces and commands high prices. It was reissued in 2019 by Sonor Music Editions, who have reissued some other LPs used in this set. Another Silvano Chimenti piece from a different album is coming up for track 13 in this set.


05. Nenty (Nello Ciangherotti) - Ciminiere Fumanti (1971)
album: Sonorità Nel Lavoro

This one starts exactly as it means to go on with a thick fuzzy guitar riff that carries the whole piece while layers of latin beats and more guitar solos weave through it. Nello Ciangherotti and Silvano Chimenti together were responsible for the Sonorità Nel Lavoro album. The album features industrial-inspired tones that were intended for obscure documentaries about work. If all factories sound this cool i'll be looking for a new job tomorrow!

06. I Gres - Hot Dogs (1974)
album: 'I Gres'

This is lead by jazz drum breaks. The sparseness leaves space for all the changes and visiting instruments to hit hard and it's great! Correct me if i'm wrong but I believe even a bit of talk box guitar joins the party at one point. I Gres consisted of Giorgio Carnini, Roberto Pregadio, Enzo Restuccia, & Silvano Chimenti (who features in two other tracks in this set). They produced three albums in 1974-1975. Two of their main composers were Silvano, and another busy library soundtrack composer Romano Rizzati.

07. Piero Umiliani - To-Day's Sound (1973)
album: To-Day's Sound
According to Discogs this gatefold double LP has sold for almost £2500! It doesn't contain much psych but 'Open Space' and 'Exploration' are the nearest and this title track is the standout for me, a compact groover indeed. Piero Umiliani was a prolific soundtrack composer but his work that deserves mention the most here is the 'Mah Nà Mah Nà' song, used in The Muppet Show!
08. Gianni Mazza - Esacerbato (1972)
album: Nevrosi
Like 'Ciminiere Fumanti' before, this one kicks off with some shredding fuzz and ends on it too, packing a lot into three minutes including frantic keys. This album, from the ten-album 'Viaggio Attraverso I Problemi Dell'Uomo' (Journey Through Man's Problems) series on the Roman Record Company label, has some more similarly cool tracks. Mazza started out in popular Roman group I Freddie's and has become a famous TV personality on various music based shows.

09. Giuliano Sorgini - Mad Town (1974)
album: Zoo Folle
One for flute fans! Giuliano Sorgini, born in 1942, is a multi-instrumentalist renowned for his pioneering contributions to library music and film soundtracks during the 1970s. Known for cult movie soundtracks like 'Zoo Folle', 'The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue' (1974), 'The Return of the Exorcist' (1975) and 'The Beast in Heat' (1977). Sorgini blended genres such as psych-funk, jazz, electronica, and progressive rock.

10. Francesco De Masi Orchestra & Il Punto - Il Tallone Di Achille (1972)
album: In Nome Del Popolo Italiano / Ettore Lo Fusto
Some more flute-rockin' for ya! This track is from side 2 of a split LP with one movie soundtrack on each side. The other side is the score to 'In Nome Del Popolo Italiano' written by Carlo Rustichelli. The tag-line for the film on Francesco De Masi's side, 'Ettore Lo Fusto', reads "What must Cardinal Giove do to acquire land on which stands a prestigious brothel?". Highbrow Italian cinema i'm sure! The LP cover states that the music is performed by the Francesco De Masi Orchestra in conjunction with the Roman band 'Il Punto' (link).

11. The Underground Set - Slaughter On The Motor Road (1970)
single b/w 'Motor Road Underground'

Another killer track played by Nuova Idea operating under the moniker of The Underground Set. This one has a downer, contemplative vibe accentuated by the recurring piano motif that is repeated by other instruments to great effect, another great composition by the Reverberi brothers. Both sides of this single are fantastic, it was released a year before 'War In The Night Before' but they are included on modern reissues of that LP.

12. The Reverberi Group - Memento #5 (1972)
album: The Reverberi Group

Following the previous track we have another brilliant melancholy arrangement from brothers Gian Piero Reverberi and Gianfranco Reverberi. I have no idea (no pun intended) but maybe again played by Nuova Idea? The rest of this library record is a scattering of musical styles, including five versions of 'Memento', the fifth and final one is the psych guitar version we are interested in but it is cool to hear the other interpretations played with different instrumentation.

