MIRKWOOD
This was 1971, the era of progressive rock, harder edged and more complex than anything that had gone before. The boundaries of pop music had gradually been expanding for some time to include forms of music which were both heavier and more technical. Things had moved away from the emphasis on tunefulness, dominant during the mid 60’s, towards displaying power and instrumental virtuosity. It had started a few years earlier with outfits like Jimi Hendrix’ Experience and Cream. Even the Beatles’ music had eventually come to reflect this trend. More recently still had been bands like Deep Purple, King Crimson and Yes. In the past, our personnel changes had tended to be ‘organic’, band members being replaced one by one when, for personal reasons, they decided to leave. This time however, some drastic changes were going to be needed if we were to make the transition to the new movement. Progressive music, we figured, demanded a higher level of musicianship than most ordinary pop groups could muster, as well as a more creative approach to the songs themselves.
Jack and I set out to write some original material. When we felt we had enough songs to put together a set, we started to think about the personnel. The first new recruit was Derek Bowley. I’d met Derek once or twice when Howard Oliver had brought him along to Take 5 rehearsals and knew he had a great voice. Now we just needed bass and drums. We advertised and started to audition applicants. After a few false starts we eventually struck oil in finding Andy Broadbent and the very talented Steve Smith. Sadly, this line up didn’t last very long. Within a year Andy had left the area to work in London and his role on bass had been taken by Dave Evans. The following year, Steve also moved to London where he remained active on the music scene for some years but never getting the recognition he deserved.
We were unable to find an immediate and suitable replacement for Steve and so concentrated on writing more material. Live appearances were temporarily restricted to regular drummerless outings at the Louis Armstrong. In early 1973, Steve came back to help us record an album. Recorded live in Jack’s lounge on a two-track Revox, the Mirkwood album comprised some of the first batch of songs written. The original pressing consisted of just ninety-nine copies for the band and its regular followers at the ‘Louis’.
A few months later, we were introduced to a young drummer who showed huge talent. His name was Nick Headon and he was duly recruited. The group was once again at full strength. Eventually though Nick, like his predecessor left for London to seek fame and fortune. Unlike poor Steve however, Nick found both. He landed the job of drummer with The Clash and became known as Topper. Ironically, at almost the same time as Nick arrived in London so Steve Smith was leaving to come home, so disenchanted with the music business that we were never able to persuade him to play again. Following Nick’s departure, Mirkwood continued to perform with two further drummers, first with Terry Prior and finally with David Blakey, until mid-1976 when Jack & I decided to call it a day. Mirkwood reunited for a final concert at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury in 1978.
In 1991, nearly twenty years after it was recorded, the Mirkwood album was the most expensive listing in Record Collector magazine and was changing hands for up to £800 a copy. The album was reissued in a limited edition of five hundred copies in 1992 and once again we thought that would be the last we’d hear of it. Not so. In 2004, now over thirty years after the original release, the album was reissued for the second time and in 2008 was finally released as a CD album by Red Admiral Records.
