Fabulous UK psych & proto prog, recorded in 1970 at IBC Studios (Factory, Who, etc) and originally pressed only as a handful of ultra–rare test pressings. Melodic vocals, killer Hammond + distorted guitar and fabulous songs. With connections to Scots Of St James, Hopscotch, Fleur De Lys, Glencoe, Studd Bump...Remastered sound, insert with detailed liner notes and rare photos / memorabilia. New artwork by artist Sara Gossett. Five Day Rain was formed when Rick Sharpe (guitar), Clive Shepherd (bass) & Dick Hawkes (drums), from power trio Iron Prophet, met organ player Graham Maitland (Scots of St. James, Hopscotch, Fleur De Lys...). The original intended name for this new band, "The Entire Building Is About To Collapse", was soon discarded in favor of Five Day Rain. Thanks to a mutual friend, they were recruited by the producer / engineer team of Brian Carroll & Damon Lyon–Shaw, famous for their work at IBC Studios with some of the top bands from the Sixties. Drummer Dick was replaced by Kim Haworth and sessions for the FDR album began at IBC in late 1969. Guitar player John Holbrook (Baba Scholae) was invited to play some leads and the great Sharon Tandy and members of America did some backing vocals. The result was a perfectly recorded and executed finished album comprised of 10 songs.

Showcasing the stellar work of Rick and Graham on guitar/organ on tracks like "Marie’s A Woman" and the long instrumental "Rough Cut Marmalade" , the FDR sound is a great example of the transition from post–mod psychedelia to early prog. Once the album was finished and a few test pressings in blank sleeves pressed, the whole project was abandoned due to some disagreements with the producer, so the album was never actually released. In the late 80s, copies of the original test pressing were discovered by psych collectors and bootleg reissues appeared on the collectors market. It wasn’t until 2006 that an official reissue, done with involvement from the band members, was released by the Nightwings label from Italy. After many years out of print, we present a long overdue new vinyl edition of the Five Day Rain album.

First ever reissue of this ultra-rare acetate (two copies pressed) from 1972! Featured in Hans Pokora’s book with the maximum scale rarity. Psychedelic hard-rock with furious drumming and stunning lead guitar by this unknown until now London based band. This, the first ever reissue, includes the four tracks from the original acetate (taken from the master tape) plus two bonus tracks taken from lo-fi, crude rehearsals: “1000 Miles” (A Grit original) and a killer demo version of “Mineshaft”. Free Digital Download card includes the full album plus another 3 digital only bonus tracks, also taken from rehearsal tapes, including cool cover versions of Chicken Shack and Burnin’ Red Ivanhoe. *Master tape sound, insert with detailed liner notes and photos. *Includes free download card with bonus tracks Born from the ashes of a London band called Merlyn, Grit consisted of Frank Martinez (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Christodoulou (bass/vocals), Tom Kelly (drums, vocals) and Jeff Ball (vocalist). Frank, nicknamed “Spider”, has an interesting story: at the beginning of his musical career he auditioned for Joe Meek at his Holloway Road studio. Later, he also played with a band called Grand Union - who supported Pink Floyd in 1968 - and with members of the John Dummer Band.