13. Silvano Chimenti - Contrazioni (1972)
album: Droga

Here's a piece from one of the other LPs in the 'Journey Through Man's Problems' series. Silvano Chimenti is a guitarist and composer, starting out with beat group 'I Planets', later joining 'The Others & Pataxo' and working with names such as Piero Umiliani and Ennio Morricone. 'Droga' (Drug) is another great LP for rock cuts, on discovery it stood out to me from most Italian library due to many tracks sounding like a US-style blues & hard rock band minus the singer. Now a sought-after collectible that has sold for over £2000 according to Discogs.

14. GLL (Golf Lima Lima) - Speed Limit (1975)
single b/w 'Leslie'

Here's a great piece that sounds to me like a cross between Goblin and Neu. GLL was Giancarlo Leone and Luigi Lopez. Leone has since become a journalist and prominent TV / Film producer along with composing and Lopez started out as performer, producer and songwriter in the late '60s. He was a member of the short-lived '70s supergroup 'Fantasy' and continued with success in many TV themes and pop hits.

15. Blue Phantom - Distillation (1971)
album: Distortions

This LP was a blogger's favourite back when I started TDATS, for good reason. I used Blue Phantom once before ages ago on volume 20 (link). At that time I assumed it was an established band, as it certainly sounded like one, but in reality it's an alias of Armando Sciascia, a prolific library composer. It's pretty amazing that this Sabbathy doom sludge sound came from a writer born in 1920! And is that a faintly similar sound to an air-raid siren in the background? I wonder where they got that idea from?.... One has to wonder how much influence the session players had on the sound, none of whom have been identified to my knowledge.

16. Era Terziaria - Mondo Vellutato (1972)
single b/w ''Mittente: Le Castella' by Walter D'Amore

Here's a little chill-out after the onslaught of Blue Phantom. A Band from Lambrate (Milan). The line-up was Euro Moroni (guitar), Franco Pensato (keys), Leo Ercolani (bass) and Paolo Fraccascia (drums). They have only one track mentioned on Discogs, this A-side on a split single with Walter D'Amore.

Information from italianprog.com (link) :- "A quartet of twenty-year-olds from Lambrate (MI). Era Terziaria, musically influenced by Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, joined singer and comedian Walter D'Amore for a single 45 rpm released by the Milanese label Ama. The record is not particularly representative of their genre, containing on side A a rather soft instrumental track dominated by guitar and keyboards, while the sound of this group was decidedly more aggressive. On the back a rather anonymous ballad, sung with a Roman accent and credited to "Walter" only. The 45 rpm is very rare and highly valued on the collector's market. Their manager was Alex Schiavi, later active with the group Cemento and as a soloist."

17. Free Action Inc. - Life Story (1970)
album: Rock & Blues

There is some contention that this instrumental exploito-psych LP 'Free Action Inc. plays Eddy Korsche' was actually played by German musicians, and this particular composition also appears (with vocals) on the Brother T. & Family (1970) album as 'Oh Love', which I used on the German volume 82 (link). This is something I was surprised to notice myself when first hearing this track and have not seen anyone else mention it as-yet. There is a Germanic link in Eddy Korsche, Austrian producer and composer who licensed music from the Italian 'Help!' label that released the Free Action Inc LP. The truth is out there, somewhere. 

18. Mirageman - Paralysis (1972)
album: Thunder And Lightning

Here's some brooding jazz rock with killer flute and big-band orchestration. I used this consistently-strong album, featuring a lot of psych guitar over various exciting compositions, back on the second Italian TDATS (link) and it deserves more attention. 'Mirageman' was pianist & composer Giovanni Fenati. Starting in the '50s with an orchestral repertoire, his style took on contemporary elements around the late '60s. As 'Mirageman', he issued three albums between 1970 and 1972.

19. Gabriele Ducros - Dopping 2000 (1976)
album: Freedom Power

This is probably the closest to straight funk in this set, away from rock. But the riff drills home hard enough for TDATS I think, similarly to Giuliano Sorgini's 'Mad Town' above. The album this is from looks to be some of Gabriele Ducros's earliest works and it includes tracks from other guys including Silvano Chimenti who is in this set twice. Ducros has since worked on TV and film scores including 'Panama Sugar' starring Oliver Reed.

