Barclay James Harvest
Encyclopedia
Barclay James Harvest are an English
progressive rock
band. They were founded in Saddleworth
, Lancashire
, in September 1966 by John Lees, Les Holroyd
, Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme
(1947–2010), and Mel Pritchard
(1948–2004).
label. Their self-titled debut album was released in mid 1970 to positive reviews, but few sales. Their second album Once Again gained more favourable reviews, and the tour that followed was conducted with a full orchestra under the guidance of Robert John Godfrey
. Their third album Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories was an even greater achievement, though Martyn Ford was brought in to supervise the orchestral work after Robert John Godfrey departed over writing issues behind "Mockingbird" - one of the group's most consistently popular tracks. By the release of their fourth album, Baby James Harvest, in 1972, the pressures of touring were beginning to have an impact on the band, and the album's inconsistency was noticed by both fans and critics alike.
After this album, they departed from EMI, and signed to Polydor, the move immediately resulting in greater sales. The next album, Everyone Is Everybody Else
(1974), is viewed by many as their artistic high point. The album being played extensively on Radio Caroline
, and later appearing in their Top 100 All Time Albums Chart. It also led to the band being invited to a BBC Radio 1 session for John Peel
. The double live album, Barclay James Harvest Live, which followed in late 1974, built upon their solid fanbase, and was the first to chart in the UK, reaching #40. Time Honoured Ghosts
(1975), recorded in the USA, followed and this also charted in the UK reaching #32. Octoberon followed in '76 and reached #19 in the UK. They finally broke into the mainstream European market with their 1977 set Gone to Earth
, which contained the song "Poor Man's Moody Blues", a homage to that band's 'Nights in White Satin', and also a title foisted upon Barclay James Harvest by press critics in the early 70s.
Woolly Wolstenholme – whose mellotron
playing was a trademark of the band's sound in the 70s – left in 1979 after the album XII. Woolly pursued a short solo career fronting Maestoso, before retiring from the music business to pursue farming.
The remaining three members continued. At the height of their success, they played a free concert in front of the Reichstag
in West Berlin
, with an estimated attendance of 250,000 people (30 August 1980). They were also the first Western rock band to play an open-air concert in pre-Glasnost
East Germany, playing in Treptower Park
, East Berlin
on 14 July 1987 to a 170,000+ audience.
The band continued as a trio with regular guest musicians until 1998. One album, Welcome to the Show, released in 1990, was released under the abbreviated name BJH. However, because of criticism from fans, the full Barclay James Harvest name was restored, albeit with the inclusion of the BJH moniker.
In 1998, musical differences in the band saw the three members agree to take a sabbatical. John Lees subsequently released an album mixing new songs and BJH classics, entitled Nexus, under the band name "Barclay James Harvest through the eyes of John Lees". Woolly Wolstenholme played in (and composed for) this band, subsequently resurrecting Maestoso to record and tour with new material, as well as back-catalogue favourites. Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard teamed up to record under the name "Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd". Lees and Wolstenholme recently (2006/7) toured under the slightly modified band title "John Lees' Barclay James Harvest".
Mel Pritchard died suddenly of a heart attack in early 2004. Woolly Wolstenholme took his own life in December 2010 having apparently struggled with depression for many years.
The two derivatives of Barclay James Harvest continued to record and tour until 2010, and enjoyed ongoing popularity, particularly in Germany, France, and Switzerland.
of "Bombadil" in 1972. "Breathless", an instrumental
, was credited to "Terry Bull" (actually John Lees). The B side
"When the City Sleeps" was credited to "Lester Forest" (actually Woolly Wolstenholme
), who also played every instrument and sang. This obscure track made an appearance on the soundtrack in the 2007 series Life on Mars
, although it was not featured on the CD release.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band. They were founded in Saddleworth
Saddleworth
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets amongst the west side of the Pennine hills: Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Diggle and others...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, in September 1966 by John Lees, Les Holroyd
Les Holroyd
This derivative of the band featured Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard after the schism in the original band. Pritchard remained with the group until his death in February 2004...
, Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme
Woolly Wolstenholme
Stuart John Wolstenholme, usually known as Woolly Wolstenholme was vocalist and keyboard player with the British progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest.-Biography:...
(1947–2010), and Mel Pritchard
Mel Pritchard
Mel Pritchard was the former drummer with the British progressive rock band, Barclay James Harvest.-Biography:Melvyn Paul Pritchard was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England...
(1948–2004).
