Behind the scenes of the creation of the cover for the Essen live album.

 

When M.I.G. (Music In Germany) asked me to oversee the vinyl release of the concert TEB played at the Essen Festival on April 24, 1970 (read here), we also discussed how to design the cover. The label’s initial idea was to use a photo of the band performing live, but there were no photos from the Essen concert and those in circulation had already been used, though they were well known among fans.

So I suggested using a shot from the concert excerpt available on an illegal South American DVD, in which Sweeney and the others were filmed on stage. However, the photos I managed to extract from the DVD were not of sufficient quality to produce a professional cover.

It was at that point that M.I.G.’s graphic designer, Anna Vavatsis, came up with the idea of creating the cover artwork from one of those photos... 

 

no©2026LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

Tolkien, Muz Murray and the Third Ear Band in an interesting essay by philologist Monica Sanz.

In an interesting article entitled "Shadows of Middle-Earth: Tolkien in Subculture, Counterculture and Exploitation" written by Monica Sanz, a graduate in English Philology specialising in British Isles Literature, I was quoted for my old interview with Muz Murray (read here) about his magazine "Gandalf's Garden' and his relationship with the Third Ear Band.

The seat of Gandalf's Garden in Chelsea (London), circa 1969. Photo: Colin Bord.

Sanz, an expert on J.R.R. Tolkien, reflects in his essay on the influence exerted by the writer on contemporary culture. “Tolkien's works have inspired many artists,” he explains in the abstract of the essay, "who reflected their 

Muz Murray and Jaya Amler  (photo by Colin Bord).

"views on illustrations, music, cinema or comics. But they also have inspired unexplored niches of artistic realisations, their influence reaching even subcultural and countercultural movements. Through Tolkien’s personal view of applicability and his aim to leave inspiration for other hands to complete his masterpieces, and by adopting a Cultural Studies perspective, this essay will take you on an unexpected journey through lesser known cultural phenomena that resonate with Tolkien’s works as inspiration, justification, appropriation or reflection. The results of such interactions may surprise you, as well as they could surprise Tolkien himself, but they prove to be worth the study as independent entities touched by the Professor’s writings."

"Gandalf's Garden" issue 1 (1968).

The essay can be downloaded free of charge from the Academia website at

https://www.academia.edu/99237418/Shadows_of_Middle_Earth_Tolkien_in_Subculture_Counterculture_and_Exploitation

no©2026LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first). 

American label published vinyl edition of the Elements album in August 2025.

In August 2025, the American label Antarctica Starts Here (San Francisco, California) released the remastered vinyl edition of Third Ear Band's second album (catalog number ASH 104) under license from Cherry Red Records. Following the release of “Alchemy” by Esoteric Recordings (2019) and “Music from Macbeth” by Spain's Munster Records (2020), the release of the Elements album completes the remastering of the Harvest catalog on vinyl, arriving just as long-playing records are enjoying a renaissance.

Comparing my original 1970 gatefold edition (SHSP 773) with this one, it must be said that the packaging of Antarctica Starts Here faithfully reproduces that of Harvest, but features a much thicker cardboard sleeve with bright, more contrasting colors. Inside, this new edition features brilliant black-and-white photo and drawings without (of course) the EMI-Harvest label and the catalog number.

On a colorful insert, brief notes by Dave Segal outline the band's history.

And how does the record sound?

Despite its decidedly dull label, the vinyl sounds really good, with brilliant dynamics, full-bodied sound, which, on my stereo system, make listening (especially at high volume) a unique, truly extraordinary experience that even shakes my conviction that “Alchemy” is my favourite album...

Distributed in regular record stores, it costs between 30 and 40 euros, and can be purchased on the label website (https://www.superiorviaduct.com/collections/catalogue/products/third-ear-band-s-t-lp) for 25 dollars.

 no©2026LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first). 

Penny Valentine interviewed Paul Buckmaster for Sounds in May 1971.

Every time I discover an old interview with Paul Buckmaster somewhere I'm glad to share it with all the TEB fans because Paul was a clever, smart guy, an extremely talented musician, a genius of creativity... and it always a gift to read his thoughts on paper.

Here we have an interview with Penny Valentine, published in Sounds on 29 May 1971, during a very creative period of his burgeoning career: although he was only 26, he had already produced some of Elton John's albums, arranged the score for Lewis Gilbert's film "Friends" (music by Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin), arranged two tracks for the Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers", arranged David Bowie's masterpiece "Space Oddity" ...

no©2026LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first). 

A rare interview with Ursula Smith and Richard Coff in 1970 after their departure from the TEB.

Here is a rare interview with Ursula Smith and Richard Coff conducted by Steve Peacock and published by Sounds on October 17, 1970, just immediately following their departure from the Third Ear Band to form the duo COMIC OVERDOSE (according to other sources, COSMIC OVERDOSE). 