20. Filippo Compatti - Rock Noise (1978)
single b/w 'L'Anticicciolino'

Starting with fake audience applause, this disco glam track reveals itself to be more like some pulsating Hawkwind space rock. I cannot find evidence that Filippo Compatti was a real person, but there is a page of info at orrorea33giri.com (link) connecting this single to Hungarian porn actress Ilona Staller (elected to Italian Parliament in 1987) in some incomprehensible way. Both sides of the single are attributed to different writers, including British ex-pat Alan Taylor, so maybe 'Filippo Compatti' is an alias. Answers on a postcard please!

Until next time.....Ciao! 

--------------------

Further listening:

The Day After The Sabbath 100: Reel Ravers [100th anniversary movie rock special]
The Day After The Sabbath 148: Heads Of Our Time [instrumental 2]
The Day After The Sabbath   69: No Troubled Sky [instrumental 1]


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Thursday, May 1, 2025

Castle Farm tapes issued on vinyl and CD by Guerssen



A great lost band that I featured and interviewed on my site 10 years ago (link) has recently been issued on vinyl and CD for the first time by Guerssen (guerssen.com/artist/castle-farm/)


Interview (published 2014)



Steve Traveller is the drummer of Castle Farm, a band from around Romford in northeast London. I first discovered them on a compilation called Cosmarama - Blow Your Cool 2 and was immediately taken with the hard rockin', glam-infused single 'Hot Rod Queen'. A while later, a fan of the band contacted me via Youtube and gave me the welcome news that the Castle Farm "Studio Sessions 1971-72" album was digitally released around December last year. I got it straight away and, in one of those precious moments of finding an obscurity leading to something really exciting, was ecstatic to find that the promise of Hot Rod Queen was reinforced by a set of skillful and varied hard rock and blues, some proto-metal, and Tex Benike's killer slide guitar. Just check this out for confirmation:


After hearing this I knew I had to get something down here on Aftersabbath, and had my second happy discovery, a mention of Castle Farm on Robin Wills' ever-great PUREPOP blog and a lead on one of it's members, drummer Steve Traveller.

Founding members:
Denny Newman: vocals
Gram 'Tex' Benike: guitars
Steve 'Spyder' Curphey: Bass
Steve Traveller: drums

Additional members:
John Aldrich: guitar, vocals
Roger Curphey: bass (replacing his brother Spyder, in late 1971)


So that's the brief intro over, and here is the resulting interview with Steve. If you like what you hear, the album can be purchased physically from Guerssen (link) and is also on Amazon and iTunes.


Steve Traveller
Steve Traveller
Q01. Hi Steve, thanks for doing this! Firstly, how and why did you become a musician, and why did you choose drums in particular?

I guess it started when I was in the Boy Scouts. I wanted to be in the marching band and play the bugle, but they didn't have a spare one so they gave me a side drum! But I took to drumming like a duck to water, and then I built my own kit at home out of biscuit tins with knitting needles for sticks!


Q02. How and where did the members of Castle Farm meet? What prompted the formation of the band?

I was in a local 'pop' outfit and we fired the lead guitarist after he didn't turn up for a gig one Easter. We didn't have a bass player, so I was left with just a not very inspiring pianist and rhythm guitarist. So I put a postcard ad in the window of a local music shop and the next thing Steve 'Spyder' Curphey and Gram 'Tex' Benike turned up on my doorstep. They were both at Barking Tech college at the time, and really looked the part - proper long-haired rock band material. They came round and we jammed in my parents' front room - and we blew each other away! Spyder and Tex were into the same stuff I was. They pulled in a singer they knew from the college and Castle Farm was born. We made our way through a couple of relatively uninspiring singers before we met Denny Newman in a pub we used to use in Brentwood. Denny was on our wavelength, and a fantastic singer. A little while later Den introduced us to his mate John Aldrich, who was a brilliant guitarist, and we traded up to be a five-piece, with John bringing so much more colour and depth to the band's music.


Q03. Around the times you joined Castle Farm, what musical scenes and artists/acts were you digging?

It was the end of the sixties and I had grown up with The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Taste, etc. There were these amazing drummers coming through - Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Jon Hiseman, Ian Paice, John Bonham, Glenn Cornick, etc. I was influenced to some degree by all of them.


Q04. Did Castle Farm play any live gigs or festivals? Which bands were billed along with you?