History
After signing with EMI's Parlophone in the UK for one single in early 1968, they moved to the more progressively inclined HarvestHarvest Records
-References:* Harvest Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-9622-0021-7...
label. Their self-titled debut album was released in mid 1970 to positive reviews, but few sales. Their second album Once Again gained more favourable reviews, and the tour that followed was conducted with a full orchestra under the guidance of Robert John Godfrey
Robert John Godfrey
Robert John Godfrey is a British composer, pianist and founder member of The Enid.Born on the Leeds Castle estate in Kent, England, Godfrey was educated at Finchden Manor in Tenterden, which was described by its founder George Lyward as a "therapeutic community for adolescents", other alumni of...
. Their third album Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories was an even greater achievement, though Martyn Ford was brought in to supervise the orchestral work after Robert John Godfrey departed over writing issues behind "Mockingbird" - one of the group's most consistently popular tracks. By the release of their fourth album, Baby James Harvest, in 1972, the pressures of touring were beginning to have an impact on the band, and the album's inconsistency was noticed by both fans and critics alike.
After this album, they departed from EMI, and signed to Polydor, the move immediately resulting in greater sales. The next album, Everyone Is Everybody Else
Everyone Is Everybody Else
Everyone Is Everybody Else is a 1974 album by British Rock Band Barclay James Harvest.It was released in the UK on the 14th June 1974 and was their first album for the Polydor label after they had parted company with EMI....
(1974), is viewed by many as their artistic high point. The album being played extensively on Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
, and later appearing in their Top 100 All Time Albums Chart. It also led to the band being invited to a BBC Radio 1 session for John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. The double live album, Barclay James Harvest Live, which followed in late 1974, built upon their solid fanbase, and was the first to chart in the UK, reaching #40. Time Honoured Ghosts
Time Honoured Ghosts
Time Honoured Ghosts is an album released by English rockgroup Barclay James Harvest in 1975. The title was suggested by the wife of Harvey Lisburg, the band's manager at the time, though it is believe that she was quoting from another unknown source. It was recorded between May and July 1975 at...
(1975), recorded in the USA, followed and this also charted in the UK reaching #32. Octoberon followed in '76 and reached #19 in the UK. They finally broke into the mainstream European market with their 1977 set Gone to Earth
Gone to Earth (Barclay James Harvest album)
Gone To Earth is an album by the English rock group Barclay James Harvest released in 1977. It reached #30 in the UK charts, but in Germany it peaked at #10 and stayed for 197 weeks in the German album charts. It is on rank #6 of the longest running albums in the German album charts...
, which contained the song "Poor Man's Moody Blues", a homage to that band's 'Nights in White Satin', and also a title foisted upon Barclay James Harvest by press critics in the early 70s.
Woolly Wolstenholme – whose mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
playing was a trademark of the band's sound in the 70s – left in 1979 after the album XII. Woolly pursued a short solo career fronting Maestoso, before retiring from the music business to pursue farming.
The remaining three members continued. At the height of their success, they played a free concert in front of the Reichstag
Reichstag (building)
The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the...
in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, with an estimated attendance of 250,000 people (30 August 1980). They were also the first Western rock band to play an open-air concert in pre-Glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
East Germany, playing in Treptower Park
Treptower Park
Treptower Park is a park along the river Spree in Alt-Treptow, in the district of Treptow-Köpenick, south of central Berlin. The park is a popular place for recreation of Berliners and a tourist attraction...
, East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
on 14 July 1987 to a 170,000+ audience.
The band continued as a trio with regular guest musicians until 1998. One album, Welcome to the Show, released in 1990, was released under the abbreviated name BJH. However, because of criticism from fans, the full Barclay James Harvest name was restored, albeit with the inclusion of the BJH moniker.
In 1998, musical differences in the band saw the three members agree to take a sabbatical. John Lees subsequently released an album mixing new songs and BJH classics, entitled Nexus, under the band name "Barclay James Harvest through the eyes of John Lees". Woolly Wolstenholme played in (and composed for) this band, subsequently resurrecting Maestoso to record and tour with new material, as well as back-catalogue favourites. Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard teamed up to record under the name "Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd". Lees and Wolstenholme recently (2006/7) toured under the slightly modified band title "John Lees' Barclay James Harvest".
Mel Pritchard died suddenly of a heart attack in early 2004. Woolly Wolstenholme took his own life in December 2010 having apparently struggled with depression for many years.
The two derivatives of Barclay James Harvest continued to record and tour until 2010, and enjoyed ongoing popularity, particularly in Germany, France, and Switzerland.