It's an interesting and exclusive overview of the duo's artistic project, which nevertheless failed shortly afterwards due to its naive approach. In fact, as Ursula recalled in the interview she gave me in 2001 (read here), 

"Richard and I did some rehearsing and got some ideas together. Richard rang the "Melody Maker" music paper and got an interview, but we had not got equipment or management or agency.
We were busking near Speaker's Corner Hyde Park when this South African guy came up to chat to us, and said he knew a guy who ran an equipment shop and he could get us some equipment there.
 

"We went to the shop and Richard spoke to the manager who told us that this person was an intelligence agent for the South African government and that we should be very wary of him.
After that Richard rejoined the Third Ear Band and so did Paul Buckmaster. Soon after that the Third Ear Band got signed for doing the music for Polanski’s "Macbeth"...".

Thanks to Italian fan Gianpaolo Banelli for finding the article and to my friend Mirco Delfino (Third Ear Band Facebook page) for bringing it to my attention.

no©2026LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first). 

Thanks!

When I conceived and created this archive in November 2009 to fill the void of information and knowledge about the Third Ear Band, the group was still shrouded in mystery. There was a fan page on Facebook recently set up by my friend Mirco Delfino (still active today at https://it-it.facebook.com/third.ear.band/), but mainstream information was limited to the classic, incomplete Wikipedia entry or the superficial, summary reconstructions of bloggers or journalists both on the web and in the few articles in print.

In agreement with the heirs of the band members, despite the unwillingness of a suspicious Richard Coff to cooperate, the main objective of the archive was to collect all available material and attempt a more in-depth study of the experience, encouraging fans to contribute materials, writings, suggestions, etc.

This would result, among other things, in a new book (published by November Books in 2020), the remastering of the Harvest catalog (thanks to the acquisition of rights by Cherry Red/Esoteric Recordings), the recovery of live and radio sessions online and on disc, and the creation of the ‘third’ lost album (The Dragon Wakes)...

Today, I can say that it was definitely worth it, and the results have proven those who, like Mirco and myself, believed it was necessary to return to investigate this obscure story right:

Last month, the archive exceeded one million views (1,014,648 as of January 3, 2026), with 594 files available for reading and 771 comments.

Among the browsers most used by readers, Google ranks first; among platforms, Facebook ranks first; the top five countries of origin are the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Russia, and the UK.

The most read article was the interview with Ursula Smith of the July 2011 with over 4.000 views; followed by the chronology “A TEB day-by-day chronology” (part one), and interviews with Paul Buckmaster and the chief druid, graphic designer of “Alchemy,” David Loxley.

Articles, reflections, suggestions, interviews available free of charge, in a world of information that over the last twenty years has monetized everything possible, often enriching the most cunning.

I know for a fact that Glen would have disapproved of the choice of a free archive, accessible to anyone, without filters, but this is the idea I have always had of culture, which must circulate freely, without constraints, because it is first and foremost a collective product, even when our narcissism leads us to believe that it is solely ‘our own doing’.

I would certainly have liked to see more active participation from readers, but the original decision to use Google's Blogspot undoubtedly affected access, which was less direct and easier than on other platforms (such as Facebook or Instagram). The frequent practice of certain mainstream journalists who use the contents of this Archive without citing the source is also unpleasant, but I believe it is the price you pay for being free, for not belonging to the many “churches” out there. On a few occasions, I have also noticed the annoyance of certain British magazines (I am thinking in particular of Mojo and Uncut) at having to accept the evidence that it was an Italian who initiated the long research that unveiled the “arcane mysteries” of the Third Ear Band, a classic example of British chauvinism that considers certain cultural objects to be exclusive...

However, the aim was first and foremost to offer a reflection on the content, rather than simply providing unfiltered information (from historical data, the opinions of those who were there, etc.). This made the Archive appealing to those seeking in-depth knowledge that lasts, rather than the mere disposable information that characterizes social media, which is often mired in meaningless chatter, unfortunately typical of many pop and rock music fans.

But the goal was to offer, first and foremost, a reflection on the content, rather than simply providing unfiltered information (from historical data, from the opinions of those who were there...), making this archive appealing to those seeking in-depth knowledge that lasts, rather than the mere disposable information that characterizes social media, which is often mired in idle chatter for its own sake, unfortunately typical of many pop and rock music fans.

Thank you, therefore, to all those who have approached this Archive over the last fifteen years. Thank you especially to those who have actively collaborated by sending writings, suggestions, reflections, and analyses.