An electronic wizard, Frank also worked building amps and electronic equipment at Nolan Amps, MIDAS, etc. He built the Twin Stacks and PA’s that later would form part of Grit's equipment. Tom Kelly came from a band called Connexion and Paul Christodoulou had played in Merlyn along with Frank. After some attempts, the definitive line-up of Grit was born when Frank and Paul convinced drummer Tom Kelly to join them, after assisting to a Nazareth concert. They also recruited powerful singer Jeff Ball after an ad in Melody Maker. On Christmas Eve, 1972, Grit recorded a demo at SWM Studios and two copies of a one-sided 12” acetate were pressed for promo purposes. It featured four self penned songs: the killer “Mineshaft” (pure underground fuzz hard-rock) and two lengthy numbers: “Child and The Drifter” (with some furious drumming, stunning leads and hard-prog moves) and the hard-psychedelic “What Do You See In My Eyes” / “I Wish I Was”. Armed with the acetates, the band visited some music agents in London but nobody was interested. But while looking for a manager, they found a company who secured them a Greek tour. This was a true adventure and they managed to appear on television and play with big names from the Greek psych-prog scene like Socrates and Peloma Mpoklou in big festivals. Sadly, due to a family problem, Frank had to leave the band and return to England. That was the end for Grit. 40 years later, one of the two copies of the original Grit acetate was found at a flea market in Germany, which led to its inclusion in the 7001 Record Collector Dreams book by famous collector Hans Pokora. The band still remained a mystery until 2019, when, by pure chance, Alex Carretero from Guerssen found Frank Martinez and he opened his vault, which included the original master tape of the Grit acetate and several tapes with rehearsals from Grit and Merlyn. So, we’re proud to present the first ever vinyl release of one the rarest artifacts from the UK 60s-70s underground scene, including an insert with rare photos / memorabilia and detailed liner notes.

In 1969 Bracknell based blues rock outfit Levee Camp Moan released what was destined to become one of the most sought after UK private pressings of the period. Issued on the County Recording Services label (SVVS 132), a small run of discs was pressed up and sold locally at gigs as well as being handed out to friends. Housed in an obligatory custom built sleeve that had a snapshot of the group pasted onto the front, this LP marked out their status as one of the most exciting bands to emerge out of the thriving local underground scene in the Bracknell Delta. The group had taken their name from the old blues number and the band members, manager and assorted roadies took up residence in a local farmhouse known as Peacock Farm. It was there that LCM would rehearse into the small hours thumping out a mixture of blues standards as well as their own compositions until they had become a tight unit ready to ’take on the world’. Influences ranged from the urban blues of Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells to Muddy Waters, Skip James and beyond. The more or less contemporary white blues of the time, Canned Heat, Savoy Brown and Paul Butterfield also served as a major source of inspiration. From their humble roots LCM quickly built up a following on the British Blues circuit, frequenting the likes of the Marquee, Crawdaddy, Klooks Kleek, Eel Pie Island and Rikki Tik club.

On the college circuit they toured extensively with Chickenshack, Canned Heat and Muddy Waters with performances being of a high enough standard to generate record company interest. Unable to secure a record deal, they had no other choice but to do it themselves. And so it was in the winter months of early ’69 that LCM entered Virgin Sound in nearby Windsor to lay down eight tracks recorded on a four track machine. At the time of its creation the term private pressing would have had little or no relevance in musical circles and the significant thing to remember is that in such cases there is no record company interference and what the band was able to produce under these conditions was the archetypal private pressing, raw, under produced and thrillingly primitive. The project successfully captured the spirit and aggression of an exciting new band and the original artefact is now a zeitgeist of that remarkable era. After Levee Camp Moan, Ian Campbell went on to carve out a busy musical career performing with, amongst many others, the Nashville Teens, Arthur Brown’s band and Mungo Jerry. Bassist Dave Stubbs played with a host of notables including gigs in Eric Clapton’s band and lengthy tours with Uli Jon Roth (ex Scorpions).

Complete recordings, 1963–69, by this legendary band from Glasgow. Fabulous mod–beat, wild R&B and pop–psych, including all their 45 sides for Decca and CBS plus early demos. Formed in Glasgow in 1962 during the early beat boom by Alan Mair and Eddie Campbell, their line–up also included Davie Lennox, Tudge’ Williamson (replaced by Jeff Allen) and Ronnie Smith. Playing an authentic brand of rhythm ’n’ blues and soul covers, they soon took the city by storm and were famous for their riotous shows, attracting hordes of screaming girls and young fans. No wonder they were dubbed "the Scottish Beatles" by the press. Between 1965 and 1969, The Beatstalkers would go on to release a total of seven singles. All these sides are featured here. Including mod / freakbeat classics like ’Base Line’, "’Ev’rybody’s Talkin’ ’Bout My Baby’, ’You’d Better Get A Better Hold On’, plus several tracks penned by a young David Bowie ("Silver Tree Top School For Boys", "Everything Is You", "When I’m Five"), a killer psych cover of The Action’s "Little Boy" and more. The Beatstalkers were a strong live attraction in the clubs and ballrooms around Great Britain (they also held a residence at the Marquee) and were highly praised by their contemporaries, including The Who, with whom they shared a ’Ready Steady Go’ television appearance.

