Cressida was a British
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band, best known for its mellow, symphonic sound. Originally known as Charge, the band was active from 1968 to 1970, and recorded two
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s for
Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
.
Career
The roots of Cressida were sown in March 1968, when guitarist "Rock & Roll" John Heyworth answered an advertisement in ''
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 ...
'', and later travelled to London to join The Dominators, a band whose situation he later described as "hopeless - until Angus Cullen applied for the lead singer spot". He and Heyworth hit it off immediately, and Heyworth was invited to stay at Cullen's family flat in Barkstone Gardens near Earl's Court. The pair settled down to some serious writing, eventually welcoming bassist Kevin McCarthy and drummer
Iain Clark to the fold and now calling themselves Charge.
The band's early setlists included
covers of songs by
The Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
("Spanish Caravan"),
The Drifters
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
("
Save The Last Dance For Me") and
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
("Fresh Garbage"), alongside original compositions by Cullen and Heyworth. In the Summer of 1969, shortly after returning from a German tour, the band's organist Lol Coker decided to leave, and moved back to Liverpool to marry his Swiss girlfriend and take over his father's business. He had stayed just long enough to play on the band's first
demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
, which got them a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...
.
Peter Jennings then joined. "I was auditioned at the Roebuck pub in Chiswick, a place they sometimes used for rehearsals", he later remembered. "I imagine we ran through a 12-bar or two and possibly they tried me out on one of the numbers from their set, but anyway they liked the way I fitted in and I joined them that day". Jennings' previous musical experience included blues gigs playing 12-string guitar in tandem with ex-Paramounts pianist Andy Staines, and (in 1968–69) White Rabbit with drummer Ron Berg and guitarist Andy Rickell (a.k.a. Android Funnel). After White Rabbit came to an end, Jennings played with several short-lived bands.
At this point the band settled on the name Cressida. "None of the band considered Charge that wonderful a name. We decided after some discussion on a name taken from the
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
play ''
Troilus and Cressida
''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602.
At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Meanwh ...
''." Their first gigs as Cressida were in Germany, including the
Star-Club
The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...
in Hamburg sharing the bill with
Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...
and
East Of Eden, in the Autumn of 1969. Their manager at the time, Mike Rosen, also drove their Transit van and, being a trumpet player (he later joined
Mogul Thrash
Mogul Thrash were an English progressive rock band, active in the early 1970s.
Biography
British jazz-rock band Mogul Thrash evolved from James Litherland's Brotherhood, which in addition to guitarist Litherland (an alumnus of Colosseum who ...
), occasionally joined the band on stage for some of their more extended numbers. But Rosen soon fell out with producer
Ossie Byrne
Oswald Russell "Ossie" Byrne (1926 – December 1983) was an Australian record producer, best known for producing the early recordings of The Bee Gees, including their first international hit, "New York Mining Disaster 1941".
The youngest of ...
(of early
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...
fame), and from that point Mel Baister assumed managerial duties.
Other forays into Europe included a trip to
Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
in November 1969, where they performed at the end of a week's competition between various bands from the Eastern bloc; a week supporting
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 ...
at
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
' Theatre 140; and a performance at the Open Circus (an event held in a large tent with lion taming, fire eating and other side shows) in
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, alongside
Brian Auger
Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ.
Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, an ...
,
Barclay James Harvest
Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004), a ...
,
Man
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
and Circus.
Cressida mostly played the university and college circuits, as well as London clubs such as the
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
, Revolution, Blaises and the
Marquee Club
The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...
. The first LP was recorded at Wessex Studios with Byrne producing. It consisted of songs by either Cullen or Heyworth (who handled lead vocals on one), plus one contribution each by Jennings and Clark.
Cressida went through a difficult phase when Heyworth was forced to leave in early 1970. Around this time, the band recorded a more commercial track intended for single release, "Situation", but Vertigo chose not to issue it. The song is now available on a double-CD release of the band's complete recordings, ''The Vertigo Years Anthology 1969-1971''.
Heyworth (who would contribute one last piece to the second album, although he did not play on it) was replaced by John Culley, who had been playing with
Geno Washington
Geno Washington (born William Francis Washington; December 1943, in Evansville, Indiana) is an American R&B singer who released five albums with The Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976.
Music career 19 ...
. The new line-up recorded Cressida's second LP, ''Asylum'', later in 1970 (again with Byrne producing, and with orchestral arrangements by Graeme Hall), but it was released posthumously in 1971, the band having broken up in September 1970. Noted
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
flautist
Harold McNair
Harold McNair (5 November 1931 – 7 March 1971) was a Jamaican-born saxophonist and flautist.
Early life
McNair was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He attended the Alpha Boys School under the tutelage of Vincent Tulloch, while playing with Jo ...
guested on the song "Lisa" from the album.
After the band split up,
Clark
Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...
joined
Uriah Heep. McCarthy joined
Tranquility
Tranquillity (also spelled tranquility) is the quality or state of being tranquil; that is, calm, serene, and worry-free. The word tranquillity appears in numerous texts ranging from the religious writings of Buddhism, where the term ''passaddhi'' ...
as rhythm guitarist and vocalist rather than bassist. Culley linked up with
Black Widow and from 1981–1984, joined
Colin Tench to launch the London six-piece progressive rock band
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
. In 2012 Culley guested on a debut album by
Corvus Stone.