Special thanks to Mirco Delfino, who was undoubtedly a driving force behind the creation of this project; to musicians Sedayne (Sean Breadin) and Alessandro Monti for their consistently insightful analyses of TEB's music; and to passionate fans such as Will Hullbert and Pooka, who are always attentive and inspiring.

To all the protagonists of the scene who kindly gave interviews and exclusive contributions—from Carolyn Looker to Steve Pank, from David Loxley to Mary Hayes; Ursula Smith, Mick Carter, Denim Bridges, Clive Kingsley, Dave Harries, Allen Samuel, Morgan Fisher, Lyn Dobson, Brian Diprose, Brian Meredith, Ray Stevenson, and Muz Murray. To the musicians I interviewed about their relationship with TEB music, such as Francesco Paolo Paladino, Jenny Sorrenti, Tullio Angelini, Vincenzo Zitello, and Roberto Musci...

I must also thank publishers Marcello Baraghini (Stampa Alternativa) and Chris Cutler (November Books) for their courage in accepting the challenge of publishing a book about the Third Ear Band.

Remembering especially those who are sadly no longer with us: Glen Sweeney, Paul Minns, Dave Tomlin, Paul Buckmaster, Simon House, Terry Day, Rod Goodway, Mel Davis, Roger Bunn, Jim Haynes, John Hoppy Hopkins.

 

Quando nel novembre 2009 ho ideato e realizzato questo archivio per rispondere al vuoto di informazioni e di conoscenza sulla Third Ear Band, intorno al gruppo aleggiava ancora un alone di mistero.  Esisteva su Facebook una pagina per fans da poco allestita dall'amico Mirco Delfino (ancora oggi attiva all'indirizzo https://it-it.facebook.com/third.ear.band/), ma l'informazione mainstream era limitata alla classica, lacunosa voce di Wikipedia o alle superficiali, sommarie ricostruzioni di blogger o giornalisti sia sul Web che sugli scarsi articoli a stampa.

In accordo con gli eredi dei membri della band, nonostante la non disponibilità a collaborare di un sospettoso Richard Coff, il principale obiettivo dell'archivio era quello di raccogliere tutto il materiale  disponibile e tentare una ricerca più a fondo dell'esperienza, stimolando l'iniziativa degli appassionati a contribuire con materiali, scritti, suggerimenti...

Ne sarebbe scaturito, tra l'altro, un nuovo libro (pubblicato da November Books nel 2020), la rimasterizzazione del catalogo Harvest (grazie all'acquisizione dei diritti da parte di Cherry Red/Esoteric Recordings), il recupero di live e radio session on line e su disco, la realizzazione del 'terzo' disco perduto (The Dragon Wakes)...

Oggi posso dire che ne è valsa senz'altro la pena e i risultati hanno dato ragione a chi, come me e Mirco, ha creduto fosse necessario indagare più a fondo questa storia oscura:

lo scorso mese l'archivio ha superato il milione di visualizzazioni (1.014.648 al 3 gennaio 2026), con 594 file disponibili alla lettura e 771 commenti.

Tra i browser più utilizzati dai lettori, Google: tra le piattaforme, Facebook; i primi cinque paesi di provenienza USA, Singapore, Honk Kong, Russia e UK.

Quanto all'articolo più letto, l'intervista a Ursula Smith del luglio 2011 ha avuto oltre 4.000 visualizzazioni; a seguire, la cronologia "A TEB day-by-day chronology" (prima parte), e le interviste a Paul Buckmaster e al chief druid, grafico di " Alchemy", David Loxley.

Articoli, riflessioni, suggestioni, interviste consultabili gratuitamente, in un mondo dell'informazione che negli ultimi vent'anni monetizza tutto il possibile, arricchendo spesso i più scaltri.

So per certo che Glen avrebbe biasimato la scelta di un archivio gratuito, accessibile a chiunque, senza filtri, ma è questa l'idea che ho da sempre della cultura, che deve circolare libera, senza vincoli, perché è anzitutto un prodotto collettivo, anche quando il nostrio narcisismo ci induce a credere che sia soltanto 'farina del nostro sacco'.

Avrei senz'altro auspicato una maggiore partecipazione attiva da parte dei lettori, ma la scelta originaria di utilizzare Blogspot di Google ha senz'altro condizionato gli accessi, meno diretti e facilitati rispetto ad altre piattaforme (vedi Facebook o Instagram). Sgradevole è poi la prassi frequente di certo giornalismo mainstream che utilizza i contenuti di questo Archivio senza citare la fonte, ma credo sia il prezzo che si paga ad essere liberi, a non appartenere alle tante "chiese" in circolazione. Ho avvertito in alcune occasioni anche il fastidio di certe riviste inglesi (penso soprattutto a Mojo e a Uncut) nel dover accettare l'evidenza che è partita da un italiano la lunga ricerca che ha disvelato i 'misteri arcani' della Third Ear Band, un classico dello sciovinismo britannico che considera esclusivi certi oggetti culturali...

