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Personnel
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Brian Belshaw: Bass Guitar
Brian Godding: Guitar, Vocals
Jim Cregan: Guitar, Vocals
Kevin Westlake: Drums (1967-68)
Poli Palmer: Drums, Flute, Vibes, Harp, Vocals (1968)
Barry Reeves: Drums (1968-69)
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Biography
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The
beginnings of the Blossom Toes go as far back as to 1962,
when Brian Godding and Brian Belshaw met as apprentices
at the Hilger and Watts scientific instrument factory at Highbury,
Islington. There they formed a group called The Grave Diggers
and eventually played in The Ingoes, a R&B outfit. As The
Ingoes, they teamed up with The Yardbirds manager Giorgio
Gomelsky and went to Paris where they developed a strong cult
following. When back in London for a break, they recruited Jim
Cregan, and returned for a second spell in Paris. It was during
this time that The Ingoes recorded a single version of
Help!, sung in Italian for the Italian market, and an EP
on the Riviera label. Right after their London return, drummer
Colin Martin, left and was replaced by Kevin Westlake.
It was around this time that The Ingoes became Blossom
Toes. They were then housed in a flat in Fulham by manager
Giorgio Gomelsky and entered the studio to record their
debut album. The backing of much of the album was recorded by
an orchestra and session men. The album was a 15 track collection
of inventive psych pop (i.e. Telegram Tuesday, When
The Alarm Clock Rings) with it's share of weirdness (i.e.
The Remarkable Saga Of The Frozen Dog). Unfortunately,
their live act suffered due to the inability to reproduce most
of the album on stage. In the late 80's, there was a Blossom
Toes bootleg which surfaced featuring live material from
a 1967 gig at one of Sweden's top clubs and shows the band did
a lot of Captain Beefheart numbers which is hard to imagine
how that fit in with material from their debut, but it did show
what changes in style they were to make by the time of their second
album two years later. During 1968, the band just released two
singles, both featuring new member Poli Palmer, on drums,
and vibes. They released a cover of Bob Dylan's I'll
Be You Baby Tonight and followed that with a true lost gem,
Postcard backed with Everyone's Leaving Me Now.
The latter was written and sung by Poli Palmer and shows
them playing on the jazzy side, while the 'A' side was a tightly
crafted psych pop song. Palmer left shortly after the single
and was replaced by Barry Reeves from the soul band Ferris
Wheel. Their second album, If Only For A Moment was
released in 1969. It was much less psychedelic than their debut,
but still has some fine moments in the epic Love Bomb and
the madness of the first track, Peace Loving Man. There
is some recordings of the Blossom Toes at the BBC
which feature a few tracks off their second LP that show what
the songs might have sounded like if Palmer stayed with
them. Also of note, two unreleased gems were also recorded for
the BBC, but never appeared on any album or future compilation,
Collect Little Girls and Ever Since A Memory as well as the song New Day which eventually came out as BB Blunder. Wonder
if there are some unreleased 68-69 sessions!!
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Albums
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We Are Ever So Clean
Released 1967; Marmalade 607 001
1 Look
At Me I'm You
2 I'll Be There For Tea
3 The Remarkable Saga Of The Frozen Dog
4 Telegram Tuesday
5 Love Is
6 What's It For
7 People Of The Royal Parks
8 What On Earth
9 Mrs. Murphy's Budgerigar
10 I Will Bring You This And That
11 Mister Watchmaker
12 When The Alarm Clock Rings
13 The Intrepid Balloonist's Handbook Vol. 1
14 You
15 Track For Speedy Freaks
(or Instant LP Digest)
Produced by Giorgio Gomelsky
If Only For A Moment
Released 1969; Marmalade 608 010
1 Peace Loving Man 4:50
2 Kiss Of Confusion 4:37
3 Listen To The Silence 3:42
4 Love Bomb 8:34
5 Billy Boo The Gunman 7:02
6 Indian Summer 5:50
7 Just Above My Hobby Horse's Head
8 Wait AMinute 5:38
Brian Belshaw: Bass, Vocals
Jim Cregan: Lead, rhythm guitars, Vocals
Brian Godding: Lead and rythm guitars, Piano, Organ, Vocals
Poli Palmer: Drums on "Peace Loving Man" Barry Reeves: Percussion
& Drums on all tracks except "Peace Loving Man"
Shawn Phillips: Acoustic 12 string guitar & Sitar on "Just Above
my Hobby Horse's Head"
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