Heyworth died in January 2010. In 2011, three of the four surviving original members of the band, Angus Cullen, Iain Clark, and Kevin McCarthy got together again with Peter Jennings. The band were prompted to play a one-off live gig at The Underworld, Camden Town in London on 2 December 2011. Scottish guitarist Roger Niven joined Cressida and played the reunion gig. Coinciding with the show was the limited edition release of a vinyl album of previously unreleased demos that Cressida made before their first album, since made available in CD form as ''The Lost Tapes''. In September 2013, they appeared at the Melloboat festival in Sweden, on which occasion ''Choices'', a limited edition LP of archive material personally selected by
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...
's
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Lars Mikael Åkerfeldt (; born 17 April 1974)[Mikael Åkerfeldt](_blank)
, Op ...
(a longtime fan of the band) was released.
The band never had any opportunity to play in the United States, since Mercury chose not to release either album in the US (their two albums were sold in the US as imports).
Band members
*Angus Cullen - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
(1968-1970)
*Kevin McCarthy - bass
(1968-1970)
*Iain Clark - drums, percussion
(1968-1970)
*John Heyworth - guitars, vocals
(1968–70)
*Lol Coker - organ
(1968–69)
*Peter Jennings - organ, piano
(1969–70)
*John Culley - guitars
(1970)
*Roger Niven - guitars
(2011–present)
Discography
*;1969 - ''Cressida'' (Vertigo)
#"To Play Your Little Game" ''(Heyworth)'' 3:15
#"Winter Is Coming Again" ''(Heyworth)'' 4:42
#"Time For Bed" ''(Cullen)'' 2:18
#"Cressida" ''(Cullen)'' 3:57
#"Home And Where I Long To Be" ''(Heyworth)'' 4:04
#"Depression" ''(Cullen)'' 5:02
#"One Of A Group" ''(Jennings)'' 3:35
#"Lights In My Mind" ''(Heyworth)'' 2:45
#"The Only Earthman In Town" ''(Heyworth)'' 3:32
#"Spring '69" ''(Cullen)'' 2:14
#"Down Down" ''(Heyworth)'' 4:15
#"Tomorrow Is a Whole New Day" ''(Clark)'' 5:19
*;1971 - ''Asylum'' (Vertigo)
#"Asylum" ''(Cullen)'' 3:31
#"Munich" ''(Jennings)'' 9:30
#"Goodbye
Post Office Tower
The BT Communication Tower is a grade II listed communications tower located in Fitzrovia, London, owned by BT Group. Originally named the Museum Radio Tower (after the adjacent Museum telephone exchange), it became better known by its unoff ...
Goodbye" ''(Cullen)'' 2:47
#"Survivor" ''(Cullen)'' 1:32
#"Reprieved" ''(Jennings)'' 2:29
#"Lisa" ''(Cullen)'' 5:05
#"Summer Weekend of A Lifetime" ''(Cullen)'' 3:20
#"Let Them Come When They Will" ''(Heyworth)'' 11:46
*;2012 - ''Trapped In Time - The Lost Tapes'' (Esoteric)
(All but 4 tracks of this release feature the original line-up with Lol Coker on organ. On tracks 9-11 and 13, Coker is replaced by Peter Jennings, and on track 13, John Heyworth is replaced by John Culley.)
(tracks 5, 8, 11 and 12 were songs that were not included on the first two albums)
#"To Play Your Little Game" ''(Heyworth)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded for the first album)
#"Winter Is Coming Again" ''(Heyworth)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded for the first album)
#"Cressida" ''(Cullen)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded for the first album)
#"Depression" ''(Cullen)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded for the first album)
#"Sad Eyed Fairy" ''(Cullen)'' (original demo version; not included on any album and previously unreleased)
#"Lights In My Mind" ''(Heyworth)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded for the first album)
#"Let Them Come When They Will" ''(Heyworth)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded in an extended version for the second album)
#"Situation" ''(Heyworth)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded for a single which was never released)
#"The Only Earthman In Town" ''(Heyworth)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded for the first album)
#"Down Down" ''(Heyworth)'' (original demo version; later re-recorded for the first album)
#"Mental State" ''(Heyworth)'' (original demo version; not included on any album and previously unreleased)
#"Silent Light" ''(Cullen)'' (original demo version; not included on any album and previously unreleased)
#"Situation" (Alternate Version) ''(Heyworth)'' (unissued single)
*;2012 - ''The Vertigo Years Anthology 1969-1971'' (Esoteric)
Disc 1 includes all tracks from the first, self-titled album, plus :
#"Lights In My Mind" (Demo) ''(Heyworth)''
#"Mental State" (Demo) ''(Heyworth)''
Disc 2 includes all tracks from ''Asylum'' plus :
#"Situation" (Previously Unreleased) ''(Heyworth)''
#"Depression" (BBC Sounds Of The Seventies) ''(Cullen)''
#"Winter Is Coming Again" (BBC Sounds Of The Seventies) ''(Heyworth)''
Covers
A cover version of "Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye" was recorded by New Zealand band
Powerhouse (''Move On Up: The Unreleased 1972 HMV Tapes'').
External links
Official 'Cressida' website* Most of the information contained herein came from a Cressida profile/interview in the UK fanzin
''Ptolemaic Terrascope''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cressida
English progressive rock groups
Vertigo Records artists