Ma l'obiettivo era quello di offrire anzitutto una riflessione sui contenuti, prima che limitarsi a proporre informazioni non filtrate (dai dati storici, dalle opinioni di chi c'era...), rendendo questo archivio congeniale a chi è alla ricerca di una conoscenza approfondita che resta, non alla mera informazione usa e getta che caratterizza i social media, sprofondati molto spesso in un chiaccericcio fine a se stesso, purtroppo tipico di molti fan della musica pop e rock.

Grazie quindi a tutti coloro che in questi ultimi quindici anni si sono avvicinati a questo Archivio. Grazie soprattutto a chi ha collaborato attivamente, inviando scritti, suggerimenti, riflessioni, analisi.

Un ringraziamento particolare a Mirco Delfino, che fu senz'altro uno stimolo per la nascita di questo progetto; ai musicisti Sedayne (Sean Breadin) e Alessandro Monti per le loro sempre acute analisi della musica della TEB; ai fan appassionati come Will Hullbert e Pooka, sempre attenti e stimolanti.

A tutti i protagonisti della scena che si sono prestati gentilmente a interviste e contributi esclusivi - da Carolyn Looker a Steve Pank, da David Loxley a Mary Hayes; Ursula Smith, Mick Carter, Denim Bridges, Clive Kingsley, Dave Harries, Allen Samuel, Morgan Fisher, Lyn Dobson, Brian Diprose, Brian Meredith, Ray Stevenson, Muz Murray... Ai musicisti che ho intervistato sui loro rapporti con la musica della TEB, come Francesco Paolo Paladino, Jenny Sorrenti, Tullio Angelini, Vincenzo Zitello, Roberto Musci...

Non posso non ringraziare, inoltre, gli editori Marcello Baraghini (Stampa Alternativa) e Chris Cutler (November Books) per il coraggio nell'aver accettato la sfida commerciale di pubblicare un libro sulla Third Ear Band. 

Ricordando soprattutto chi purtroppo non c'è più: Glen Sweeney, Paul Minns, Dave Tomlin, Paul Buckmaster, Simon House, Terry Day, Rod Goodway, Mel Davis, Roger Bunn, Jim Haynes, John Hoppy Hopkins.

no©2026LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first). 

Was TEB music truly inspired by Terry Riley?

When analyzing the musical form of a band, the question of sources of inspiration, if not actual influences, is fundamental in order to even begin to understand it.

We have often discussed the sources that inspired the music of the Third Ear Band, and this archive is proof of that. By the musicians' own admission, Indian music, Vaughan Williams' pastoral compositions (which undoubtedly inspired Dave Tomlin in the composition of “Lark's Rise”), the works of modern classic musicians as Stravinsky or Penderecki, and the aleatoric music of John Cage were undoubtedly the basis of TEB musicians.

Wim Mertens, a Belgian composer, musicologist and pianist also known as Soft Verdict, in his fine 1983 essay dedicated to American Minimalism (“American Minimal Music,” published by Kahn and Averill) adds Terry Riley to the pantheon of composers who influenced TEB. He wrote:

"Riley’s music has influenced a number of American and European avant-garde composers and many jazz and pop musicians. The Soft Machine’s Moon in June is a clear example of this — in fact, the cofounder of this group, David Allen, was a good friend of Riley’s. The English group Third Ear Band also show their debt to Riley in their use of modal patterns on the principle of periodic progression."

Do you think this assertion has any basis?

From a historiographical point of view, I don't recall any admissions in this regard by members of the group, while in Paul Minns' memoirs, which I first published in my short essay “Necromancers of the Drifting West” in 1996, the vaste references include classical modern musicians as Stravinski, Malipiero, Ives and jazz giants as Miles Davis, Dolphy, Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef;  but, most of all, Indian players as Dr. Jog, Bismillah Khan, sitarist Vilyat Khan and sarod master Sharon Rani.

In the same essay, guitar player Mick Carter, analyzing the structure of the tunes, refers exclusively to Indian modal music and the different modes/scales that inspired the last compositions of the 1980s and 1990s. 

There is no denying that Terry Riley has been a major influence on the music scene since the second half of the 1960s, especially thanks to his wonderful works “A Rainbow In Curved Air” (1968) and “In C” (1969), but, as far as I can tell, there is no evidence that it was a conscious source of inspiration for the TEB.

It seems to me that also Riley was influenced by Indian music, which plays a decisive role in the syncretism of TEB's work.

no©2025LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

Another unexpected discovery: a Third Ear Band's radio session in 1970!

Here is another miraculous discovery from the web, a new live radio set by TEB from February 15, 1970, taken from a John Peel's Sunday Show that seemed lost forever.