External works
The band released a single "Breathless"/"When the City Sleeps" under the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of "Bombadil" in 1972. "Breathless", an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
, was credited to "Terry Bull" (actually John Lees). The B side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
"When the City Sleeps" was credited to "Lester Forest" (actually Woolly Wolstenholme
Woolly Wolstenholme
Stuart John Wolstenholme, usually known as Woolly Wolstenholme was vocalist and keyboard player with the British progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest.-Biography:...
), who also played every instrument and sang. This obscure track made an appearance on the soundtrack in the 2007 series Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
, although it was not featured on the CD release.
Personnel
- John Lees - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s (1966-1998) - Les HolroydLes HolroydThis derivative of the band featured Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard after the schism in the original band. Pritchard remained with the group until his death in February 2004...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitars, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals (1966-1998) - Mel PritchardMel PritchardMel Pritchard was the former drummer with the British progressive rock band, Barclay James Harvest.-Biography:Melvyn Paul Pritchard was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(1966-1998; deceased 2004) - Stuart "Woolly" WolstenholmeWoolly WolstenholmeStuart John Wolstenholme, usually known as Woolly Wolstenholme was vocalist and keyboard player with the British progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest.-Biography:...
- vocals, mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, keyboards, guitars (1966-1979; deceased 2010)
Studio Albums
- Barclay James HarvestBarclay James Harvest (album)Barclay James Harvest is the first album released by Barclay James Harvest.- Track listing :On the original vinyl LP all songs were credited to Holroyd/Lees/Pritchard/Wolstenholme...
, 1970 - Once Again, 1971
- Barclay James Harvest And Other Short Stories, 1971
- Baby James Harvest, 1972
- Everyone Is Everybody ElseEveryone Is Everybody ElseEveryone Is Everybody Else is a 1974 album by British Rock Band Barclay James Harvest.It was released in the UK on the 14th June 1974 and was their first album for the Polydor label after they had parted company with EMI....
, 1974 - Time Honoured GhostsTime Honoured GhostsTime Honoured Ghosts is an album released by English rockgroup Barclay James Harvest in 1975. The title was suggested by the wife of Harvey Lisburg, the band's manager at the time, though it is believe that she was quoting from another unknown source. It was recorded between May and July 1975 at...
, 1975 - Octoberon, 1976
- Gone to EarthGone to Earth (Barclay James Harvest album)Gone To Earth is an album by the English rock group Barclay James Harvest released in 1977. It reached #30 in the UK charts, but in Germany it peaked at #10 and stayed for 197 weeks in the German album charts. It is on rank #6 of the longest running albums in the German album charts...
, 1977 - XII, 1978
- Eyes of the Universe, 1979
- Turn of the Tide, 1981
- Ring of Changes, 1983
- Victims of Circumstance, 1984
- Face to Face, 1987
- Welcome to the Show, 1990
- Caught in the Light, 1993
- River of Dreams, 1997
Live Albums
- Live, 1974
- Live Tapes, 1978
- Berlin - A Concert for the People, 1982
- Glasnost, 1988
- BBC in Concert 1972, 2002
- After The Day The Radio Broadcasts 1974-1976, 2008
Compilations
- Early Morning Onwards, 1972
- The Best of Barclay James Harvest, 1977
- The Best of Barclay James Harvest, Volume 2, 1979
- Mockingbird/Best of, 1980
- The Best of Barclay James Harvest, Volume 3, 1981
- The Compact Story of BJH, 1985
- Another Arable Parable, 1987
- Alone We Fly, 1990
- The Harvest Years, 1991
- Sorcerers and Keepers, 1993
- Endless Dream, 1996
- The Best of Barclay James Harvest, 1992* The Best of Barclay James Harvest, 1997
- Mocking Bird, 1997
- Master Series, 1999
- The Collection, 2000
- Mockingbird, 2001
- Mocking Bird - The Best of Barclay James Harvest, 2001
- All Is Safely Gathered In, 2005
- Sea of Tranquility: The Polydor Years 1974-1997, 2009
External links
- John Lees' Barclay James Harvest
- Barclay James Harvest site with full discography and history of the band
- Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd
- Barclay James Harvest: Myspace page
- John Lees's Barclay James Harvest: Myspace page
- Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd: Myspace page
- Woolly Wolstenholme and Maestoso
- Woolly Wolstenholme's Maestoso: Myspace page
- BBC review of BJHFJL at The Stables, Wavendon, 2006