''Bolex Dementia'' is the second and final album by the 1970s British rock band
Hard Stuff
Hard Stuff were an English hard rock group which included John Du Cann and Paul Hammond, formerly of Atomic Rooster. Also in the line-up were vocalist Harry 'Al' Shaw, formerly of Curiosity Shoppe and latterly Export, and John Gustafson, fo ...
.
During the recording of the album, two members of the band (
John Cann and
Paul Hammond), were injured in a serious car accident in Belgium. Cann had been sitting in the front passenger seat of their
Ford Zodiac
The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...
and suffered an injured back and broken ribs, while Hammond, who had been asleep in the back seat, broke both his legs. Cann spent a week in hospital in
Ostend
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
, and Hammond two months.
[Jeff Perkins, ''Bolex Dementia'' sleeve notes, Angel Air release, 2011.]
The band managed to finish recording ''Bolex Dementia'', but Cann later stated, "When I listen to it, it sounds a little patchy and not how we intended it to be... It still has its good moments but it's a shame it all happened the way it did."
Hard Stuff split shortly after the release of the album, and the members went their separate ways. After declining to rejoin
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member and wrote ...
, Cann briefly joined
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...
before recording a solo album, ''
The World's Not Big Enough
''The World's Not Big Enough'' is the only solo album by John Du Cann, who was best known as guitarist and vocalist with Atomic Rooster and Hard Stuff in the 1970s. The album was recorded in 1977, but remained unreleased until 1992, and was re ...
''. Gustafson joined
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...
and later the
Ian Gillan Band
The Ian Gillan Band were an English progressive jazz-rock band formed by singer Ian Gillan of Deep Purple in 1975.
History
After leaving Deep Purple in June 1973, Ian Gillan had retired from the music business to pursue other business ventures ...
, while Hammond continued to recover from his injuries before working with Cann on his solo album.
Track listing
Side 1
#"Roll a Rocket" (
John Cann) – 5:19
#"Libel" (
John Gustafson) – 3:58
#"Ragman" (Gustafson) – 3:01
#"Spider's Web" (Cann) – 4:55
#"Get Lost" (Cann) – 3:01
Side 2
#"Sick n' Tired" (Cann) – 4:04
#"Mermany" (Gustafson) – 5:58
#"Jumpin' Thumpin' (Ain't That Somethin')" (Cann) – 2:55
#"Dazzle Dizzy" (Gustafson) – 3:41
#"Bolex Dementia" (Gustafson) – 3:41
CD bonus tracks
#"Inside Your Life" (Gustafson) – 3:04
#"(It's) How You Do It" (Cann) – 3:04
Notes
*The US pressing of the album reversed the sides, and some later CD releases reversed the track listing so that Side 2 came before Side 1, and "Sick 'n' Tired" was the opening track.
*Later releases showed John Cann's name as John Du Cann, as he later became known by this name.
Personnel
*
John Cann –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
John Gustafson –
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
,
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
, vocals
*
Paul Hammond –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
*Engineer – Louie Austin
*Produced by Hard Stuff
*Mastering – Gilbert Kong
*Cover painting –
István Sándorfi; US pressing – John Charles Youssi
*Photography – Fin Costello
*Art direction – Sheila Green
References
{{Authority control
Hard Stuff albums
1973 albums
Purple Records albums
Mercury Records albums
Angel Air albums