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article in this Archive (read here),  "That evening the band played with Bernard Parmegiani two traks, "Fire" and the unpublished 34'56" "Freak Dance" (other title: "Pop Secret", from the Parmegiani official Web site).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

 

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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.

 

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

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: 

 

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

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

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

 

Goldmine's obituary on Simon House.

I want to bring to your attention a very good and touching obituary about Simon House published in the last hours on the Web.

It was written by journalist Dave Thompson for Goldmine and it is available here: 

https://www.goldminemag.com/obituaries-news/simon-house-born-august-29-1948-died-may-25-2025

Thompson writes: "Depending upon which side of the rock spectrum you stand, Simon House's name usually invokes one of two memories — the majesty with which he has graced some of the greatest Hawkwind albums, or the haunting violin which dominated his time with David Bowie.

But House's own career reaches way beyond either of those two highs. As a prodigiously gifted teen, he was a member of High Tide, one of the most creative, if sadly unsung, bands to emerge from the post-psychedelic Sixties."

Hawkwind, May 1974. Left to right: keyboard player Simon House, guitarist Dave Brock, keyboard player Del Dettmar, bassist Lemmy, drummer Simon King and saxophonist Nik Turner. 

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images

"He was thus present at the birth of Hawkwind — staged on House’s twenty-first birthday, Group X’s All Saints Church Hall show saw them opening for High Tide (The two bands would also share the same management company, Clearwater Productions)."

After summarising House's long, glorious musical career, Thompson concludes the piece by quoting the words of Brian Perera, whose Cleopatra Records released several of House’s later recordings:

"It’s with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our dear friend and brilliant collaborator. Simon wasn’t just a musician — he was a sonic architect who helped shape the sound of a generation.

He shared the stage with legends: David Bowie, Lemmy-era Hawkwind, and Nik Turner, always leaving his unmistakable mark. From the art-rock brilliance of Bowie’s “Boys Keep Swinging” era to the boundary-pushing tours with Nik and Cleopatra in the ’90s, Simon’s electrifying violin and cosmic keyboard work lifted every track, every show, every moment.

His vision brought depth, texture, and soul — he simply made everything better.

We miss you deeply, Simon.

Rest easy, my friend. Your sound lives on."

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

Violinist Simon House passed away yesterday at 76.

Bad news for all of us!

Great violin and keyboard player Simon House, a true giant of the underground, old collaborator of the Third Ear Band (1971-1974), passed away yesterday at 76 (the bad news HERE and HERE or HERE).

A founder with guitarist Tony Hill and bass player Peter Pavli of the seminal band High Tide at the end of Sixties, he was a permanent member of the Hawkwind, between 1974 and 1978, playing with David Bowie on his albums "Stage" (1978) and "Lodger" (1979). 

Apart two solo albums (1994 and 2000), one with Rod Goodway (2002), and two with Spiral Realms (2004 and 2005), he worked with a lot of musicians including  Robert Calvert, Japan, David Sylvian, Thomas Dolby, Mike Olfield, Judy Dyble, Nik Turner, Adrian Shaw, Nektar, Spirits Burning, Magic Muscle...

Through Glen Sweeney, I met him two times in London, where he lived, and he seemed to me a shy and reserved person, interested only in playing music and refractory to any self-indulgence and protagonism typical of the rock environment. 

We later did an interview by phone, but he was very tight-lipped and not very willing to recall the past.... You can read it here:

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2010/01/brief-phone-conversation-with-simon.html

 

Other files in this Archive related to Simon House:

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2012/03/italians-like-weird-stuff-old-interview.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2020/09/extraordinarly-amazing-teb-tv.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2024/11/four-rare-1972-photos-of-simon-house-on.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2019/10/peter-pavli-interviewed-on-its.html

 

   Simon House performing live with DanMingo at DAYUM Club, London, December 2005.

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

A composition by Dave Tomlin for the London Youth Jazz Orchestra in 1967.

An article by Bob Houston published by the "Melody Maker" on August 5th, 1967 reveals that Dave Tomlin composed at least a score for the London Youth Jazz Orchestra, an ensemble of young people between the ages of 14 and 21 conducted by Bill Ashton, to perform.

The orchestra, dedicated to the performance of contemporary avant-garde jazz music, had in its repertoire compositions by well-known musicians in the London circles of those years: Neil Ardley, John Patrick, Brian Priestly...

