Blossom Toes were a British

psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, ...

band active between 1966 and 1970. Initially known as The Ingoes, they were renamed and signed to the

Marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamo ...

record label of manager

Giorgio Gomelsky Giorgio Sergio Alessando Gomelsky (28 February 1934 – 13 January 2016) was a filmmaker, impresario, music manager, songwriter (as Oscar Rasputin) and record producer. He was born in Georgia, grew up in Switzerland, and later lived in the Unit ...

. The original line-up comprised

Brian Godding Brian Godding (born 19 August 1945, Monmouth, South Wales) is a pop music, pop, rock music, rock and jazz rock guitarist. Reviews Regarding his 1988 solo album ''Slaughter on Shaftesbury Avenue'', Dave Wayne in the ''New Gibraltar Encyclopedia ...

(born 19 August 1945,

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

) (guitar, vocals, keyboards),

Jim Cregan James Cregan (born 9 March 1946) is an English rock guitarist and bassist, best known for his associations with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rod Stewart. Cregan is a former husband of the singer Linda Lewis and worked with her as a r ...

(born James Cregan, 9 March 1946,

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

) (guitar, vocals), Brian Belshaw (born 25 February 1944,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

) (bass, vocals), and Kevin Westlake (born Kevin Patrick Westlake, 5 March 1947,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Co Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(drums). The band's debut album, ''

We Are Ever So Clean ''We Are Ever So Clean'' is the debut album by Blossom Toes, released in 1967 on Marmalade Records. The album was reissued in 2007 by Sunbeam Records along with bonus tracks. It is listed in Record Collector’s "100 Greatest Psychedelic Recor ...

'' is a classic example of

quintessentially English The culture of England is defined by the cultural norms of England and the English people. Owing to England's influential position within the United Kingdom it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate English culture from the culture of the U ...

psychedelia. On release, it was presented in the UK music magazine ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' as "Giorgio Gomelsky's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Although not a major commercial success, tracks such as "What On Earth" or "Look At Me, I'm You" have helped give the album something of a cult period status as it is unearthed by successive generations of 1960s retro fans. It was included in ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

s list of the "100 Greatest Psychedelic Records". '' If Only For A Moment'' saw the band taking a noticeably heavier and rockier direction, with Cregan and Godding's distinctive two-part guitar harmonies playing a prominent role. At this point Westlake left, and was replaced by

John "Poli" Palmer John Michael "Poli" Palmer (born 26 May 1943 in Worcester) is an English rock musician who was a key member in the progressive rock band Family. Though he was not an original member, he was regarded as being integral to the group's sound. He p ...

, and then Barry Reeves. The band quit in 1970. Belshaw and Godding rejoined Westlake in B.B. Blunder, Cregan formed

Stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...

with John Wilson and Charlie McCracken, before joining

Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

, as did Palmer. The Blossom Toes contributed music to ''

La Collectionneuse ''La Collectionneuse'' (''The Collector'') is a 1967 French comedy-drama film directed by Éric Rohmer. The third entry in his ''Six Moral Tales'' series, it is his first film in colour. Set on the south coast of France in August, it portrays the ...

'' (1967), a film by French director

Éric Rohmer Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the post-World ...

, and also appeared in "Popdown" (1967) by Fred Marshall.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (Album - October 1967, Marmalade 607001 (mono) 608001 (stereo); re-releases include: 2007 Sunbeam Records CD SBRCD5035; 2022

Esoteric Recordings Esoteric Recordings is a UK independent record label specialising in 1970s progressive rock, folk, psychedelic, and jazz-rock reissues as part of Cherry Red Records. Its releases include both catalogue reissues and new works from artists who s ...

w/ much additional material) * '' If Only for a Moment'' (Album - July 1969, Marmalade 608010; re-releases include: 2007 Sunbeam Records CD SBRCD5036 ; 2022 Esoteric Recordings)

Live album

* ''Love Bomb - Live 1967-69'' (Live album - 2009, Sunbeam Records 2CD SBR2CD5049, 3LP SBR3LP5049)

Compilations

* ''Collection'' (1988, Decal/Charly TCLIKD 43) * ''What on Earth: Rarities 1967-69'' (2009, Sunbeam Records CD SBRCD5071) As THE INGOES: * ''Before We Were Blossom Toes'' (2010, Sunbeam Records)

Singles

* "What on Earth" / "Mrs. Murphy's Budgerigar" / "Look at Me I'm You" (October 1967, Marmalade 598002 EP) * "

I'll Be Your Baby Tonight "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" is a 1967 song by Bob Dylan first released on ''John Wesley Harding''. It features Pete Drake on pedal steel guitar, and two other Nashville musicians, Charlie McCoy on bass guitar and Kenneth Buttrey on drums, both of ...

" (

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

) b/w "Love Is" (March 1968, Marmalade 598009) * "Postcard" / "Everybody's Leaving Me Now" (October 1968, Marmalade 598012) * "Peace Loving Man" / "Just Above My Hobby Horse's Head" (April 1969, Marmalade 598014) * "New Day" (signaled on the SBRCD5036 Sunbeam Records CD as "unreleased 45 A-side") b/w "Love Bomb" (October 1969, Marmalade 598022)

References

External links

Blossom Toes Biography
* *
Historien om klubb Filips del 1. (The history of club Filips pt. 1)Historien om klubb Filips del 2. (The history of club Filips pt. 2)
{{Authority control British pop music groups Psychedelic pop music groups Musical groups established in 1967 1967 establishments in England