We soon established a loyal following in the Brentwood and Romford areas, playing the King's Head in Romford and St Theresa's Hall in Brentwood, and then we were gigging regularly all over London and throughout Essex and Kent. Latterly we moved on to the university and college circuit, bought a six-wheel Tranny from Badfinger, and were on the road as far as Winchester and Leeds. We supported Rory Gallagher, Deed Purple, Savoy Brown Blues Band, Climax Blues Band, Quintessence and many others. One of our best gigs was at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend, supporting Atomic Rooster - I remember the band coming and standing in the wings during our set to watch us. We had a residency at the Esplanade in Southend too, where a nascent Dr Feelgood even supported US!


Castle Farm 1971
Castle Farm 1971
Q05. Can you describe recording the singles like Hot Rod Queen/Mascot that Castle Farm released, and some memories of doing so?

We had become very frustrated with the record industry, which in those days was in the habit of signing promising bands and then leaving them on the shelf to stop them being a threat to the acts they were promoting. We got caught up in one of these scams, and it was a huge hassle to get out of the contract. But we had a great following, and knew that we could sell records, so we decided to fund our own single. We had met a guy called Hedley Leyton, who had worked with John Hiseman's Colosseum on their live album, and he helped us produce it. We had 2,000 copies pressed, distributed them through local record shops, and they sold out within a few weeks.


Castle Farm Hot Rod Queen / Mascot single
Castle Farm Hot Rod Queen / Mascot single
A second version of Hot Rod Queen was recorded for release alongside "Jewels of Fire", which only made it to acetate. Here is some further info that Steve posted previously on PUREPOP: "There are two different versions of 'Hot Rod Queen'. The two tracks on the single were recorded at Tangerine Studios in London on 15th Feb 1972 and mixed down on 22nd Feb 1972. 

'Jewels Of Fire' was recorded on 25th March 1972 at Pye No. 1, and produced/engineered by Miki Dallon. We then went back to Pye No. 1 on 13th April 1972 to re-record 'Hot Rod Queen' as Miki was interested in reworking it.

The version of HRQ that you have here [link below] is actually an edited version of the original recording, which ran to over four minutes - Miki being a 'pop' producer with a strict timing policy. We much preferred the longer version!". Both versions of Hot Rod Queen are included in "Studio Sessions 1971-72".



Q06. How did the recent posthumous release “The Studio Sessions 1971-72” come about?
A few years ago someone told me that 'Hot Rod Queen' was on a prog/psych compilation album, so I bought a copy in HMV, initially feeling chuffed that Castle Farm's music was still remembered! But then I felt a little less charitable when I realised there was some scavenging company (Start Entertainments Ltd) out there stealing copyrighted work and making money without permission. A quick trawl around the internet revealed that in fact 'Hot Rod Queen' had had a new lease of life and was even being featured on American college radio playlists! Given this new interest I uploaded Hot Rod Queen' and 'Mascot' onto YouTube, and then set about getting the illegal downloads taken down from iTunes, Amazon, etc. At the same time I had recordings of six tracks from an earlier session, and two from a later one ('Jewels Of Fire' and an alternative take of "Hot Rod Queen'), which I had cleaned up as best I could. These represented the best of the Castle Farm recordings that still existed, so I thought they would make a nice little download package.

Here is some further information from Steve, found at PUREPOP: "I have pulled together the best examples I have of the band's recordings, but unfortunately these only exist in either acetate or cassette tape format, the original master tapes having been lost over time.

I've cleaned up the tracks for digital transfer as much as possible, with the help of my son Paul, who's a sound engineer, and has worked wonders replacing the intro to 'You Go Your Way', which was lost on a chewed up cassette tape, and tidying up a less than perfect drum fill on 'Jewels Of Fire', which we didn't have time to correct in the studio, and has bugged me for over 40 years!

All the tracks were recorded in one or two takes with minor overdubbing - most were self-funded and we were on a very tight budget!"


John Aldrich
Q07. Do you have any favourite Castle Farm songs? Can you remember anything about playing any of them?

 '(Maybe A Little Black) Witch' was usually our opener, and got everyone rocking from the start. I think 'Jewels Of Fire' is about the best thing we ever recorded, with absolutely stunning dual-guitar work from Tex and John, but I guess our real signature number was a really heavy, slowed down, crunching 20 minute version of 'Summertime Blues' that tended to end our shows. The improvised middle section and drum solo were always journeys into the unknown, but never failed to bring the house down!