 

 

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

Some memories about Anacondas Skiffle Group by Steve Pank.

Steve Pank, Third Ear Band's former manager and driver, close friend of Glen Sweeney, Carolyn Looker, and Dave Tomlin, Ursula Smith's husband as well, kindly sent me these memories about the Anacondas Skiffle Group era...

 "Putting ‘Anacondas skiffle’  into google, I came across an amazing collection of press cuttings about the Anacondas skiffle group, and about the skiffle craze triggered by Lonnie Donegan. Glen Sweeney was a member of Anacondas and he was seen as the ace washboard player of the Croydon area, his first experience of stardom.  I remember when I took Glen to see his mother,  and he was telling her about the success of the Third Ear Band, and she replied  ‘Is this like when you won the Tommy Steele Cup?' I knew that he had played in a skiffle group,  the name ‘Anacondas’ was chosen to match the ‘Vipers’ group  who had a hit single  with  ‘Freight Train’.     

Skiffle was originally a traditional music that was played in Louisiana and along the Mississippi,  using domestic instruments like washboards and jugs.  When Trumpet player Ken Colyer returned  from New Orleans, and joined the Chris Barber jazz band, he brought the idea of skiffle with him. On Barber’s first LP,  guitar player Lonnie Donegan recorded  the  Leadbelly song ‘Rock Island Line’, backed jazz singer Beryl Bryden playing washboard and Chris Barber on double bass. The washboard was a corrugated plate of metal that was played wearing thimbles on the fingers. When issued as a single, Rock Island Line became big success in Britain and America and it launched the skiffle craze.  Sales of acoustic guitars skyrocketed, and tea chests,  rectangular plywood boxes, that were used for importing tea and were only used once, could be utilised as bass instruments. All of those in the later British Rock movement of the ‘60s had been influenced in some way or another by skiffle.

When Lonnie Donegan played three nights in Liverpool, George Harrison went there every night. Paul MaCartney first met John Lennon at a fete/garden party at Peter’s Church in Woolton Liverpool  where John was playing with his skiffle group, The Quarrymen. Ringo Starr also played in a skiffle group. He said his first experience of playing music on a snare drum was with a friend on a tea chest bass. Newspaper research showed  that at its peak, there were 5000 skiffle groups in Britain. Between 1956 and 1963 Lonnie Donegan had 31 top 30 singles and three were number ones.

On June22nd 1957 in Croydon Civic Hall, in front of 800 fans, and out of  12 contesting groups, The Anacondas won the skiffle contest and were awarded the Tommy Steel Cup.  In order to choose the winner, the organisers use a  ‘clapometer’ to measure the level of applause! The Anacondas also played in jazz clubs alongside bands like Mike Daniels Delta Jazzmen. They were a large group, with eight members.  I remember Glen telling me that he had an influence in the group because he was that bit older than the other members.
I still meet people who tell me that their first experience of playing music was with a skiffle group. The first record I ever bought was ‘The Rock Island line’."

 

Read my researches on the Anacondas here:

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-anacondas-skiffle-group-stone-age.html (part 1) 

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-anacondas-skiffle-group-story-some.html (part 2)

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-anacondas-skiffle-group-story-end.html (part 3)

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

Rare photo of the TEB pops ups on the Web!

This rare photo of the band in its brilliant, wonderful line-up with Sweeney, Minns, Buckmaster and Bridges (note his legendary double deck electric guitar!) was taken in November 1971 in one of the last Blackhill promo sessions.

It's on sale now on EBay for about 60 euros here. 

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

Italian singer and musician Jenny Sorrenti quotes the Third Ear Band in an interview on Rolling Stones Italian edition.

Jenny Sorrenti, photo by Francesco Desmaele

Titled "Voice is consciousness", in the last issue of Rolling Stone Italian edition, is a long and interesting interview by Fabio Zuffanti with Italian singer and musician JENNY SORRENTI where she quotes the Third Ear Band as one of her first source of inspiration.

"First woman in Italy to do prog at a certain level with Saint Just, the only female voice of Neapolitan Power and yes, also Alan's sister. She was part of the RCA tour, but the discography was too narrow for her. An interview with a cult musician who came to electronic music with the project Néos Saint Just."

You can read the interview here: https://www.rollingstone.it/musica/interviste-musica/jenny-sorrenti-la-voce-e-consapevolezza/967362/

Jenny Sorrenti in this Archive:

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2020/12/il-segreto-cantico-degli-elementi-jenny.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-secret-canticle-of-elements-jenny.html

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

Dave Tomlin' son sent to The Guardian an obituary about his great dad.