David Bowie was also among their crowd and through mutual manager Ken Pitt, he ended up writing three songs for them. He also played guitar and sang backing vocals on some of the recording sessions. Some of the Beatstalkers 7" were also released in the US, Australia and France (where an EP housed in a cool picture sleeve was issued). The band also toured Germany many times. In 1969, after their van was stolen with all their equipment, The Beatstalkers broke up. Eddie Campbell was later in Tear Gas and Jeff Allen went on to play for Dr. K’s Blues Band and then East Of Eden. Alan Mair was a co–founder of The Only Ones (of ’Another girl Another planet’ fame). The band reunited for a show in Glasgow in 2005 and later in 2018 a book about the band was published.

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ar–splitting hard–rock / proto–doom–metal from the early 70s! Electric Funeral were a pioneering Swiss hard–rock band who sadly never registered any studio recordings at the time. Formed in the late 60s by Edi Hirt (drums), Pierrot Wermeille (bass), Alain Christinaz (guitar) and Dominique Bourquin (vocals), they were influenced by bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Famous for their loud (they played behind giant stacks of Marshall amps) and powerful shows, their sound was too heavy–sounding for a regular label to offer them a contract. "The Wild Performance" is made of private live & rehearsal tapes recorded in 1970, very raw and lo–fi but it’s the only testimony of their brutal sound. First released in 1991 as a very limited (now heavily sought after) LP, here’s an expanded edition with newly remastered sound and four killer bonus tracks, taken from reels and tapes recently found in the band’s archives. These tracks were also recorded in 1970 except for "My Destiny" (1973). Sound is still lo–fi but slightly better than the original "Wild Perfomance" tracks, especially on the killer "You Can Help" (proto–punk á la Electric Eels!), "My Destiny" and the alternate version of "To Be One". *2LP expanded edition including previously unreleased tracks

Previously unreleased recordings, 1968/1970, by British quintessential psychedelic / progressive band MANDRAKE PADDLE STEAMER / MANDRAKE, culled from the band’s archive of reel tapes and acetates. Pure late 60s UK psychedelic sound with early prog moves, plenty of Hammond and fuzzed out guitar, powerful vocals...Including such lost gems as the Barrett–Floyd sounding "The World Whistles By", killer psych–rockers like "Pandemonium Shadow Show" or "Doris The Piper", the mellotron fuelled "October Country" and more! Unlike other 60s British bands who changed their music to ’psychedelic’ or ’progressive’ with the time, MPS were born "progressive" from day one. Formed in 1967 in Walthamstow (London) by a core of art school students, their members were Brian Engel, Martin Briley, Paula Riordan, Martin Hooker and Barry Nightingale (later replaced by David Potts). During their short lifespan (1967–1970), MPS supported big names like Pink Floyd, The Nice or Vanilla Fudge. They played at the Isle Of Wight Festival, had a residence at the Star Club in Germany and ran their own club night (Asgard). Signed to the Parlophone label (though the band was aiming to be part of the more progressive Harvest imprint) they released in 1969 the "Strange Walking Man" 45, recorded at Abbey Road and now widely considered a lost British psychedelic classic (check Rubbles, Perfumed Garden, etc).

Due to lack of promotion and interest from their record label, the 45 went nowhere. After some line–up changes and shortening their name to just Mandrake, the band definitively split in 1970. "Pandemonium Shadow Show" collects studio recordings registered by Mandrake Paddle Steamer / Mandrake during 1968/1970 at various London studios such as Regent, Orange and other unknown locations. Some of these tracks had been previously included on several bootleg albums with inferior sound quality / wrong titles and others have remained unreleased until now.