Introduction

In the late-1960s, the British blues boom was in full swing - a back-to-the-roots movement led by bands such as John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack and Savoy Brown, which saw the deification of a new breed of guitarist, spearheaded by Eric 'Slowhand' Clapton and the sublime touch of Peter Green: leader of Fleetwood Mac. Over in Bristol, two acolytes of Peter Green's playing were guitarists Andrew Cresswell Davis and James Crunberry Walter. In 1968, their mutual respect for the blues brought them together and they formed the band Griptight Thynn: a name chosen in honour of a character from the influential 1950s radio programme The Goon Show. Davis had previously learnt his chops as a member of holiday-camp specialists The Blue Crew back in 1966 and The Kynd in 1967, while his erstwhile partner - using the first-name appellation Crun (yet another Goon Show reference!) - had plied his trade with local bands The Mike Gray Quartet in 1966 and Sunken Rake in 1967. The new blues-powered Griptight Thynn consisted of Andy Davis on guitar and vocals, Crun Walter on guitar, Duncan Graham on bass, and drummer Dave Fortune, and they became regulars at Bristol haunts The Dug Out and The Granary, where they supported upcoming acts like Caravan and jazz rock band Heaven. On one occasion in 1968, they were supported by local band Obsession, whose singer Mike Tobin would end up managing Davis and Walter in Stackridge a few years down the line.

By the summer of 1969, the two Griptight Thynn guitarists jointly felt like they wanted to expand musically into more exploratory territory, and quit the band with plans to form a new, more adventurous unit, no doubt influenced by the evolution of psychedelia into a new underground that was later christened progressive rock. Initially using the name The Vera Lynn Experience, the new band soon adopted the moniker Stackridge Lemon, as Crun Walter swapped to bass guitar, Andy Davis remained as singer/guitarist, Bob Thompson was drafted in on keyboards and Tony Fennel (ex of East of Eden offshoot Barnaby Goode) sat in on drums.

Many personnel reshuffles took place over the next year, and at times the band resembled a musical roundabout. The legendary Murray Smith came in on slide guitar during 1969 - as later immortalised in the song '32 West Mall': a Bristol address at which the band were tenants that year. Murray Smith's tenure with the band didn't last the year out, though, despite his legend living on. The timings of various band inductees appear nebulous through this era, differing with alternate accounts. But Andy Davis had befriended James Warren earlier in 1969, as their respective bands Griptight Thynn and Dawn (not Tony Orlando's crew, but an American West Coast-influenced outfit plying the Bristol Scene in 1969) were both habitués of The Dug Out and The Granary.

The first important gig for Stackridge Lemon was their debut at The Granary on Christmas Eve 1969, and it seems by this time they'd settled the drum position with Bill Bent, who was by now incumbent. They would also soon pick up prize asset Mutter Slater, who was previously gigging as part of a duo called Mick and Mutter. The pair had earlier been booked by Mike Tobin via the Plastic Dog Agency as support for a band called Marsupilami for a gig at Glastonbury Town Hall. Slater evidently made a strong impression on Tobin, as he was subsequently invited to join the latter's latest band, who were eventually christened Pudding and who ended up sharing the bill with Stackridge Lemon at The Granary gig. As the Pudding lineup was in the process of dissolving, Crun Walter suggested to Andy Davis that they join forces with Slater. As a result of his addition to Stackridge Lemon, a key part of the band's sound was now in place, as Slater's flute turned new extended Walter/Davis compositions like 'Purple Spaceships Over Yatton' and 'Slark' into something magical.

As the band moved into 1970, James Warren was also now in place, with his extensive portfolio of songs bringing a welcome contrast to Davis and Walter's style, and giving the band a broader base and more scope to achieve their manifesto of forging an individual, eclectic mix of influences from as many genres as possible. The final piece of the Stackridge jigsaw was also soon in place through a chance pub encounter. This time it was tweed-jacketed Mike Evans who - with violin case in hand - strolled into a bar and struck up a conversation with the imbibing band members. Andy Davis' reaction was along the lines of 'Ah, a violin. We don't have one of those yet', and Davis and Warren immediately invited him to join the band, to which he replied in the affirmative.