Tom Hennessey, one of the three children of Dave Tomlin, sent to the Guardian a obituary about his great dad. You can read the original Web page at this link: https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2025/feb/13/dave-tomlin-obituary

Dave Tomlin obituary

"My dad, Dave Tomlin, who has died aged 90, was a musician, writer and figure of the British counterculture underground from the 1960s.

In 1976, he was one of those who took over the unoccupied former Cambodian embassy in London and established a community of artists, musicians, poets, artisans and radical metaphysicians who called themselves the Guild of Transcultural Studies.

Over the years, the guild became established as an opulent venue for musical and cultural events, hosting refugees from as far afield as Chile and China and holding concerts by musicians from Morocco and India, with attenders often having no idea that their elegant surroundings were a squat. A long-running court case finally forced the guild to close its doors after 15 years in 1991, ending Dave’s dream of handing the building back to a new Cambodian government.

Born in Plaistow, east London (then in Essex), to Stan Tomlin, a packing-case maker, and Louisa (nee Goodsell), Dave escaped a future in factory work by joining the King’s Guard, where he learned the bugle to accompany the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. This was the beginning of a life of music. He became a jazz musician in the 1950s, playing clarinet and saxophone in Bob Wallis’s Storyville Jazz Band and touring with Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

In the late 1960s he joined the hippy movement, travelling nomadically around the countryside in a horse and cart, playing in experimental folk groups, including the Third Ear Band, and performing at the UFO Club in London, where he would go on at 4am: “Only when the dancers are completely exhausted will they be in a fit state to hear what we have for them."

He became part of the London Free School in Notting Hill, a centre of radical adult education, where he taught free-form jazz. While there, Dave led annual musical processions down Portobello Road that would develop with other events into the Notting Hill carnival.

Other adventures included becoming stranded, penniless, on the island of Fernando Po (now Bioko) in Equatorial Guinea and gaining passage back by pretending, unconvincingly, to be an experienced cook and deckhand. He supported his frugal lifestyle with gardening and working as a handyman.

In his later years, Dave spent his time writing about his experiences (Tales From the Embassy was published in 2017), practising Chinese brush painting and learning to recite the alphabet backwards.

He is survived by three children from different relationships – Lee, Maya and me – and by his brother, Tony."

Very kindly, Tom wrote me: "I could not hope to do justice to him in the limited space available but I think it gives a good flavour of who he was.
I am very grateful to you for your friendship with Dave, it was greatly appreciated by him. He mentioned you to me a number of times. Also for your tributes to him on your blog (which was helpful to me in writing this obituary!).

We are hoping to have an event in London to remember him and we will let you know in case you are able to make the journey.

Best wishes,

Tom"

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

A memoir book by Don Falcone (Spirits Burning) quoting Third Ear Band and Ursula Smith.

"Don Falcone presents a world where anything can happen and often does…collecting albums and then recording with some of the musicians on those albums…reading paperbacks and then collaborating with one of the authors (Michael Moorcock). Resurrecting a club band into a collective—Spirits Burning—with almost 300 classic and independent rock musicians across 20 albums.

A world where mistakes are made, lessons are learned, and dreams are brought to life. With over 125 of the Spirits Burning crew ready to provide their thoughts."

(from the press release of publisher Starway Press)

Announcing the book, Don wrote me: "I wanted to let you know that I wrote a book (musical memoir). It has input from Pete Pavli, mentions Ghettorage and Third Ear Band, and has entries for all the Spirits Burning collaborators (including Ursula, Simon House, and Pete). I do mention your part in helping me contact Ursula."

Order Information:

· Americas (Book & Free CD): https://stairwaypress.com/product/one-of-the-spirits-burning-a-musical-memoir/

· U.K. & Worldwide (Book & Free CD): Jayde Design: https://jaydedesign.com/product_info.php?products_id=4244&osCsid=mglaiq22dppm42qmjdnds0f7v1

· All other online orders are for the book only. Check to see if your local country Amazon.com is carrying the book and if they offer free shipping. The CD can be purchased separately from Stairway Press using the order form at the back of the book.

· Kindle format available from Amazon.

Don Falcone in 2021.