The episode (approximately 40 minutes long) featured performances by the Third Ear Band and the Edgar Broughton Band, both on the Blackhill and Harvest Records roster, who often performed together live.

The TEB played only two tracks: "Mosaic," from the first album, and "Water" (here, unfortunately, incomplete), from the (forthcoming) second one, wrongly announced by Peel as  "The Sea," displaying, as I have written countless times, a prodigious interplay.

It's interesting to note that, compared to the version later released on the second album, "Water" has a darker, more sinister feel, as if a threat were looming.

Detailed information about the track list for the episode, which was rebroadcast in September 6, 1970, can be found at  https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/15_February_1970

 

 no©2025LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

Carolyn says...

When my dearest friend Carolyn Looker, Glen's lifelong partner, sent me this stuff about the band (circa second half of 1970) where Sweeney announced to "Melody Maker" the TEB would have changed its skin with a new electric, raga-rock oriented sound, I asked her to comment this creative phase of the band. 

A rare shot of Glen playing live on 8/08/1970.

She replied me with her usual laconic and minimal style that "I can't think of anything positive to say regarding Glen's decision to change direction of TEB as l was not at all enthusiastic on the idea. For me the original acoustic group WAS alchemical and this got lost in electricity".

Even if I know many TEB fans love the electric music with Denim Bridges on double-neck guitar and Paul Buckmaster on the electric bass, I agree with Carolyn  because that magical, esoteric, alchemical mood was definitely lost.

So that's it.   

no©2025LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

Do you know Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia (1990) quotes the Third Ear Band?

 

Do you know that a great novel as Hanif Kureishi's "The Buddha of Suburbia", published in England in 1990 by Faber & Faber, quotes the Third Ear Band at the beginning (page 10)?

He writes:

"(...) Mum often said Eva was a vile show-off and big-mouth, and even I recognized that Eva was slightly ridiculous, but she was the only person over thirty I could talk to. She was inevitably good-tempered, or she was being passionate about something. At least she didn't put armour on her feelings like the rest of the miserable undead around us. She liked the Rolling Stones's first album. The Third Ear Band sent her. She did Isadora Duncan dances in our front room and then told me who Isadora Duncan was and why she'd liked scarves. Eva had been to the last concert the Cream played. In the playground at school before we went into our classrooms Charlie had told us of her latest outrage: she'd brought him and his girlfriend bacon and eggs in bed and asked them if they'd enjoyed making love."

 

In the book, a wonderful fresco of London in the Sixties through the eyes of an English/Indian young, there are also some quotations of popular music's bands/musicians as Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers, Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd; rock magazines as Melody Maker and New Musical Express; songs as "Come Together," "Greensleaves"...

 

Unfortunately, however, in the Italian translation by the otherwise talented Ivan Cotronero (p. 17), who was clearly unaware of who they were, the Third Ear Band clumsily becomes “the band of Third Ear”...

 

no©2025LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

 

Viv Albertine remembers first time she saw the Third Ear Band.

Viv Albertine, singer, guitar player, founder of seminal female punk band The Slits (1977-1982), in 2014 published an autobiography titled "Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys" where, at page 41, quite surprisingly, she writes a short memory on the Third Ear Band...

"One of the strangest bands I saw around this time was the Third Ear Band at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. I found out about then through listening to John Peel on the radio. He was always mentioning them. He played on their record Alchemy. The music was over my head, really difficult, but I understood their ideas - experimentation, pushing boundaries and not conforming to musical clichés. I stared at the stage, I couldn't tell if one of the players  in the band was male or female, the tall skinny one with  long black hair; I stared and stared at this one hoping and hoping that they were female. I left without knowing as she or he had their head down the whole time."

 

"Me and my friend Zaza went to see Third Ear Band again (even though they were very experimental, they played all over the place and had a big following) in July 1969 when I was fifteen. They opened for the Rolling Stones at the ‘Stones in the Park’ free concert in ‘the cockpit’ — the big dip in the grass in Hyde Park. King Crimson were on too."

 

Would she be pleased today to know that a woman also played at the Queen Elizabeth Hall... Ursula Smith?

no©2025LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

Bernard Parmegiani's "Pop Secret" on album.

For some time now, the music market and the web have been full of surprises and twists and turns that have made it almost impossible to keep up. Videos, radio broadcasts, live recordings, etc., that were unknown or thought to be lost, reappear out of nowhere, adding new pieces to the puzzle with which we have been trying for years to reconstruct the glorious history of the Third Ear Band. Just when everything seems to have been “discovered”, brought to light and made known, new findings undermine our naive ambition to “know everything” and consider ourselves experts on something. Reality, as always, exceeds imagination...

