The Neon Story with Coventry Connections Continued..
by Pete Clemons
It cannot be understated how Coventry was central to the short-lived but now legendary RCA Neon progressive rock label (1971), primarily through the Coventry based band Indian Summer but also through Dando Shaft. Both were key signings for the label, with Indian Summer's self-titled album being one of the first and most notable releases on the label. Another local band, Fresh Maggots, were also in the mix.
While RCA Neon featured other acts like Spring and Tonton Macoute, Indian Summer's, with their Coventry roots, helped define the label's sound and is now considered a cornerstone of the Neon catalogue.
Coventry formed but also London based folk-rock band Dando Shaft were also a pivotal artist for RCA's progressive offshoot Neon, releasing their self-titled album on the label in 1971. While highly regarded by critics for their mix of folk, jazz, and psych, they were part of a roster that struggled commercially before moving to the main RCA label.
Dando Shaft June 1971 summary and interview:
Dando Shaft signed to Neon during 1971, releasing their eponymous second album Dando Shaft. A separate article titled 'Dando Shaft 1971' is an interview with some of the band when they lived in Ealing and undertaken right at the point of Polly joining and the second album on the way. Below is an interview with the band during that period between the first two albums..........
Dando Shaft make it quite clear that they want to incorporate as many instruments as possible into their exclusively acoustic repertoire. And since recording their first album for Youngblood just over a year ago, the Coventry group have expanded not only their instrumental scope but also their personnel, so that with the arrival of singer Polly Bolton, and a new album on the Neon label, Dando Shaft finally look set for the success that has long been predicted for them.
Having been invited to witness the band performing live in concert I can only add expletives to the album, the brilliance of which largely speaks for itself. With six members and many instruments from which to choose it is a difficult task indeed for a band to attain the kind of equipoise which Dando Shaft have. And at the same time they have remained true to their folk roots and often dwell upon traditional airs in which to set their contemporary songs. Thus they are always experimenting with different time structures (while retaining positive melodic structures) and Martin Jenkins, Dave Cooper and Kevin Dempsey have written some poignant songs such as 'Railway', 'Waves Upon the Ether' and 'Whispering Ned' which are masterpieces in lyrical and melodic construction.
Lead musician Martin Jenkins (fiddle, flute, mandolin, cello, mandola) explained this week that the groups activities had been restricted to a certain extent by the fact that Polly has been studying at university; but her final examinations and departure are now imminent and the group will then get down to some serious rehearsals. 'We've not been able to practice enough with Polly yet. And she also plays piano which we'd like to introduce' Martin added.
'There's hundreds of acoustic instruments that I'm sure we can play and we just want to keep expanding along these lines. Acoustic music is really our scene and I think we'd like to carry on like that for quite a while because there are so many acoustic outlets to explore'.
Certainly their folk apprenticeship has served them well for not only has it given them confidence in an informal environment where they are at conversation level with the audience but it has also expedited a high standard of musicianship and rapport, particularly on the part of Martin and guitarist Kev Dempsey whose contrapuntal duets are a joy.
'If you play electric instruments' went on Martin, 'you can synthesise practically every sound you want to, but with acoustic instruments you've really got to play accurately. And its marvellous musical training anyway'.
I questioned the danger of being overburdened with too many instruments and the trap that so many groups fall into of producing a cluttered sound. But Dave Cooper pointed out that all the band live in the same house in Ealing, and that 'its not so much a matter of what happens on stage as what happens at home'. And indeed the arrangements of their songs and their stage presentation is impeccable.
'I sometimes change the style of an instrument' cut in Martin. 'And that gives you something new to work with which no-one else is doing - and you can develop that infinitely.
Only percussionist Ted Kay, who plays tablas and congas, has not had some kind of a folk background, although various members have been involved with rock bands. And now Dando Shaft are finding the venues divided between folk clubs such as "Cousins, the Highcliffe at Sheffield and other broad minded contemporary clubs and the colleges where they appear to go down equally well.
'Folk clubs are a marvellous way to start for they help you to get involved with audiences. For instance although we arrange our programme beforehand there's still a lot of tuning to do between numbers which means you have to keep a rap going. Also I think that audiences will listen harder if you tell them a bit about the original song' said Martin.
Dando Shaft are evidently one of those empiric little outfits who will always be experimenting and expanding. And their latest project is explained by Dave Cooper: 'We got freaked out by some Bulgarian music recently which we are trying to learn now. It's a suite consisting of three folk tunes but they play such weird instruments that you really need an orchestra - there's some really weird syncopation'.
Martin commented on the group's adept sound balancing and the fact they could always achieve sufficient volume without distorting, regardless of venue or the company in which they are playing. 'We've just got a new PA and new instruments and everything is miked through one system while we've now got monitors on stage and can hear exactly what everyone else is doing. Its good because we are enjoying more than ever now.
Commercial release and appeal:
It appears that Neon Records wanted a commercial single to increase the band's, and their own, commercial success. Indian Summer was asked to record a version of Free’s "Ride a Pony" by their Neon label, as a strategic move to help break the band into the mainstream. The label hoped to leverage the popularity of the song to build momentum for the band. However, Indian Summer was not enthusiastic about the project, as they preferred to record their own material.
Not getting that commercial success was possibly a factor as to why the label was short lived.
Fresh Maggots: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeRM94TvR_cmsVONB9oAiJQ
The self-titled album by the folk-rock duo Fresh Maggots was released on the standard RCA Victor label (catalogue number SF 8205) in October 1971, not the specialized RCA Neon progressive label. But it seems as though it should have been on Neon.
I asked Mick Burgoyne if the Fresh Maggots album was destined for Neon 'Yes it was' he responded, 'we weren’t involved in the decision it was RCA’s choice. We were told that it was to be released on the launch of Neon and they informed us of the other bands on the launch but changed their mind'.
Interestingly Mick also mentioned 'Thinking back I believe we were told that our music didn’t fit in with the other bands on the release'. I found that to be odd given Neon's eclectic nature.
In October 1971, Sounds magazine published a positive review of the self-titled debut album by the Warwickshire acid-folk duo Fresh Maggots, describing it as a unique blend of melodic folk and "screaming fuzzed electric guitar".
The review was part of a wave of critical praise the duo received upon the album's release that autumn, though the record ultimately failed to achieve commercial success at the time due to a lack of promotion from their label, RCA.
Fresh Maggots 1st Album 1971 (Tracks in the side bar on youTube.)
Fresh Maggots 2nd Album - Waiting for Summer
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