Like many bands of '63, The Sidekicks, from Acton in West London, formed as a 'youth club' group, keen to play to their mates and copy those R&B 45s that they cherished. The group , consisting of Eddy Pumer on Epiphone guitar, Dan Bridgeman on drums and Steve Clark on bass, struggled through the likes of Mose Alison and Muddy Waters, but missed a good frontman and singer.
Enter Peter Daltrey, teenage hopeful, with fragile but clear voice and practiced Jaggeresque mannerisms. They entered numerous 'beat contests', coming in second in one at the Wimbledon Palais.
They supported local bands and played countless paries and local halls (all a bit familiar, eh?). But wait! This story is really quite different. With the times-achangin' around them the boys decided to change their name to The Key.
The Key seemed a good enough name at the time (this new direction was to be the key to their success). Unlike most bands of 1965-66, no-one was kicked out during this inevitable maturing process. The Key didn't have the problem of an ugly drummer or bespectacled gawky saxophonist to boot out. More grueling support slots followed, with our heroes sharing the stage with such giants as Brian Poole & The Tremelos, The Silkie and even Sounds Incorporated. In fact anyone who strayed into their neck of town. Furthermore, The Key began to go down very well indeed, well enough for certain record company whiz-kids from the far off West End to take notice.
Dave Carey, a chap working for pop publishers Flamingo Music, was demonstrated the tremendous potential of The Key. Here were four well-organized amiable chaps, writing their own , as yet, unpublished songs, waiting for a break. They cut a few demos which he listened to, and they impressed him so much he got Dick Leahy over to meet the boys and hear the songs. Dick Lehey, was head of A&R at Fontana/Philips Records, and a new super-cool A&R man, out to prove himself in the music biz. He leapt at the huge opportunity on offer: an accomplished undiscovered band. In January '67 the group signed on the dotted line.
The lads, still working day-jobs, were delighted to be involved with such a prestigious label. For them music was all important, they were now writing all their own material, with Eddy spending long evenings round at Pete's honing new songs to perfection. He was staggered by Pete's lyrical depth, and was constantly worried that he wouldn't be able to match it musically. He managed. There was such a tight harmony between each band member, such a high degree of tolerance (boarding on worship) that squabbles and ego-outings were non-existent. Because of this intense insularity Dick Leahy was trusted to do whatever was necessary to dress the band for the 'marketplace'. This was a job he did with great care and personal supervision. Spring '67 and the first single 'Flight From Ashiya' was issued in a full-color picture sleeve by the 'new' band Kaleidoscope. Dressed in brightly colored shirts and scarves with beads and psychedelic backdrops they were the group to watch out for. The disc got rave reviews, and the Pirate radio stations played it constantly, but somehow it didn't set the charts alight.
A story goes that on
hearing Kaleidoscope, Leslie Gould (M.D. of the Philips Record
Empire), demanded to know why the band were only signed for a
mere twelve months! Four more years were tagged onto their
contract and work began on the album, an unheard of event after
just signing a deal. The next single was culled from these
sessions. The boys impressed everyone with their hardworking
approach, staying long hours at the studio to make each and every
recording 'just right'. The whole of Fontana became obsessed with
the success of their new project; a qoute from their 'News Scene'
press handout states: "The heading on this paper reads 'News Scene', and in Kaleidoscope, that is just what Fontana are building. Kaleidoscope are so contemporary they are tomorrows' sounds. Their music is quite unlike anyone else's, their words are completely individual, private thoughts that communicate superbly to the listener. It is this communication aspect that separates stars from artists.
Kaleidoscope are stars."
(Written by David Sandersson, Fontana Press Office, August '67)
After the singles did nothing spectacular, the album, "Tangerine Dream" was nevertheless issued in November. The string arranger was Johnny Cameron, who was pleased to let Eddy become involved in the orchestration. The album was recorded at Stanhope Place Studios on 16 track, and was co-produced by Dick Lehey and Philips big-wig Jack Baverstock. The engineer was the aptly named Dave Voyde.
The band then went on tour, tour and tour. They played Europe a good deal and recorded many BBC sessions. The hallowed halls of the BBC's Maida Vale studios were ever open for several reasons; DJ David Symonds loved the band (they took no drugs, just drank gallons of cider); they recorded very quickly and were totally unpretentious in the studio and anywhere else for that matter. Whilst in Holland they played with Country Joe & the Fish, an uplifting experience all round, and as a special treat Dick Lehey remixed the track 'In The Room Of Percussion', for the 'B'-side of the Dutch release of 'Flight From Ashiya', which became 'Further Reflections From The Room Of Percussion'. It's a brilliant sun-soaked psychedelic opus that is VERY '67 and shows just how sympathetic their record company were to their total overall image and direction.
It was around this time that Fontana politely suggested to Eddy and Peter that they write a hit single - or else! So they did. After a crash course in 'what was a-happening in the charts', they produced 'Jenny Artichoke'. (It was inspired by 'Jennifer Jupiter' and a large golden dried artichoke given to Peter by his girlfriend). Once again the radio station loved it, and it enjoyed extensive air-play on the BBC. Normally sane milkmen could be heard whistling it in the streets. Blame the weather, distribution, or whatever, but the single didn't sell. Fontana was nonetheless impressed with their attitude and booked the group into the studios for a second album.
Television appearances followed including the David Jacobs show (huge ratings) and a Southern TV appearance (playing 'Jenny Artichoke' and 'Kaleidoscope') introduced by Tony Blackburn holding a kaleidoscope and an artichoke! They also played the Montreaux Pop Festival alongside Brian Auger & The Trinity, Blossom Toes and Arthur Brown. Live they were much louder than their records would lead you to believe. At a gig in Sutton Coldfield they blasted Family off the stage, blowing their amps and everybody's minds at the same time. Meanwhile the boys, strapped for cash, took part-time jobs to make ends met. Peter became a postman ("..fill another bag, fill another bag"). 'Do it again for Jeffrey' became the next single in March '69, taken from the sessions which were to produce their second album: "Faintly Blowing".
Kaleidoscope fans were to get a mild shock on its release, with the inclusion of a stage favorite: ‘Music'. Peter Daltrey:"...it was a track that we used to play live, usually demolishing the stage in the process, but you could do plenty of encores by finishing with 'Music'. That really went down well. I don't think we ever stopped playing that, even later on when the band had progressed to other types of things. Unfortunately, Dick Lehey enjoyed going a little over the top with the phasing and the loops. It was good; we recorded it straight and then left it with Dick and he phased it. Some of the sounds you hear on there, like the radio on and off, we did in the studio. There's the sound of a coin spinning, but it's been slowed down, so it makes a very strange sound. And then you've got the line 'Life goes on...' which was a little overdone but quite good. A very,very hectic track."
A final single was commissioned by Fontana, and the band delivered 'Balloon'. This was after they had been handed two tracks by 'hit record writers’ to learn off parrot fashion. Peter, Eddy, Dan and Steve were having none of that, and proceeded to sabotage the sessions with such awful renditions that Fontana relented and let them get on with their own stuff. 'Balloon' seemed to indicate another change in direction, being a more whimsical and complex song, and within months the group metamorphosed into Fairfield Parlour, with the same line-up that began four years earlier as the Sidekicks.
The group had matured and were ready to be reborn. Unfortunately mass recognition still eluded them and after a further album on Vertigo and recordings for an unissued double-LP, the group disbanded - but remain close friends to this day. The double-album "White Faced Lady" was finally issued in 1990, and confirmed the groups as the equal to any other around at the time.
Phil Smee - Summer 1996