Hurdy Gurdy (band)

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Hurdy Gurdy formed from the Danish group Peter Belli & the Boom Boom Brothers (aka The B.B. Brothers) in June 1967. Three of the B.B. Brothers guitarist Claus Bohling, drummer Jens Otzen, and British bassist Mac MacLeod formed the power trio. Inspired by Cream but with more psychedelic leanings they split from Peter Belli to form the band named by MacLeod 'Hurdy Gurdy'. They had considerable success in Scandinavia breaking many attendance records for there live shows. The band moved to England in early 1968, after MacLeod had been deported from Denmark.

In Denmark, December 1967 MacLeod had written to his old friend Donovan to ask if he could pen the band a song. Donovan wrote the 'The Hurdy Gurdy Man' for them some time between late 1967 to early 1968 and whilst in India with The Beatles Donovan has stated George Harrison wrote an extra verse for the song. After hearing Donovan's demo tape the band set up outside his Little Berkhamstead cottage and played their version of the song. Donovan did not like the heavy take on the track they played as he wanted a softer, acoustic arrangement. Soon after he released his own version of the song which became a hit, his version in the end had a similar arrangement to the Hurdy Gurdy version.

Whilst in the UK they did some recordings produced by Chris White and Rod Argent of The Zombies. Two tracks by the MacLeod era of Hurdy Gurdy,"Tick Tock Man " and "Neo Camel" are on the Mac MacLeod anthology The Incredible Musical Odyssey of the Original Hurdy Gurdy Man, and showcase the free-flowing power trio psychedelic rock sound that rivalled The Jimi Hendrix Experience in their live performances.

Otzen and Bohling had to return to Denmark shortly after those recordings, as they were unable to secure work permits from the Musicians Union. A new bassist (Torben Forne) was recruited to replace MacLeod, and in the early 1971 they released a self-titled album for CBS which has recently been reissued on CD. MacLeod briefly joined the post The Zombies group Argent.