Don Falcone and Spirits Burning in this Archive:

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2020/11/spirits-burning-asks-ursula-smith-to.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2021/05/spirits-burnings-new-album-with-ursula.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2021/09/its-more-about-wishes-never-about.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2021/09/ursula-smith-played-in-spirits-burnings.html

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

A tribute to Paul Buckmaster on Italian magazine "Musica Jazz" web site.

 

A tribute to our late Paul Buckmaster by Gennaro Fucile is on the web site of Italian magazine "Music Jazz". The journalist, analysing his wonderful solo album "The Chitinous Ensemble", also writes about the close collaboration with the Third Ear Band through the years.

The full article is available HERE.

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

"Druid One" album review by Italian musician and writer Alessandro Monti.

Here's a brilliant review on "Druid One - Live at Essen Pop and Blues Festival 1970" by my friend Italian musician and music writer ALESSANDRO MONTI (https://unfolkam.wordpress.com/) a very big fan and expert of Our Holy Band.

"Where do we come from? 

All we know is that we are born on this planet, we live, we walk, we play, we work and then we leave leaving traces of our passage without knowing what will happen to those traces, and without paying the slightest attention to who will follow or collect them.

I have often asked myself these questions while listening to magnificent recordings like this one, in which half the members of the group are now elsewhere, entities of pure spirit beyond this material world without knowing that their improvised music was so intense as to take root in the planet and be rediscovered at unthinkable moments... or maybe they knew? 

Curious to think that the other half of the group continues to make music: a classical cellist and a violin teacher disinterested in his past: that's life. But to many of us this music still communicates a unique and unrepeatable emotion, a ritual that is renewed with every listen as if it did not belong to any era... perhaps because it belongs to ALL eras? 

The answer blows in the wind with this music taken from a concert in 1970, recorded impeccably by German radio at the time of the second album based on the four elements, it is no coincidence that two of them appear: water at the beginning and at the end, after an alchemical sonic journey, the dance of the earth. 

There was a time when we literally had to work miracles to find live recordings of our favorite bands, then the doors of the cosmic archives opened and we listened to all sorts of things. Today the release of a new TEB album seems almost normal, in reality all this is miraculous, especially if we think about the time spent on the dusty shelves of some archives. The music speaks for itself and no comment (let alone "critical") could add something sensible... just a few technical aspects to note: 

side A of this album starts in fade in, certainly after the performance has already begun, while side B ends with a fade out while the group seems to be able to continue endlessly, this makes me think (like Luca wrote) that perhaps it is not a complete tape, but the unrepeatable magic fully justifies its publication with the rare quote from Abelard & Heloise to seal the set: a surprise too good to be true."

Recording: ️ ️ ️ [5/5]

Vinyl dynamics: ️ [3/5]

Performance: ️ ️ [5/5]

Magic: ️ ️[5/5]

 

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

Third Ear Band music on Italian national radio.

Just yesterday night, on the third channel of Italian national radio RAI (the programme was called "6 Gradi", six grades) Third Ear Band's "Mosaic" was played.

You can listen to the programme here:

https://www.raiplaysound.it/audio/2025/01/Sei-gradi-del-14012025-d96e76c3-7cc7-4888-a679-fcec93ead389.html

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

A book by Steve Pank available in Amazon.

A book written by STEVE PANK titled "Hole in the Moon" is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle Edition formats (go here). Presenting it, Steve wrote: "The United States is planning to land astronauts on the moon again in the next five years. What will happen when they do? Is it possible that they will find something unexpected?
In this book, Hole in the Moon, they do. They find that extraterrestrials are already living there. So were this to happen, how should this be coped with this in real life? This story gives one possible answer.

Anyone who is interested in whether space people exist, and if they do, how the human race could best cope with this; should read this book."

Steve was the former manager and driver man of the Third Ear Band in 1969-1970; a Glen Sweeney, Carolyn Looker, and Dave Tomlin's close friend; an expert of alternative sciences, and a eyewitness to the Sixties underground scene in London.

Steve Pank in this archive (selection):

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-letter-from-steve-pank-original.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-letter-from-steve-pank.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2010/06/steve-pank-about-origins-of-third-ear.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2019/02/steve-pank-about-alchemy-days.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2022/12/steve-pank-tells-glen-sweeneys.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2017/09/steve-panks-electric-universe-theory.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2018/05/ursula-smith-concert-at-bourgh-house.html

https://ghettoraga.blogspot.com/2024/08/remembering-glen-sweeney-19-years-ago.html

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