Orange Bicycle
Encyclopedia
Orange Bicycle were an English
Psychedelic pop
band
, which existed from 1967 to 1971. The band played a style influenced by The Beach Boys
, The Beatles
, The Rolling Stones
and the hippie
culture. They also acted as support and backing band for the duo Paul
and Barry Ryan
.
In 1960 the group won a recording contract with Decca having impressed at a competition called the Soho Fair. The group recorded several singles for the label without much success although their live performances were highly praised and they continued to tour the U.K.
Early members of the group were Rob Scales (lead vocals) Jim St. Pier (saxophone) Chuck Hardy (Guitar) Gary Hooper (Bass) and Lewis Collins
(Bass) who later went on to gain fame in the TV series The Professionals.
The group continued to tour throughout the sixties recording singles for Columbia and Piccadilly and through their live sessions gaining much approval for their performances at Colleges and Universities in the U.K. In 1964, Rob Storm and the Whispers were widely acknowledged as being the first rock/pop band to play behind the Iron Curtain, touring Poland with Helen Shapiro
. Later as fashions changed they morphed into The Rob Storm Group, finally when the psychedelic revolution arrived they renamed to Orange Bicycle. In 1966 they covered
the Beach Boys track, "Here Today".
The first single
from Orange Bicycle, "Hyacinth Threads", was a #1
hit single
in France
, and quite successful in some other European countries. It was their best known recording, and has appeared on numerous compilations
.
In 1968 the band started to cover The Rolling Stones
' "Sing This All Together". The same year they performed at the Isle of Wight Festival
on a line up that included Jefferson Airplane
, The Move
, T-Rex
, Fairport Convention
, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
and the Pretty Things. In July 1969, they appeared on BBC Two
's television program
me, Colour Me Pop
. Their most successful album
, Orange Bicycle, included covers of "Carry That Weight
", "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
", "Say You Don't Mind" and "Take Me to the Pilot
".
In 1971, the band broke up.
, and the album Motherlight under the name "Bobak, Jons, Malone" on Morgan Blue Town, featuring Malone on vocals, keyboards and drums with Morgan studio engineers Mike Bobak on guitar and Andy Jons (Johns) as recording engineer. Malone went on to become a successful arranger
and record producer
. His string arrangement for The Verve
's "Bitter Sweet Symphony
" caused controversy.
Currie joined Supertramp
, then Burlesque
, later becoming a session musician
.
1968 Isle of Wight Festival Line up Category:English rock music groups
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...
Psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop is a psychedelic musical style inspired by the sounds of psychedelic folk and psychedelic rock, but applied to a pop music setting...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, which existed from 1967 to 1971. The band played a style influenced by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and the hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
culture. They also acted as support and backing band for the duo Paul
Paul Ryan (singer)
Paul Ryan was an English singer, songwriter and record producer.Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Paul and his twin brother Barry were the sons of singer Marion Ryan, and had some success as a singing duo during the 1960s, known simply as "Paul & Barry Ryan"...
and Barry Ryan
Barry Ryan (singer)
Barry Ryan was an English pop singer. He is currently a photographer.The son of pop singer Marion Ryan, Ryan and his twin brother Paul began to perform at the age of 16...
.
Line-up
- Robert F Scales lead singer (under his stage name Rob Storm)
- John Bachini (Bass)
- Kevin Curry (Drums)
- Bernie Lee (Guitar)
- Wilson Malone (Keyboards, vocals)
Career
Starting life as a skiffle group from Crouch End London in 1959, the start of the rock ‘n' roll movement at the 2 I’s and other coffee bars in Soho, convinced the group to move to electric guitars and drums becoming 'Robb Storm and Whispers' in the transition.In 1960 the group won a recording contract with Decca having impressed at a competition called the Soho Fair. The group recorded several singles for the label without much success although their live performances were highly praised and they continued to tour the U.K.
Early members of the group were Rob Scales (lead vocals) Jim St. Pier (saxophone) Chuck Hardy (Guitar) Gary Hooper (Bass) and Lewis Collins
Lewis Collins
Lewis Collins is an English actor best known for his tough-guy role as Bodie in The Professionals. He was educated at Bidston Primary and Grange School in Birkenhead. He started out as a ladies' hairdresser before playing drums and guitar in pop groups. He had a number of other jobs before...
(Bass) who later went on to gain fame in the TV series The Professionals.