After the recording of the group's third “appearance” on John Peel's "Top Gear" (8 June 1970), which appeared out of nowhere on YouTube, which I dealt with last time, now available to listen to is the “legendary” piece composed by Bernard Parmegiani (19-2013) and performed with the TEB in the “Sun Wheel Ceremony” concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London on 24 June 1970.

Included in the album "Mémoire Magnétiques vol. 2" (Magnetic Memory), subtitled: "A compilation of unrealised magnetic tapes (1968-1993), and released by Transversales Disques in 2021, this is a 4:14 instrumental track from 1970, presented here in a remixed and reduced version.

I.T. announced the concert by writing: “The Third Ear Band have been working with the top electronic musicians in France, Group de la Recherche Musicale de l'ORTF, to create a musical/phisic experience in the concert hall. EMI have developed the concept of periphonic sound and loaned equipment to create a total 'sound surround' within which you can experience the combined effects of the Third Ear and the electronic ideas of Bayle and Parmigiani" (from IT vol. 1 issue 81, June 18th, 1970)

                                                                I.T. ad

As I wrote in a previous article in this Archive (read here),  "That evening the band played with Bernard Parmegiani two traks, "Fire" and the unpublished 34'56" "Freak Dance" (other title: "Pop Secret", from the Parmegiani official Web site). 

On "Melody Maker" (July 4th, 1970), Chris Charlesworth wrote about the event: "The hall was barely half full. Accompained at times by electronic machines making weird sounds Third Ear Band droned through two lenghty pieces which were well accepted by their fans. Their music has no title and is 90 per cent improvisation. It just starts and finishes when the band feel like it. There's a vague anonymity about their music. However violinist Richard Coff, who hate make announcements, did mention that one piece was called "Freak Dance". This contained some haunting oboe work from Paul Minns, and I rather enjoied it. Their second piece was more ambitious and, I thought, less enjoyable. At one stage I actually saw Richard tapping his foot!".

Quite different Carolyn Looker's memories of the event (April 2012): "Parmegiani concert was at Festival Hall. It didn't work too well in my opinion. TEB's music was organic, the French were music concrete, it didn't got".

The Royal Festival Hall in 1964.

As for Paul Minns, in his memories about the Band (included in my books, "Parmegiani had come over previously to record some of our musical sounds so he could take them back, regurgitate and spew out something tasty.

The idea was to play along with this tape at concert. I remember no reharsal, although I can't believe we walked on cold, with a predictable result - a mess. The French tale themselves very seriously and must have been horrified by our laissez-faire approach. I think this had originally been set up by EMI but as usual nothing came of it. One novel feature at the time was the quadrophonic sound. Imagine trying to play to it."

Until proven otherwise, despite negative reviews of the experiment, unfortunately there is no recording of the concert, which was based on pre-recorded tapes on which the quartet (Sweeney, Minns, Smith and Coff) improvised. 

 

According to "The catalogue of Bernard Parmegiani's Works" edited by Evelyne Gayou (read here), "The dialogue between the tape and the instruments (rather unusual for a pop band: oboe, violin, cello, contrabongo, tumba and drums) was fixed for certain parts, leaving plenty of room for improvisation in others. The revised piece was performed at the Sigma 6 concert in Bordeaux in November 1970, with the same performers."

 

From 16 to 21 November 1970, Bordeaux hosted the sixth edition of the avant-garde Sigma festival, which featured performances by avant-garde musicians (Savouret, Clozier, Bayle...) and also the Third Ear Band with a revival of Parmegiani's electronic improvisations. On 18 November, most likely filmed by French television, the band took to the stage in its new line-up with Sweeney, Minns, Buckmaster and Bridges.

 

no©2025LucaChinoFerrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first).

The lost Third Ear Band's 1970 John Peel Session found!

Last June, the excellent YouTube channel FoundTapesLost (https://www.youtube.com/@FoundTapesFound) released this rare find, which had been hidden away in the folds of time and destined for oblivion. It is the third live session that TEB played on John Peel's famous radio programme Top Gear.

When I had the opportunity to collaborate with Esoteric on the compilation of "Elements 1970-1971", the 3CDs box that collected “all” the recordings related to the band's second album, this radio session was unavailable because, I was assured, it had been deleted. Indeed, judging by the comments on the YouTube video, it's an off-air recording contained on a reel and “cleaned up” for the occasion:

“Third Ear Band's lost 3rd Peel Session from 1970. Recorded 8th June 1970. This off-air recording comes from a recently unearthed reel to reel tape of the broadcast on 20 June 1970.

