Bachdenkel were an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rock group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

which came to life in and around the King's Heath area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in the late 1960s, evolving out of a combo called "U No Who" whose members were Colin Swinburne (1948-2021), Peter Kimberley, Terry Hyland, Dave Bradley and Ron Lee. Bachdenkel was one of the seminal bands on the Birmingham scene during the late 1960s, which saw the development of psychedelic culture and electric rock music. In 1968 Brian Smith replaced Ron Lee on drums and when Dave Bradley exited the group they became a three piece with Peter Kimberley on a six string Fender bass. They had close links with the

Birmingham Arts Lab The Birmingham Arts Laboratory or Arts Lab was an experimental arts centre and artist collective based in Birmingham, England from 1968 to 1982 – an "arts and performance space dedicated to radical research into art and creativity". Loosely org ...

, a venue for experimental artists of all types, and often performed with a full

psychedelic light show Liquid light shows (or psychedelic light shows) are a form of light art that surfaced in the early 1960s as accompaniment to electronic music and avant-garde theatre performances. They were later adapted for performances of rock or psychedelic m ...

. Following a publicity campaign which included subverting a large department store's marketing logo and a photo-shoot with a piano in a local fountain, they left the country. They subsequently found themselves in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, long the refuge of revolutionary artists and artistic revolutionaries. After the events of

May 1968 The following events occurred in May 1968: May 1, 1968 (Wednesday) *CARIFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade Association, was formally created as an agreement between Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. *RAF Strike Co ...

, France was ready for new ideas and new music and English rock bands were much in vogue at the time. Bachdenkel settled in France and over the next decade went on to produce two albums: ''Lemmings'' in 1973 and ''Stalingrad'' in 1977. At times in their career, they shared the billing with

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

amongst others and provided the music for a modern ballet.

Band line-up

* Colin Swinburne - lead guitar, vocals * Peter Kimberley - bass guitar, vocals * Terry Hyland - vocals (U No Who) * Dave Bradley - bass * Ron Lee - drums * Brian Smith - drums, vocals * Karel Beer - twelve-string guitar

Discography

*''

Lemmings A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...

'' (1973) *''

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

'' (1977) *''Rise and Fall'' (2022 3-CD anthology on Grapefruit/Cherry Red Records) {{Authority control Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands English psychedelic rock music groups English progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1968 Musical groups disestablished in 1982