The group continued to tour throughout the sixties recording singles for Columbia and Piccadilly and through their live sessions gaining much approval for their performances at Colleges and Universities in the U.K. In 1964, Rob Storm and the Whispers were widely acknowledged as being the first rock/pop band to play behind the Iron Curtain, touring Poland with Helen Shapiro
Helen Shapiro
Helen Kate Shapiro is an English singer and actress. She is best known for her 1960s UK chart toppers, "You Don't Know" and "Walkin' Back to Happiness".-Early life:...
. Later as fashions changed they morphed into The Rob Storm Group, finally when the psychedelic revolution arrived they renamed to Orange Bicycle. In 1966 they covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the Beach Boys track, "Here Today".
The first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from Orange Bicycle, "Hyacinth Threads", was a #1
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and quite successful in some other European countries. It was their best known recording, and has appeared on numerous compilations
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
.
In 1968 the band started to cover The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' "Sing This All Together". The same year they performed at the Isle of Wight Festival
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited...
on a line up that included Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, The Move
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
, T-Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
, Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is a psychedelic rock album by Arthur Brown and his band The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, released in 1968. Considered a classic of the late-1960s psychedelic scene and a significant influence on progressive rock, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown includes covers of...
and the Pretty Things. In July 1969, they appeared on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
me, Colour Me Pop
Colour Me Pop
Colour Me Pop was a British music TV programmebroadcast on BBC2 from 1968-1969. It was a spin-off from the BBC 2 arts magazine show Late Night Line-Up. Designed to celebrate the new introduction of colour to British television, it was directed by Steve Turner, and showcased half-hour sets by pop...
. Their most successful album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Orange Bicycle, included covers of "Carry That Weight
Carry That Weight
"Carry That Weight" is a song by The Beatles. Released on Abbey Road and part of the long, climactic medley that closes the album, it features vocals from all four Beatles...
", "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You
"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" is a song written by Bob Dylan from his 1969 album Nashville Skyline. It was the closing song of the album. The song was the third single released from the album, after "I Threw It All Away" and "Lay Lady Lay", reaching #50 on the US Billboard Hot 100...
", "Say You Don't Mind" and "Take Me to the Pilot
Take Me to the Pilot
"Take Me to the Pilot" is a rock song performed by British musician Elton John. The song was written by Bernie Taupin and composed by John for his eponymous second album in 1970....
".
In 1971, the band broke up.
Subsequent careers
Malone released a solo album as "Wil Malone" on FontanaFontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
, and the album Motherlight under the name "Bobak, Jons, Malone" on Morgan Blue Town, featuring Malone on vocals, keyboards and drums with Morgan studio engineers Mike Bobak on guitar and Andy Jons (Johns) as recording engineer. Malone went on to become a successful arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. His string arrangement for The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
's "Bitter Sweet Symphony
Bitter Sweet Symphony
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by English alternative rock band The Verve, the lead track on their third album, Urban Hymns. It is based on music from an Andrew Loog Oldham adaptation of a Rolling Stones song, "The Last Time". It was released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings as the first single...
" caused controversy.
Currie joined Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
, then Burlesque
Burlesque (band)
Burlesque were an English pub rock band formed in London in 1972 and disbanded in 1977. Core members were Billy Jenkins and Ian Trimmer, who after Burlesque had disbanded went on to record and perform as Trimmer and Jenkins.-Albums:...
, later becoming a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
.
Singles
- "Hyacinth Threads" / "Amy Peate" (Columbia DB 8259) 1967
- "Laura's Garden" / "Lavender Girl" (Columbia DB 8311) 1967
- "Early Pearly Morning" / "Go With Goldie" (Columbia DB 8352) 1968
- "Jenskadajka" / "Nicely" (Columbia DB 8413) 1968
- "Sing This All Together" / "Trip On An Orange Bicycle" (Columbia DB 8483) 1968
- "Last Cloud Home" / "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here" (Parlophone R 5789) 1969
- "Carry That Weight" / "You Never Give Me Your Money" (Parlophone R 5811) 1970
- "Take Me To The Pilot" / "It's Not My World" (Parlophone R 5829) 1970
- "Jelly On The Bread" / "Make It Rain" (Parlophone R 5854) 1970
- "Goodbye Stranger" / "Country Comforts" (Regal Zonophone RZ 3029) 1971
Albums
- The Orange Bicycle (Parlophone PCS 7108) 1970
- Hyacinth Threads: The Morgan Blue Town Recordings (Edsel MEDCD 688) 2001 (double albumDouble albumA double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
compilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
)
External links
1968 Isle of Wight Festival Line up Category:English rock music groups