Digitised by Tim on the Peel Group

Recorded at The Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London

Produced by John Walters

00:00 Downbone Raga

04:08 Feel Your Head

11:06 Hyde Park Raga

Glen Sweeney: Drums

Richard Coff: Violin

Paul Minns: Oboe

Ursula Smith: Cello & Violin”

 

In 2012 I did some research for this Archive to find out which Third Ear Band radio sessions were still in the BBC vaults. I asked archive manager Simon Gurney, who said that "the man in charge of the Transcription Discs here had checked and can confirm that none exist with the Third Ear Band. You can safely say you have exhausted your search in this regard".

From a historiographical point of view, the band here is in a state of grace, shortly before the "Sun Wheel Ceremony" at the Royal Festival Hall (24 June) and the recording of "Abelard & Heloise" soundtrack (2 and 3 July). The quartet has been playing together for months and has recently recorded its second album that will be published in those days, despite the fact at the beginning of July Ursula Smith and Richard Coff will leave the group to try their luck in a short-lived duo.

Anyone with sensitivity and a minimum of listening experience will have no doubt in establishing that we are dealing with an exceptional document in terms of quality of execution, intensity (the authenticity, the truth of the performance), repertoire (two previously unreleased tracks, which for us TEB fans are legendary!).

But...

"Downbone Raga", which sees Minns' opening oboe part reprise the theme of traditional "Oh Susannah" (!) almost verbatim, is an unusual short instrumental, with a predominantly country style (because of Coff's violin).

Even more unusual is the following track, “Feel Your Head”, a ballad in the style of pop psychedelic Donovan (“Season of the Witch”...?) with acoustic guitar and flute...! Who is singing, actually? Al Stewart, Donovan...? The voice cannot be Glen's or Ursula's. Paul wouldn't have sung even at his own wedding... Coff? Almost certainly, he's the only suspect!

But who wrote the lyrics? Why did Glen never mention it in our many conversations?

Honestly, if it weren't for the beautiful following track, one of the most played ragas in those months ("Hyde Park Raga"), this radio performance would be rather frustrating.

In my opinion, it's fortunate that the band's management, which would soon record the "lost third album" and the "Macbeth" soundtrack, did not embrace the country or psychedelic pop impulses of the two rarities. What if one of the reasons for Smith and Coff's split was precisely their disagreement over the musical direction to take?

All in all, an intriguing find, but controversial to say the least.

 

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What kind of amplification is used by the Third Ear Band?

Reader Jack Bancroft from Ealing (UK), asked Melody Maker expert Chris Hayes on 7th February, 1970 issue. 

Here below the reply: 

 

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On the road with the Third Ear Band. Steve Pank's memories on driving for the band.

Dave Tomlin (left) and Steve Pank in London, 2010

After I had published the magazine, Albion, I was running weekly benefits in All Saints Church Hall with the Third Ear Band playing as the resident band, Sam Cutler was the compere and he introduced many guests, including Alexis Korner Arthur Brown, and Davy Graham. 

Members of the Floyd used to come down, and on one occasion, Syd Barrett did short set, backed by Nick Mason on drums and David Gilmour on bass guitar. Andrew King of Blackhill Enterprises asked if I could put on the Edgar Broughton band which I did, and when Glenn asked me if I could recommend an agent and I suggested Blackhill Enterprises. They signed on the Third Ear Band and to a recording deal with EMI Harvest records. 

The first booking they got was some way out of London supporting John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. To get there, Glen booked ‘Motivation transport, very sympathetic to heads.’ Their van broke down on the way home and the group had to hitch home.

Afterwards Glen asked me if I would drive for the band and I agreed to do so, He hired a transit van. I drove for the band for two years for 12,000 miles. Anywhere that was unfamiliar I would always stop and check the signposts, and we never missed a gig.

Blackhill organized free concerts in Kensington Gardens.

The first featured with other groups, the Pink Floyd, Pretty Things, the Third Ear Band was the opening band. The second one featured Blind Faith with Eric Clapton. The third one was in Hyde Park featuring the Rolling Stones, with Alexis Korner, the ‘Third Ear’, and other groups. A rumour went round that the Third Ear Band was booked to open the concerts to ensure that the weather was good.

One booking we had was organised by DJ and broadcaster John Peel, and folk singer Bridget St John. It was at Holloway ladies’ prison. The concert was for the remand prisoners. We met in John Peel’s flat. Also on the booking was a folk duo called Friends of the Poor, consisting of a singer guitarist and a cello player. The singer was Mike Deighan and the cellist was Ursula. At that time the cello player in the Third Ear was Paul Buckmaster who had just been involved in an instrumental version of "Je t'aime" by Jane Birkin, which was being played on the BBC. Because of this he had told Glen he could not play on the next booking. I suggested to Glen: ’Why don’t you ask Ursula to play at the next gig?’ and Glen replied: ‘I have already asked her to join the band’. One of the first bookings that Ursula played on was at the first Isle of Wight festival that was to be headlined by Bob Dylan.

