Café Jacques are a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band originally formed in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and most active in the 1970s. An early version of Café Jacques numbered seven musicians, but the most successful line-up was a trio, consisting of Chris Thomson, Peter Veitch (later with

Penguin Cafe Orchestra The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) was an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist Helen Liebmann, the band toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having ...

), and Mike Ogletree (later with

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

and

Fiction Factory Fiction Factory were a Scottish New wave music, new wave band from Perth, Scotland, Perth. Formed in 1982, they are best known for their single "(Feels Like) Heaven", which peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written by Eddie Jo ...

). They released two albums and a single on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

(

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in the U.S.), produced by

Rupert Hine Rupert Neville Hine (21 September 1947 – 4 June 2020) was an English record producer and musician. He produced albums for artists including Rush, Kevin Ayers, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Saga, the Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Stevie Nic ...

, before disbanding in 1978. Café Jacques reformed in 2010, led by original member Chris Thomson.

Recording sessions

The band recorded both albums at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry ...

, London, and the trio was augmented by Geoff Richardson (at that time a member of

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

, later with Penguin Cafe Orchestra), and John G. Perry (ex Caravan,

Quantum Jump Quantum Jump were a 1970s British band, consisting of singer and keyboard player Rupert Hine, guitarist Mark Warner, bass player John G. Perry (then of Caravan), and drummer Trevor Morais (who had previously played in The Peddlers). The ba ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

played percussion on four tracks of the first album.

Live TV performance

Café Jacques performed live on ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

'' on 6 December 1977; hosted by Bob Harris.

Discography

* 1977 - ''Round the Back'' * 1978 - ''International'' * 1978 - " Boulevard of Broken Dreams" b/w "None of Your Business" - 7" single * 2011 - ''Lifer'' (Mini-album featuring current line-up; not on label)

Original members

Band

*Chris Thomson - guitar, lead vocals *Peter Veitch - keyboards, violin, accordion, background vocals * Mike Ogletree - drums, lead vocals on ''Man in the Meadow'', background vocals

Guests

* Geoff Richardson - viola, flute, clarinet * John G. Perry - Wal bass *

- percussion

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described Café Jacques as having "a subtle ethereal feel, very progressive in content, both musically and lyrically."Billboard review of ''Round the Back'', 18 February 1978, p. 72.
Retrieved 9 March 2014. John Swenson in ''The new

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

record guide'' referred to them as an "excellent British studio band whose dense rhythmic mix and melodic keyboard textures recall

Traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

's lyricism and

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada (both formerly of the Mothers of Invention), keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward in ...

's syncopation."

Recent history

Peter Veitch died in 1990. Mike Ogletree has lived and worked in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

since 2006. He continues to work as a musician and his band Anacoustic Mind has released two albums:''The Kilmarnock Edition''Allmusic entry for ''The Kilmarnock Edition''
Retrieved 1 November 2015. and ''New Gold Dream (11,12,13,14)''. He regularly performs live with his band in and around the New York area.

References

External links

Geoffrey Richardson's Official WebsiteAnacoustic Mind and Mike Ogletree's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe Jacques (band) Scottish rock music groups British progressive rock groups Epic Records artists Scottish musical trios Musical groups established in 1973