The addition of Evans brought the classic lineup into being: just as they dropped the 'Lemon' to become simply Stackridge. Mike Evans was a virtuoso violinist who'd performed with symphony orchestras and had forged a strong identity in Bristol's folk clubs with outfits such as The Westlanders and The Moonshiners. Most importantly, he had an open musical mind, and was more than willing to attack any genre with his considerable skill and versatility.

Stackridge commenced a busy gigging schedule starting at a London venue called The Temple on 6 February, followed by Dagenham Roundhouse on 28 February, supporting Family. Every month, the gigs increased, taking in all corners of England and Wales as the band developed their presentation and started to pick up a following, eventually completing 60 gigs by the close of the year. The early set was comprised of less than a handful of numbers, which were liberally stretched out with improvisation, sometimes to 15 or 20 minutes. These included compositions such as 'Teatime', 'Purple Spaceships Over Yatton' and the usual set closer 'Slark'. One of the most notable gigs from this period came on 19 September when Stackridge opened the first Glastonbury Festival, and - when The Kinks failed to turn up - closed said festival on 20 September. Then, on 4 October, the band played London's Marquee Club supporting Genesis, who happened to be between guitarists at the time - Anthony Phillips having quit, and Steve Hackett not yet being in place, so guitarist Mick Barnard was filling in. Another interesting date in Stackridge's 1970 gig list was on 13 December when they played Bowes Lyon House Youth Club in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, with a bill of Stackridge, Yes and Iron Butterfly, which must've been some gig!

By 30 November, the band played their first topping gig at the Marquee with Bristol band First Light, who supported them on their autumn/winter tour. According to Mike Evans, this was the gig when MCA Records first registered an interest in signing the band, and when they returned to Bristol on 22 December to play the Victoria Rooms, David Howells from MCA signed them up for a three-year/three-album deal. At last, Stackridge had landed that prized recording contract: the holy grail for bands at the time. This was a magical period when major companies were more than willing to sign interesting young bands and give them the time to develop musically with minimal interference: a more open and enlightened era when the music was indeed the message.

It was December when the band had the first of many future personnel reshuffles, as Crun Walter quit to return to his previous occupation of bricklaying. He would eventually return to the fold, but it wouldn't be for another 16 months. The band's practical solution was for James Warren to return to his first instrument the bass, as the new-look freshly signed Stackridge slimmed down to a versatile five-piece. 1971 was fast approaching, and the future was looking bright for this enigmatic West Country band.

It's impossible to discuss Stackridge without mentioning their remarkably dedicated fan base, which by this juncture was already expanding. Somewhere around this era, fans of the band started to be referred to as Rhubarb Thrashers - a term that appears to have originated from the lyrics of the James Warren song 'Marzo Plod' (discussed in the next chapter). Many fans did indeed bring sticks of rhubarb to gigs to thrash along to the music, and the term 'Thrashers' for Stackridge followers stuck, and became currency when discussing other fans' reactions-to and thoughts-on all things Stackridge. I've taken the liberty of employing this term when referring to the fan base reactions to various recordings in the main text. From 1971 onwards, hardcore Thrashers organised themselves into many groups - often referred to as mobs, and usually based on geographical area: some of the most prominent early-1970s ones being The Guildford Mob, The Kingston Mob, The Bathampton Mob, The Redbridge Mob, The Leeds Lummy Days Society, The City Arms Mob, and The Newham Thrashers (an East London aggregation of which I was a prominent member). A common feature of many Stackridge gigs in this era - especially in the summer - was a pre-gig football match, as Stackridge challenged various mobs of Thrashers to a game. The Newham Thrashers played them several times, and Stackridge usually ran out as clear victors, mainly thanks to Crun Walter's dubious tactical approach to the beautiful game! We had a lot of fun.

Thrashers were an integral part of any Stackridge performance, interacting via humorous homemade signs and customised metal dustbin lids. (Ours were painted orange with 'Newham Thrashers' emblazoned on them in purple!) When the band cut loose with their fiddle extravaganza...