After driving down to Portsmouth and crossing on the ferry to the Isle of Wight, we headed to the festival venue at Ryde. The previous night, the Saturday, had been headlined by The Who. The Sunday was more of a folky concert with people like Julie Felix and Richie Havens, and the Third Ear Band who played in the afternoon. There was a big stage and an audience of half a million people. Afterwards, Ursula told me that after she had got up on the stage and drew her bow across the strings, there was a huge roaring sound such as she had never heard before from her instrument.

There was a lot of expectation in the air, that evening was the first time for Bob Dylan to appear live since his motorcycle accident two years before. He was to be backed by The Band. As artists we were allowed into the small enclosure in front of the stage, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were all there. I remember hearing that as Paul Minns was sitting down, someone came up to him and said: ‘You can’t sit there, because that is Ringo Starr seat’.

We waited a long time, maybe an hour for the evening concert to start, then The Band appeared and did a set. When Bob Dylan did come on and started playing, he seemed very nervous and uncomfortable with his guitar. This was his first public performance since he had a motorcycle accident. He then handed the guitar to Jamie Robbie Robertson of The Band to tune it up, and after that, things did improve. At one point he stopped playing and looking around at the crowd said ‘It’s good to be here’. At the time it was the biggest live crowd he’d ever played to. There was one time we went down to Michael’s Mount at the tip of Cornwall to play a booking, and I remember the promoter telling us that his car had been parked on the beach and as a result had it been washed out to sea.

The band was booked to do a national tour in ten major venues around Britain with Al Stewart. We discussed with Glen what to call the tour. John Michell just published a book about ancient ley lines and geomantic patterns called ‘The View Over Atlantis’ and we suggested the tour could be called ‘Atlantis Rising’. Glen said it sounded good to him but what would Al Stewart think? Ursula and myself agreed to go and see Al Stewart and ask him if he would agree. he reluctantly agreed, and said he would just as soon it was called ‘Ham and Eggs!’ However by the time the tour ended, Al Stewart included a song he had written that was all about the prophecies of Nostradamus. John Michell’s book ‘The view over Atlantis’ was written up in the programme.

The tour covered ten venues. Starting out at Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, then going to Leith town hall in Scotland, Birmingham Town Hall, North Staffs Poly, Colston Hall Bristol, Fairfield Hall in Croydon, Southampton Guildhall, Century Hall Manchester, Crewe Hall Sheffield and ending up at Brighton Dome. After the tour, there was noticeably more interest in the band, and there was better attendance at local bookings.

The Third Ear Band played a booking at the Paradiso, the top club in Amsterdam, I remember during that gig, a lot of the audience were lying flat on the floor! Another important gig was at the Essen Pop and Blues Festival in Germany. This was in a huge sports arena, and along with the Third Ear Band, there were a number of other British bands on the bill. I remember thinking how good the Third Ear Band sounded, a recording of this has been recently released as a LP by German M.I.G. Records.

The band was always popular in Wales. One night, I drove to Aberystwyth and back in one night. On that occasion, I remember Andrew King was there, came into the band room and found me lying on the floor trying to get some rest before driving the band back home to London. On another occasion we went to Glasgow and we had nowhere to stay so we asked a member of the audience if they knew anywhere we could stay. They found some people who were happy to put us up.

There was an occasion when the van’s battery charger was failing, and I had to drive back to London on the A1 using only the sidelights. It was around that time that the driver of the Fairport Convention’s van fell asleep at the wheel. This caused an accident in which two people, Martin Lamble the drummer, and Jeannie Franklin, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend, died in the crash. Jeannie had been a clothes designer and had made outfits for the band the Cream. Jack Bruce‘s first album was dedicated to Jeannie and was called “Songs for a tailor” in her memory. After that happened, I said to Glen that I felt it was getting dangerous and we needed have a second driver especially on the long trips. The first second driver we had was Terry Oldfield, the younger brother of Mike Oldfield. He lasted about two weeks, then Glen got another driver who had previously worked as a professional roadie for some time.

Originally, I had been living in this in a flat off Ladbroke Grove and then I moved into the basement flat of Richard Coff, the violinist with the band. Shortly after that, I moved into a community in Brixton with Ursula. I was then parking the van in Acre Lane Brixton, and the equipment was not secure. Living in this community I got interested in playing the guitar and writing songs myself. That was when I left as driver of the band.

After I left, the band did a live recording of the film "Abelard and Heloise". As Ursula described it, there was no preparation, the group just sat down and improvised while watching the film on a screen. After they came off the plane, they were off to Glastonbury to play for a Ceremony with a Druid group, on the top of Glastonbury Tor.

Steve Pank, August 2025

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