East of Eden were 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. Initi ...

band, who had a Top 10 hit in the UK with the single " Jig-a-Jig" in 1970. The track was stylistically unlike any of their other work. Although some might consider them a symphonic progressive band, others state that their style is mostly

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 f ...

-oriented.

History

Their professional career began back in 1967 when they were formed in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

as Pictures of Dorian Gray, by Dave Arbus (b. David Arbus, 8 October 1941,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

– violin, flute, saxophone, trumpet), Ron Caines (b. Ronald Arthur Caines, 13 December 1939, Bristol – alto saxophone), Geoff Nicholson (b. Geoffrey Nicholson, 27 June 1948, near Bristol – guitar, vocals), Mike Price ( bass), and Stuart Rossiter (drums). Price left in spring 1968 and was replaced by Terry Brace (born Terrence Brace, 28 September 1943, Bristol). Vocalist and guitarist Al Read (b. Alan G Read, 26 March 1942, Chelsea, London) joined at the same time. With this line-up the band released the now very-rare single, "

King Of Siam The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...

", on 25 July 1968. They appeared in the film '' Laughter in the Dark''. Brace and Read left in September 1968; the band carried on with Nicholson as their main vocalist, with Ron Caines occasionally contributing. was replaced by Steve York (b. 24 April 1948, London). Rossiter also left, and was replaced in September 1968 by Dave Dufort (b. David Dufort, 1947, London). In 1968 they moved to London, and were signed to a recording contract with

Deram Records Deram Records was a subsidiary record label of Decca Records established in the United Kingdom in 1966. At the time, U.K. Decca was a different company from the Decca label in the United States, which was owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings we ...

. In February 1969 Dufort left and in came Bryan Appleyard, who was replaced in June 1969 by

Geoff Britton Geoffrey Britton (born 1 August 1943) is an English rock drummer known for his work with Wings from August 1974 to January 1975, where he was featured on the '' Venus and Mars'' album. Career Britton was born in Lewisham, South East London). H ...

(b. Geoffrey Britton, 1 August 1943,

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

, South East London) (drums), who later joined

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is express ...

. York also left in June 1969, and in came bassist Andy Sneddon (born Andrew Sneddon, 8 May 1946,

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie ( Gaelic: ''Cill Bhraonaigh'') is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisley ...

, Ayrshire, Scotland). In 1969 they released the ''Mercator Projected'' album, featuring the line-up of Dave Arbus, Ron Caines, Geoff Nicholson, Steve York and Dave Dufort (Dufort's surname was misspelled "Dufont" on the cover of the original LP release, and also on the CD re-release in 2008, which featured as part of its artwork a photo of the back cover of the original LP, complete with the misspelling). This album was followed by ''Snafu'' (1970), and ''Jig-a-Jig'', a European-only compilation, released in 1971. ''Snafu'' reached the

Top 30 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, while a single, "Ramadhan", reached number two in France. Caines and Nicholson left the band in the 1970s for an unsuccessful stint with

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

. Arbus also left around this time, and was replaced by Joe O'Donnell (b. Joseph O'Donnell, 26 December 1948,

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, County Limerick, Republic of Ireland). The band continued to record and tour in Europe. Original guitarist Nicholson left in May 1970. The band broke up in 1978 having undergone various changes in membership. Important members in late line-ups included vocalist Al Read; bassist Terence 'Terry' Brace; bassist Andy Sneddon; bassist/vocalist David 'Davy' Jack (b. 24 January 1940,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, Strathclyde, Scotland); drummer Jeff Allen (b. Jeffrey Allen, 23 April 1946, Matlock, Derbyshire – from June 1970); bassist/vocalist Martin Fisher (b. 1947,

Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, Surrey); violinist Joe O'Donnell (from March 1973); Alan 'Al' Perkes (b. 26 May 1949, Bow, east London); and guitarist Garth Watt-Roy (b. Garth Philip Watt-Roy, December 1947,

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India – from February 1972). The three core members (Arbus, Caines and Nicholson) reunited in 1996, and their album ''Kalipse'' was released the following year. Like most of their earlier work, it was a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

hit. Arbus was a guest musician on

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's track " Baba O'Riley", playing the violin solo. He was a friend of Who drummer,

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

, and, later, became a member of

Fiddler's Dram Fiddler's Dram were a British folk band of the late 1970s, most widely known for their 1979 hit single, " Day Trip to Bangor (Didn't We Have a Lovely Time)", which reached no. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Band members The full-time members of Fid ...

Personnel

Timeline

Albums

* ''Mercator Projected'' (April 1969, Deram) * ''Snafu'' (February 1970, Deram) * ''Jig-A-Jig'' (1971, Deram, European-only compilation) * ''East Of Eden'' (June 1971, Harvest) * ''New Leaf'' (November 1971, Harvest) * ''Another Eden'' (1975, Harvest, European-only release) * ''Here We Go Again'' (1976, EMI, European-only release) * ''It's The Climate'' (1977, EMI, European-only release) * ''Silver Park'' (1978, EMI, European-only release) * ''Kalipse'' (1997, Transatlantic) * ''Armadillo'' (2001, Blueprint) (Voiceprint) * ''Graffito'' (2005, Eclectic)

References

External links