Q08. Castle Farm’s music is fantastic, all the members performances gel brilliantly. While it’s generally got heavy blues style, there's early metal/punk songs like “(Maybe a Little Black) Witch” and “Lunatic”, a glam vibe like ‘Hot Rod Queen’, and ballad/relaxed songs like ‘All In A Day, All In A Year’ and 'You Go Your Way'. Can you share your thoughts on the band’s versatility and what influenced the sound of Castle Farm?

I like to think 'Lunatic' was six years ahead of its time with its punk vibe, but although we saw ourselves as a rock'n'roll band ('Highway 61', 'Rock Me Baby', etc.) we all had so many musical influences and appreciated so many different styles, and we really liked to mix it up to make the shows more interesting.  


Q09. For the sake of those into drum tech, what equipment did you use in Castle Farm?

After using a second-hand Ludwig kit in the early days that I bought off Spyder for 50 quid, I progressed to a Premier 2000 double kit in 1971. This is now regarded as a classic kit, and would be worth a fortune now in good condition. But mine led a hard but exciting life, both in my hands and my son's, from as soon as he was tall enough to reach the pedals. Paul soon overtook me in terms of drumming prowess. 


Q10. What was the song-writing process of the band? Who was the creative leader, if there was one?

Tex and Spyder came up with most of the ideas for our own songs, and we would just play around with concepts and each add our own ideas and build them up at rehearsals.


Q11. “Island In The Sun” is packed with killer slide guitar, it’s a real trip. Who played that, and what can you tell me about that song?

Tex was, and still is, one of the best slide players I've ever seen. It's his riff and his song, and it was great to watch him really getting into it at live gigs.


Q12. Did you intend on making more music, or an album, and why did it not happen? What were the future plans for Castle Farm at the time of the singles?

Yes, we would have carried on, but we were getting into other things - Spyder had left the band at the end of 1971 and his brother Roger joined us on bass. That was just before we recorded 'Hot Rod Queen', and we went on to do 'Jewels Of Fire' and then carried on gigging until the end of 1972.


Roger Curphey
Q13. Why did the band end?

We would love to have 'made it' big, but we'd given it three years and needed to get out and earn some regular money!


Q14. Do you think Castle Farm had the potential to last longer and be more successful?

I think it had the potential - we just lacked the lucky break!





Denny Newman
Q15. What have you and other members done after Castle Farm, in music or otherwise?

I went into advertising, Tex moved to his native US, Denny carried on with music and now lives in Germany, fronting a great little blues band which has worked as Mick Taylor's backing band (Google 'Denny Newman'), Spyder went into a very successful T-shirt business but is sadly no longer with us. We've had the odd reunion over the years, the last one being at the 100 Club in London for a memorial concert for Spyder in 2008.


Q16. Do you have any great Castle Farm memories or stories (amusing or otherwise) that you think would give readers some more insight into the times and the band?

Loads of great memories, but one of my favourites was when we were booked to support Barclay James Harvest at the Basildon Arts Centre. BJH couldn't make it, so instead they booked a band called Slade - previously a skin-head band in the late sixties but now embarking on a glam-rock course. They were managed by Chas Chandler (ex Animals bass player and Jimi Hendrix's manager) who was strutting around the place in a pink and yellow kaftan, looking a bit of a prat! Basildon was part of our stomping ground and our fans were out in force, so we were really getting into it and were overrunning a bit. But just when we got into our second encore Chas Chandler pulled the plug on us. Tex was absolutely furious - he jumped off the stage, went round the back and found Chandler and gave him the biggest smack on the nose you ever saw. Great times!

Here's a comment I received after this article was first posted, from guitarist Tex:

"Just read this interview about Castle Farm ... I was in that band along with Steve, Spyder and Denny ..( this is Tex from Phoenix, AZ. ) The Basildon Arts Lab I remember ... total chaos at the end. We were banned from ever playing there again because a bunch of seats got destroyed by fans during our " Summertime Blues " finale . I remember a shocked and white faced Chas Chandler walking into our dressing room after our show asking if our gigs were always like that ... " usually " was our reply. Then Slade came on ... they were on the rise but not Superstars yet but really loud !! .. we went down the pub !! ... great memories from this band - fun times back then ... I'm still breathing ... still playing here in Phoenix, Arizona ... still playing slide. Enjoyed the article !!! ..... Best, Tex."



Thanks for your time Steve! Let's hope we see and hear more of Castle Farm one day...


If anyone has questions for me or Steve regrading Castle Farm, drop a line to TDATS at the usual address.



© Richard Sheppard / aftersabbath.blogspot.com


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