| Kaleidoscope | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Fairfield Parlour, I Luv Wight |
| Origin | London |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock |
| Years active | 1967–1968 |
| Labels | Fontana, Vertigo |
| Members | |
| Eddy Pumer Steve Clark Danny Bridgman Peter Daltrey |
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Kaleidoscope were an English psychedelic rock band that were active between 1967 and 1968.[1] The band's songs were combining the elements of psychedelia with remarkable lyrics.[2][3] Other than as Kaleidoscope, the band were also known at various times as the Sidekicks, the Key, I Luv Wight and Fairfield Parlour.[4]
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Having performed since 1963 under the name The Sidekicks, they became The Key in November 1965, before settling upon the name Kaleidoscope when they signed a deal with Fontana Records in January 1967 with the help of the music publisher Dick Leahy.[5][6] The group consisted of Eddy Pumer on guitar, Steve Clark on bass and flute, and Danny Bridgman on drums and the vocalist Peter Daltrey, who also played organ and joined the band in March 1964.[5][7][8] Most of the band's songs were composition of Pumer's music and Daltrey's lyrics.[7] While the group did not achieve commercial success in its time, it retains a loyal fan-base and its recordings are remembered in high regard.[2][3]
The band's first single "Flight from Ashiya" (b/w "Holidaymaker") was released on 15 September 1967 by Fontana Records, a little earlier than the band's first album Tangerine Dream.[1] The song was telling about an impending plane crash.[1][3] The single got quite an amount of radio airplay but failed to reach the charts.[3] Years later, the song has appeared on many compilation albums, including Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969, the second box set of the Nuggets series and Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery.[9] Two months later, Tangerine Dream produced by Dick Leahy was released. The album included "Flight From Ashiya", "Please Excuse My Face" and "Dive into Yesterday" which are now considered some the band's best songs.[10] Meanwhile the band were aired performing live on several BBC radio shows.[1] A new single was released in 1968 called "Jenny Artichoke" (b/w "Just How Much You Are") that was inspired by Donovan's, "Jennifer Juniper".[1] After the release the band traveled around Europe, and when in Netherlands supported Country Joe and the Fish at the Amsterdam Concert Hall.[1] Faintly Blowing, again produced by Leahy, was released later, in 1969 by Fontana Records.[1] This time the band's sound was heavier but the tracks still included psychedelic elements with notable lyrics but it failed to reach the charts.[1][11] After the failure of Faintly Blowing, they released two more singles which were songs by other writers and, after a radio session in BBC Maida Vale Studios, the band never again appeared as Kaleidoscope.[1]
By the end of the decade, failing with their last single "Balloon", the band moved on with their new manager DJ David Symonds, whom they met during the BBC sessions, as Fairfield Parlour, with the same line up.[12] Despite the fact that they were now being called a progressive rock band, their music didn't change much and still included fairy-tale lyrics with psychedelic harmony.[13] The band's first single as Fairfield Parlour, "Bordeaux Rosé", was released on 17 April 1970 on the Vertigo label.[12] It got a considerable amount of radio airplay, but failed to achieve success. After releasing several singles, the album From Home to Home was released on 14 August 1970 with Symond's production.[12] While the band was getting ready to release the album, they again used another name for themselves, I Luv Wight, as they were asked to record the theme tune for the Isle of Wight Festival, "Let the World Wash in", which got released a week after the release of the album From Home to Home.[12][13] They made the opening for the festival as Fairfield Parlour.[14] The band's second album, White Faced Lady, which they financed independently, was recorded in Morgan Studios in London.[13][15] Attempts at finding a record company failed and the album was shelved until 1991 when it was released under the name Kaleidoscope on their own label.[15][16] The band's last appearance was at a concert in Bremen, Germany, in 1972.[15]
In 2003, the independent record label Circle released the Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour's 1967 to 1971 BBC radio sessions recordings in an album called Please Listen To The Pictures. [17]
as Kaleidoscope
as Fairfield Parlour
as I Luv Wight
as The Sidekicks
as Kaleidoscope
as Fairfield Parlour
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