Black Hole Star

In early 1972, Clive John split from Man and joined up with former Eyes Of Blue keyboardist Phil Ryan and bassist Will Youatt-all fresh from Pete Brown & Piblokto!-forming Iorworth Pritchard and the Neutrons. They never got around to recording, and all three subsequently returned to Man. After appearing on Man's Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day and Back Into The Future albums, Youatt and Ryan left in 1973 to reform The Neutrons. Their first album, Black Hole Star, featured both Weathers on drums and Williams on guitar. Musically similar to Nektar, "Living in the World Today" offers The Neutron's music. Weathers ever-solid drumming propels the tune, with Ryan's excellent keyboards to the fore. Driven by a great vocal line, "Mermaid and Chips," with guest Caromay Dixon on vocals, is another tour de force for Ryan's piano and keyboards. "Dangerous Decisions" offers that continuous melody over a driving rhythm that made Genesis-and here The Neutrons'-songs so epic. Dedicated to "the late, great" Graham Bond, "Dance of the Psychedelic Lounge Lizards" features The Incredible String Band's Stuart Gordon on violin and Help Yourself's Dave Charles on drums. It's got a rousing chorus, while the folksy "Going To India" again features Gordon on violin, but with Dixon handling the lead vocal. The album closes with "Snow Covered Eyes," another great example of the band's music. Released by United Artists in 1974, the album featured a silver foil cover, with the band's logo designed by Rick Griffin. The album also saw a US release on Import Records. The duo would record a follow up album, Tales From The Blue Cocoons, in 1975, with Charles on drums and Williams on guitar. It was another solid and expertly performed record, however, after the supporting tour, The Neutrons subsequently broke up. Ryan returned to Man, while Charles went on to Rockfield Studios as a recording engineer.