Tomorrow (previously known as The In Crowd and before that as Four Plus One) were an English musical group active in the 1960s, whose music touched on
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...
,
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ( ...
and
freakbeat
Freakbeat is a loosely defined subgenre of rock and roll music developed mainly by harder-driving British groups during the Swinging London period of the mid-to late 1960s. The genre bridges British Invasion R&B, beat and psychedelia.
Etymol ...
. Despite critical acclaim and support from
DJ 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 ...
, who featured them on his "
Perfumed Garden" radio show, the band was not a great success in commercial terms. They were among the first psychedelic bands in England, along with
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 groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
and
Soft Machine
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...
. Tomorrow recorded the first ever John Peel show session on
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 ...
on 21 September 1967. The band included
Steve Howe on guitars, who would later join the British
prog band
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...
.
History
As The In Crowd, (not to be confused with the "Questions and Answers" In Crowd) they recorded the songs "Am I Glad to See You" and "Blow-Up" especially for the film ''
Blowup'' in 1966. The lyric to "Blow-Up" is an almost-literal interpretation of the film's plot. The two songs remained unused however when
the Yardbirds
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwe ...
were hired to film the nightclub sequence that The In Crowd would have appeared in.
As Tomorrow, they appeared in the 1967 film ''
Smashing Time'' under the name of the Snarks. John "Junior" Wood was ill during shooting of the film and was replaced by John Pearce, a clothes dealer. Again, their music was not used in the film. Instead, the music used in the film is performed by
Skip Bifferty.
During 1967 the band released two singles, one of which, "
My White Bicycle", was later covered by
heavy rock act
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
, and as a
novelty record by Neil the Hippy (
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, comedian, musician, novelist and playwright. He played Neil in the BBC comedy '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in '' Filthy Rich & Catflap''. He has appeared in many West End ...
) of the
British sitcom ''
The Young Ones''. According to drummer
John 'Twink' Alder, the song was inspired by the
Dutch Provos, an
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...
group in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
which instituted a
community bicycle program
A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.
The programmes themselves include bo ...
: "they had
white bicycles in Amsterdam and they used to leave them around the town. And if you were going somewhere and you needed to use a bike, you'd just take the bike and you'd go somewhere and just leave it. Whoever needed the bikes would take them and leave them when they were done."
Tomorrow's September 1967 single "
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
" preceded
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 ...
song "
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
" by a year. In
Joe Boyd's book ''
White Bicycles – Making Music in the 1960s
A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.
The programmes themselves include bo ...
'' he asserts the band's performance of the song one night at the
UFO Club as the
apotheosis
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term ha ...
of the '60s
UK underground. Tomorrow also jammed with
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
at the UFO Club. There was a long delay between their 1967 single releases and the eventual release of their self-titled album in February 1968, and the album would fail commercially.
However the album has gained a cult following today, with reissues of the album gaining traction more than 50 years after its original release. Youtube postings of the album, as well as their unreleased tracks has also earned Tomorrow their cult status in the 60's and in music as a whole. Much like the music of bands like The
13th Floor Elevators,
Kaleidoscope and July, who have all sparked a resurgence years after their music was mainly forgotten by the public, despite having no radio airplay after they disappeared, Tomorrow's self titled vinyl remains a treasure of the late 60's Psychedelic Era.
Tomorrow singer
Keith West is perhaps better known as a participant in
Mark Wirtz
Mark Philipp Wirtz (3 September 19437 August 2020) was a German-French pop music record producer, composer, singer, musician, author, and comedian. Wirtz is best known for the never-completed ''A Teenage Opera'' concept album, a project he devis ...
's ''
A Teenage Opera
''A Teenage Opera'' is a musical project from the 1960s, created by record producer Mark Wirtz. The first song released was from the project was "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera" ("Grocer Jack") recorded by Keith West in 1967. The album was not rele ...
'' project that gave him the solo hit single "
Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera' (Grocer Jack)" and brief commercial success in 1967.
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 string ...
ist
Steve Howe later joined
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. I ...
band
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...
, whilst Twink joined
the Pretty Things
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
in order to complete their
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Some ...
, ''
S.F. Sorrow
''S. F. Sorrow'' is the fourth album by the English rock band Pretty Things. Released in 1968, it is known as one of the first rock operas ever released. Based on a short story by singer Phil May, the album is structured as a song cycle tell ...
'', before forming
the Pink Fairies
Pink Fairies are an English rock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, s ...
. John Wood (not to be confused with Sound Techniques producer) sometimes played bass with Jeff Beck.
In 2021, the official biography of Keith West was published in the book "Thinking About Tomorrow – Excerpts from the life of Keith West".
Discography
Albums
*''
Tomorrow'' (
Parlophone, February 1968)
*''
50 Minute Technicolor Dream'' (
RPM 184, 1998)
Singles
As The In Crowd:
*"That's How Strong My Love Is" / "Things She Says" (single, Parlophone R5276, April 1965) –
UK No. 48
*"Stop, Wait a Minute" / "You're on Your Own" (single, Parlophone R5328, September 1965)
*"Why Must They Criticise" / "I Don't Mind" (single, Parlophone R5364, November 1965)
As Tomorrow:
*"
My White Bicycle" (Hopkins/
Burgess)/ "Claramount Lake" (single, Parlophone R5597, May 1967)
*"
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
" (Hopkins/Howe) / "Three Jolly Little Dwarfs" (single, Parlophone R5627, September 1967)
– UK No. 56
Notes
References
External links
BBC John Peel - Tomorrow*
ttp://www.allmusic.com/artist/tomorrow-mn0000621185 Tomorrow at AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomorrow
English psychedelic rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1967
Parlophone artists
Sire Records artists