Kaleidoscope are 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 ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band from London that originally were active between 1967 and 1970. It is not to be confused with the American psychedelic folk band of the same name. The band's songs combined the elements of psychedelia with whimsical lyrics. The band were also known at various times as The Sidekicks, The Key, I Luv Wight and Fairfield Parlour.

History

Having performed since 1963 under the name The Sidekicks, they became The Key in November 1965, before settling upon the name Kaleidoscope when they signed a deal with

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a subs ...

in January 1967 with the help of the music publisher

Dick Leahy Derek Joseph Patrick Leahy (20 May 1937 – 30 August 2020) was a British music industry executive. Leahy first came to prominence as A&R manager at Philips Records in the late 1960s. He managed the Bell Records label in the early 1970s, which ...

. The group consisted of Eddy Pumer on

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 ...

, Steve Clark on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

and

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, and Danny Bridgman on

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 ...

and the

vocalist 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 ...

Peter Daltrey Peter James Daltrey (born 25 March 1946 in Bow, East London, England) is an English musician. He has been the lead singer and chief songwriter for the bands Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour. He is also a solo artist. Biography After the de ...

, who also played various keyboard instruments. Most of the band's songs were compositions of Pumer's music and Daltrey's lyrics. While the group did not achieve major commercial success in its time, it retains a loyal fan base and its recordings are still held in high regard. The band's first single "Flight from Ashiya" (b/w "Holidaymaker") was released on 15 September 1967 by

, a little earlier than the band's first album '' Tangerine Dream''. The single, with its lyric about an impending plane crash, got critical acclaim and quite an amount of radio airplay but failed to reach the charts. The song has subsequently appeared on many

compilation albums A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, including '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969'', the second

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

of the

Nuggets Nuggets may refer to: Music * ''Nuggets'' (series), a series of compilation albums by Elektra Records, continued by Rhino * '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' * '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from ...

series, and ''Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery''. Two months later, ''Tangerine Dream''—also produced by Dick Leahy—was released. The album included "Flight From Ashiya", "Please Excuse My Face" and "Dive into Yesterday," now considered some of the band's best songs. Meanwhile, the band performed live on several BBC radio shows. A new single was released in 1968 called "Jenny Artichoke" (b/w "Just How Much You Are"), inspired by

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

's, " Jennifer Juniper". After the release the band traveled around Europe, supporting Country Joe and the Fish at the Amsterdam Concert Hall while in

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. ''

Faintly Blowing ''Faintly Blowing'' is Kaleidoscope's second studio album released by Fontana Records in April 1969. Though not as popular as the U.S. Kaleidoscope, this British band was also a band from the psychedelic movement with moderate domestic succ ...

'', also produced by Leahy, was released in 1969 by

. This time the band's sound was heavier, but the tracks still included psychedelic elements with striking lyrics but it failed to reach the charts. After the failure of ''Faintly Blowing'', they released two more singles.

Fairfield Parlour

By the end of the decade, failing with their last single "Balloon", the band moved on with their new manager, DJ David Symonds, whom they met during the BBC sessions, under the name Fairfield Parlour, with the same lineup. Although now called a

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, their music did not change much, still including fairy-tale lyrics with psychedelic harmony. The band's first single as Fairfield Parlour, "Bordeaux Rosé", was released on 17 April 1970 on the Vertigo label. It got a considerable amount of radio airplay, but failed to chart. After releasing several singles, the album '' From Home to Home'' was released on 14 August 1970 with Symonds' production. While the band was getting ready to release the album, they again used another name for themselves, I Luv Wight, as they were asked to record the theme song for the Isle of Wight Festival, "Let the World Wash in", which was released a week after the album ''From Home to Home''. They made the opening for the festival as Fairfield Parlour. The band's fourth album, '' White Faced Lady'', which they financed independently, was recorded in

Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by such notable artists as Jethro Tull, the Kinks, Paul McCartney, ...

in London. Attempts at finding a record company failed and the album was shelved until 1991 when it was released under the name Kaleidoscope on an independent label. The band's last appearance in the early days was at a concert in Bremen, Germany, in 1972. In 2003, the Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour's BBC radio sessions, recorded between 1967 and 1971, were released as ''Please Listen to the Pictures'' on the independent label Circle.

Band members

*Eddy Pumer –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

and

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

(born Kenneth Edmund Pumer, 7 October 1947,

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

, South East London, died 21 September 2020) *Steve Clark –

and

(born in 1946, died 1 May 1999 Chelsea Bridge,

South West London South West London may refer to several things related to London, England: *SW postcode area *South West (London sub region) (2008–2011), a regional planning designation *Western part of South London *South West (London Assembly constituency) (fro ...

) *Danny Bridgman –

(born Daniel Bridgman in 1947) *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

and

(born Peter James Daltrey, 25 March 1946, Bow,

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

)

Discography

Singles

as Kaleidoscope * "Flight from Ashiya" / "Holidaymaker" (Fontana TF 863, 15 September 1967) * "A Dream for Julie" / "Please Excuse My Face" (Fontana TF 895, 26 January 1968) * "Jenny Artichoke" / "Just How Much You Are" (Fontana TF 964, 6 September 1968) * "Flight from Ashiya" / "(Further Reflections) In the Room of Percussion" (Fontana 267 906 TF, 1968, Netherlands only) * "Do It Again for Jeffrey" / "Poem" (Fontana TF 1002, 14 March 1969) * "Balloon" / "If You So Wish" (Fontana TF 1048, 25 July 1969) * "Nursey, Nursey" (free with '' Bucketfull of Brains'' magazine) (BOB.23, 1 May 1989) as Fairfield Parlour * "Bordeaux Rose" / "Chalk on the Wall" (Vertigo 6059 003, 17 April 1970) * "Emily" / "Sunnyside Circus" (Vertigo 6059 032, 1970, Australia only) * "In My Box" / "Glorious House Of Arthur" (Vertigo 6059 017, 1970, France promo-only) * "Just Another Day" / "Caraminda" / "I Am All the Animals" / "Song for You" (Vertigo 6059 008, 24 July 1970) * "Eyewitness" / "Epilog" (Odeon OR-2903, 1970, Japan-only) * "Bordeaux Rose" / "Baby Stay for Tonight" (Prism PRI 1, 19 March 1976) * "Bordeaux Rose" / "Overture to White Faced Lady" (Decca Y-11212, 1976, Australia only) as I Luv Wight * "Let the World Wash In" / "Medieval Masquerade" (Philips 6006 043, 21 August 1970)

Albums

as The Sidekicks * ''The Sidekicks Sessions 1964-1967'' (2003) as Kaleidoscope * '' Tangerine Dream'' (Fontana (S)TL 5448, 24 November 1967) * ''

'' (Fontana STL5491, 11 April 1969) * '' White Faced Lady'' (The Kaleidoscope Record Company KRC 001 CD, 14 February 1991) * ''Please Listen to the Pictures'' (Circle Records CPWL/CPWC 104, 1 September 2003) as Fairfield Parlour * '' From Home to Home'' (Vertigo,1970)

References

External links

Peter Daltrey's Facebook Page

Kaleidoscope Books

Band Soundcloud

Band Instagram

Peter Daltrey Photography

Norwegian Kaleidoscope website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaleidoscope (UK band) English psychedelic rock music groups Musical groups established in 1967 Vertigo Records artists