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.

E

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.

Ertlif was formed in 1970 by two ex–members of Egg & Bacon, lead guitarist Dany Andrey and bass player Teddy Riedo. They were joined by keyboard player James Mosberger (The Only Ones, The Countdowns), drummer Hanspeter ’Bölle’ Börlin (The Countdowns) and lead guitarist Martin Ruder: the cream of the Basel music scene from that time. The band name was derived from a mysterious medieval magician and alchemist. They were inspired by Pink Floyd, Yes, Procol Harum, Van der Graaf Generator and Genesis amongst others. A strong rhythm section and twin lead guitars blended with the Hammond organ created the characteristic Ertlif sound. In August 1971 they were the only Swiss band invited to the "Pop Meeting 71" in Münchenstein, Germany. Soon after, Ruder left the band. In November 1971, Richard John Rusinski, an experienced singer from England (ex–Autumn Symphony), joined the band. Riedo and Beni Hauri (the band’s roadie) had been experimenting with oscillators, noise generators, ring modulators and other devices since 1969. In early 1972 they introduced these electronic sounds into the band’s closing number "Classical Woman" so becoming pioneers of electronic music in Switzerland. They also became the first Swiss band to use a Mellotron. The band’s instrumental virtuosity established them as one of the country’s top acts and a phenomenal live band and they were one of only a few Swiss groups to be offered a recording contract.

In August 1972 their album and a 45 were completed in only four days. The records were launched in October generating radio interviews, television appearances and a great deal of press coverage. The promotional tour began with sold–out shows on three consecutive nights at the legendary Atlantis club in Basel. Ertlif continued performing until 1978, when they disbanded. In 1992, they reformed with the original band members and continued playing live. In 2001 they released a new album on CD. With a new line–up, Ertlif have been active until last year when founding member Teddy Riedo sadly passed away. This album is dedicated to the memory of Teddy, who was the brainchild behind this new Ertlif reissues. This double LP contains: –The first Ertlif album from 1972, featuring the original tracklist and sound taken from the original master tapes. – A bonus LP consisting of previously unreleased 1971 demo recordings, done at the band’s rehearsal studio without overdubs. With these demos, Ertlif were offered a recording contract with Tell Records. Also included as bonus is "Plastic Queen" from 1973, taken from the album "Heavenly and Heavy – Mixed Swiss Rock Candies".