1970 Albums

The Pretty Things donned their alter-ego Electric Banana to fill their coffers; they recorded three half-albums of very good psychedelia for library music producers DeWolfe Publishing between 1967 and 1969, while also appearing in the low-budget film with Norman Wisdom, What's Good for the Goose. The band even teamed up with a wealthy Frenchman, Philippe DeBarge, who commissioned them to record an album that featured himself on vocals! In Fall 1969, The Pretty Things headed back into EMI studios with producer Norman Smith.

Hailing from Southport, Merseyside, Timebox was an excellent northern soul band that released a few singles during the mid-to-late 60s to no particular acclaim, other than being one of the few bands of the era to feature a vibraphone. The band did feature two gifted members, vocalist Mike "Patto" McGrath and guitarist Ollie Halsall, and was rounded out with Chris Holmes on keyboards, John Halsey on drums and Clive Griffiths on bass.

Bassist John Gustafson was a member of the Merseybeat band The Big Three in the early 60s. With organist Peter Robinson, he first joined up with drummer Mick Underwood in Episode Six. That lineup, however, proved to be short-lived, as the trio went off to form Quatermass in July 1969. The band derived their name from Professor Bernard Quatermass, a character from the first science fiction program on the BBC in 1953. They signed to EMI's Harvest label and their debut was recorded at EMI Studios.