Heron are an English folk-rock band who released two albums in the early-1970s and have continued to perform since reforming in the 1990s.

History

Origins

The band had its origins in 1967 at the Dolphin Folk Club in Maidenhead, Berkshire, where Tony Pook (vocals), Roy Apps (guitar, vocals), and Robert Collins (guitar) played together, inspired by

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 ...

and

The Incredible String Band The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer (musician), Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, esp ...

. When Collins left, Pook and Apps were joined by Gerald T. Moore (guitar, mandolin, vocals), who had previously played in R&B bands in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

, and Martin Hayward (guitar), to form Heron. As student entertainments secretary at Reading College of Technology, Apps was able to book his own band as support act to performers such as

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (19 ...

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

signed them as songwriters to Essex Music and the group won the support of A&R man and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Peter Eden Peter Eden (born 1943) is a British former record producer and record label executive, best known for his work in the mid-1960s with Donovan, and later with jazz musicians such as John Surman. Biography Eden was born in Hadleigh, Essex. In his ...

, who had worked with Donovan,

Mick Softley Michael Softley (26 September 1939 – 1 September 2017) was an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A figurehead during the British folk scene, Softley set up his own folk club, released three albums and worked with performers such as Mac ...

and others. After Hayward left the band, to be replaced by Steve Jones (keyboards), the group won a recording contract with the

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

label, a subsidiary of

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

.About, ''HeronFolk.com''
Retrieved 2 September 2019"Heron - A Brief History", ''Relaxx Records'', 1 November 2013
Retrieved 1 September 2019 Peter Eden became their producer, but the band quickly realised that they disliked recording in a studio environment. In 1970, they stayed at Pook's family farmhouse at Appleford-on-Thames in Berkshire, and recorded an album with a mobile studio in a field behind the house, picking up ambient noises such as bird song. The songwriting was shared between Apps, Pook and Moore. Released in November 1970, the self-titled album achieved only moderate success. The band toured with

Comus In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...

Titus Groan ''Titus Groan'' is a novel by Mervyn Peake, first published in 1946. It is the first novel in the ''Gormenghast'' series. Plot introduction The book is set in the huge castle of Gormenghast, a vast landscape of crumbling towers and ivy-filled ...

and

Demon Fuzz Demon Fuzz was an English rock band which was formed in 1968 and broke up in 1972. Its members had all immigrated to Britain from Commonwealth countries. The band's name means "devil's children or bad policemen". The band's music has generally b ...

on Dawn's loss-making Penny Concert tour, and appeared on John Peel's ''

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'' radio show. They released a single, Moore's song "Bye and Bye", which received considerable airplay but failed to sell in large quantities because of problems of

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

supply followed by a

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of delivery drivers. They continued to perform, on one occasion supporting

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

at a

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

concert.Biography, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 2 September 2019 Heron recorded their second album in a cottage garden at Black Dog, a small village near Crediton in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. As well as Pook, Apps, Moore and Jones, musicians on the album included Bill Boazman (electric guitar),

Mike Cooper Mike Cooper may refer to: * Mike Cooper (musician) (born 1942), English blues and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter * Mike Cooper (politician) (born 1951), former politician in Ontario, Canada See also * Michael Cooper (disambiguation) * Mike Ho ...

(slide guitar), Mike Finesilver (bass), and Terry Gittings (drums). The recordings were issued as a

double LP A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

, ''Twice As Nice & Half the Price'', and included unexpected

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of songs including " This Old Heart of Mine" which Moore had played in his previous bands. Pook later commented: "I think that there was enough material there for one very good album, but one quite mediocre double album. But we wanted two records for the price of one. That was the hippie ethos behind it, for people to get value for money – which I think they did." Disagreements within the band led to Moore leaving – he later backed singer

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and then formed G. T. Moore and His Reggae Guitars – and the record company reduced its support. The band disbanded in 1972.

Reformation

Interest in the band was maintained by

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, especially in Japan. In 1997, Apps, Pook and Jones, together with Gerry Power (vocals, keyboards, percussion), returned to Black Dog to record a new album as Heron, ''River of Fortune'', and performed for villagers at a show later released on CD as ''Black Dog In Concert''. A set of recordings made by Apps, Pook and Jones with T. J. Robinson (guitar, vocals), in 1991, ''Hystorical'', was released in 1999. In 2011, Moore returned to join Apps, Pook and Jones to record a new album, ''Simple As One Two Three'', and in 2013 the same line-up recorded and released ''Jokerman - Songs of Bob Dylan''. A collection of demo recordings made in 1983 was released as ''Open Up the Road'' in 2015. The following year, the band toured Japan and recorded a live album in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, released as ''Live in Kyoto'' in 2017. Singer Tony Pook died from Alzheimer's disease on 16 October 2020. "A Tribute", ''Relaxx.co.uk'', 18 October 2020
Retrieved 26 February 2021

Discography

* ''Heron'' (

, 1970) * ''Twice As Nice & Half the Price'' (Dawn, 1971) * ''River of Fortune'' (Relaxx, 1998) * ''Hystorical'' (Relaxx, recorded 1991, released 1999) * ''Black Dog In Concert'' (Relaxx, 2000) * ''Black Dog'' (Hux Records, 2005) * ''Simple As One Two Three'' (Nice Folks, 2011) * ''Jokerman - Songs of Bob Dylan'' (Wasabi, 2013) * ''Open Up the Road'' (Relaxx, recorded 1983, released 2015) * ''Live In Kyoto'' (Wasabi, 2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heron English folk rock groups Dawn Records artists