Trees was a British
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
band recording and touring throughout 1969, 1970 and 1971, reforming briefly to continue performing throughout 1972. Although the group met with little commercial success in their time, the reputation of the band has grown over the years, and underwent a renaissance in 2007 following
Gnarls Barkley's sampling of the track "Geordie" (from Trees’ second album ''
On The Shore'') on the title track of their multi-million selling album
''St. Elsewhere''.
Formation
The original band comprised five members –
bass and
keyboard
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 ...
player
Bias Boshell
Tobias Boshell (born 20 July 1950) is an English songwriter and musician, best known as the founder of the folk rock band Trees.
He was born in Wye, Kent, was educated at Bedales and the Royal College of Music. Boshell formed Trees in 1969 wit ...
, lead
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 ...
ist Barry Clarke, acoustic guitarist
David Costa,
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
Unwin Brown and
singer
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 ...
Celia Humphris.
David Costa, son of British singer and radio presenter
Sam Costa
Samuel Gabriel Costa (17 June 1910 – 23 September 1981) was an English singer, entertainer and broadcaster. Initially a popular singer in the British dance band, dance band era and a comic actor on the show ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'', he ...
, was reading Fine Arts at the recently opened
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
when he met Barry Clarke (who had been working at Royd's advertising agency in London) through a mutual girlfriend who had suggested, as they were both guitar players, that they should connect. In David's words, following their first meeting—"I never went back to University, and Barry never went back to his office." Barry Clarke was living at the time in a house in
Barnes
Barnes may refer to:
People
* Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name)
Places
United Kingdom
*Barnes, London, England
**Barnes railway station
** Barnes Bridge railway station
** Barnes Railway Bri ...
, shared with Bias Boshell.
Bias Boshell and Unwin Brown had both attended
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventio ...
in
Petersfield
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, and within a short time, all four were sharing their diverse musical experiences, exploring their different tastes and bringing together what they each enjoyed in common with each other. Lacking a singer, Costa suggested they audition the sister of an acquaintance of his and introduced Celia Humphris into the mix, who had just left
Arts Educational where she had studied dance, drama, and singing. Humphris' father was the painter and illustrator Frank Humphris (e.g. for the Riders of the Range strip in the boys' comic ''
The Eagle
The eagle is a large bird of prey.
Eagle or The Eagle may also refer to:
Places England
* Eagle, Lincolnshire, a village
United States
* Eagle, Alaska, a city
* Eagle Village, Alaska, a census-designated place
* Eagle, Colorado, a statut ...
'').
The five of them began rehearsing in the early spring of 1969, starting to do their first gigs and early demo tracks throughout June and July of the same year.
Career
Signed to
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
in August 1969, Trees produced two studio albums in relatively quick succession, ''
The Garden of Jane Delawney
''The Garden of Jane Delawney'' is the debut album of United Kingdom, British folk rock band Trees (band), Trees.
Track listing
All songs written by Bias Boshell except where noted.
# "Nothing Special" (Boshell, Unwin Brown, Barry Clarke, Dav ...
'' (released April 1970) and ''
On The Shore'' (released January 1971), both recorded at
Chelsea's Sound Techniques
Sound Techniques was a recording studio in Chelsea, London that was operational between 1965 and 1976. Housed in a former dairy, it was founded by recording engineers Geoff Frost and John Wood. The studio became well known as the place where man ...
studios, and both produced by
Tony Cox. ''On The Shore'' featured cover artwork by
Storm Thorgerson
Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other a ...
of the
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10cc, Ba ...
studio. Like other folk contemporaries, Trees was compared with
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
, but regarded as delivering with a more psychedelic edge. The group's material was divided between adaptations of traditional songs and original compositions, primarily by Bias Boshell. In a 2020 interview, Costa commented: "We got labelled as a folk-rock band, full stop, but our influences were generally far more American than British."
[
The original group disbanded in 1971 after recording the two albums. A second Trees incarnation formed in 1972 and played until 1973; this group featured Celia Humphris, Barry Clarke, Barry Lyons (ex-member of Mr Fox), Alun Eden (also ex-member of Mr Fox) and Chuck Fleming (ex-member of the ]JSD Band
The JSD Band was an influential Scottish-based Celtic and folk rock band primarily active from 1969 to 1974 and then again briefly from 1997 to 1998. The band released five full-length albums, and numerous singles and special releases, many of ...
). Recordings by this line-up can be found on bootleg releases.
This latest formation also contributed to Phil Trainer's solo album Trainer (BASF, 1972)
Performance
Trees performed extensively throughout their career, predominantly on the university circuit but appearing twice at Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. Fa ...
and at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten.
The ...
on London's South Bank
The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...
, with varying degrees of success and at times recognised with significant critical praise. Throughout their touring career they supported acts including Fotheringay
Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer-songwriter and musician Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition " Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay ...
, Fairport Convention, Matthew's Southern Comfort, Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
; Free and Faces
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...
on the same bill, Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
, Family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
and Yes, and appeared at the Evolution Music Festival in Le Bourget
Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris.
The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...
, Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1970 alongside Ginger Baker's Air Force
Ginger Baker's Air Force was a jazz-rock fusion supergroup led by drummer Ginger Baker.
History
The band formed in late 1969 upon the disbandment of Blind Faith. The original lineup consisted of Ginger Baker on drums, Steve Winwood on organ ...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
and Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have List of best-selling singles, sold over ...
. A very early gig in London's Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
had them appearing with a virtually unknown 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 ...
. The band were often accompanied on the road and supported by singer-songwriter Marc Ellington
Marc Floyd Ellington OStJ DL HonFRIAS (16 December 1945 – 17 February 2021) was an American-born British folk and folk-rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bagpiper. He recorded in Britain in the late 1960s and 1970s, and became active in ...
. They were originally managed by Douglas Smith and Clearwater Productions, a Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name.
Location
At Ossington Street/Ke ...
company who also managed contemporaries such as High Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables can ...
, Cochise
Cochise (; Apache: ''Shi-ka-She'' or ''A-da-tli-chi'', lit.: ''having the quality or strength of an oak''; later ''K'uu-ch'ish'' or ''Cheis'', lit. ''oak''; June 8, 1874) was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principa ...
and Skin Alley
Skin Alley were a British progressive rock band founded by Thomas Crimble and Alvin Pope in the autumn of 1968. The original lineup consisted of Crimble on bass guitar and vocals, Pope on drums, Max Taylor on guitar, and Jeremy Sagar on lead v ...
and went on to manage Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
and Thunderclap Newman
Thunderclap Newman were an English rock band that Pete Townshend of the Who and Kit Lambert formed in 1969 in a bid to showcase the talents of John "Speedy" Keen, Jimmy McCulloch, and Andy "Thunderclap" Newman.
Their single, "Something in the ...
.
Trees achieved ongoing support from early in their performing and recording career by radio DJs John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
and Bob Harris, for whom they were later to appear twice in his Sounds of the Seventies
''Sounds of the 70s'' is the name of BBC radio programme, currently broadcast on Sundays by BBC Radio 2, with the ''Sounds of the Seventies'' name also having been used by BBC Television for a number of themed music compilations, now repeated ...
TV series, and also Pete Drummond
Peter Drummond-Hay (born 29 July 1943), known professionally as Pete Drummond, is a British voice artist and former BBC and pirate radio disc jockey and announcer.
Biography
Early years and pirate radio
He was born in Bangor, Wales. His pare ...
, who was later to marry singer Celia Humphris.
Post-Trees
Following the demise of the original lineup, Bias Boshell went on to work as a keyboard player and songwriter with The Kiki Dee
Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records.
Dee is best known for h ...
Band, writing her hit song "I've Got the Music in Me
"I've Got the Music in Me" is a pop song by The Kiki Dee Band, released in 1974. It was written in 1973 by Bias Boshell, Kiki Dee Band's keyboardist. It is also the title of a Kiki Dee Band album released in 1974 and re-mastered and re-issued wit ...
", before joining 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 ...
and subsequently The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...
, replacing keyboard player Patrick Moraz
Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues.
Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...
. He now lives in North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
. Barry Clarke went on to join the Vigrass and Osborne band, subsequently to rejoin David Costa in the 1973 band and eponymous album Casablanca (Rocket Records
The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973. The company was named after the hit song " Rocket Man". The label was originally distributed in the UK ...
). David Costa went on to become art director and designer for many notable artists such as Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
, George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
, the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
and the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. Costa and Boshell performed together as the "reunion" On The Shore Band in 2018.[ Barry Clarke continued into the jewellery business, now living part-time in France. After a brief spell as drummer with the pop foursome Capricorn, Unwin Brown went on to enjoy a long career as a teacher, eventually at Thomas's School in ]Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
until his death in 2008.
Celia Humphris continued with Trees' second lineup, and subsequently went on to become a sought-after voice-over artist and provided guest vocals for several songs on Judy Dyble
Judith Aileen Dyble (pronounced ''Die-bull''; 13 February 1949 – 12 July 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, most notable for being a vocalist and a founding member of Fairport Convention and Trader Horne. In addition, she and Ian McDona ...
's '' Talking With Strangers'' album in 2009, Dodson and Fogg, a folk-rock project released in 2012, and as guest vocalist on Galley Beggar's 2017 album ''Heathen Hymns'', released on Rise Above Records
Rise Above Records is a London-based independent record label owned by Lee Dorrian (of the band Cathedral and formerly of Napalm Death).
Founding
Lee Dorrian started Rise Above Records in 1988 without the intention of the label being an ongoi ...
. She later lived in France. She died on 11 January 2021.
Personnel
*Celia Humphris - lead vocals (1969-1972)
*Barry Clarke - lead guitar (1969-1972)
* David Costa - acoustic guitar (1969-1971)
*Bias Boshell
Tobias Boshell (born 20 July 1950) is an English songwriter and musician, best known as the founder of the folk rock band Trees.
He was born in Wye, Kent, was educated at Bedales and the Royal College of Music. Boshell formed Trees in 1969 wit ...
- bass guitar, guitar, vocals (1969-1971)
*Unwin Brown - drums (1969-1971)
*Barry Lyons - bass guitar (1971-1972)
*Alun Eden - drums (1971-1972)
*Chuck Fleming - fiddle (1971-1972)
Discography
Both ''The Garden of Jane Delawney'' and ''On the Shore'' have been continuously available since their original release in either vinyl, cassette or CD formats. A deluxe two-disc edition of ''On the Shore'' was released in 2007, containing previously unreleased and remixed material. A new edition of ''The Garden of Jane Delawney'' followed in 2008, also containing previously unreleased material as well as some new recordings. Both double packages featured an extensive essay by comedian, director and writer Stewart Lee
Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall.
Lee b ...
.
A four-album box set of Trees' recordings, including demos, remixes, plus live recordings from the Trees' 1998 "reunion" On The Shore Band, was released in 2020 to mark the band's fiftieth anniversary.[Jim Wirth, "Trees", ''Uncut'', No.283, December 2020, pp.40-43]
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trees, The
English folk musical groups
British folk rock groups
Psychedelic folk groups
Musical groups established in 1969
Musical groups from London