Category Archives: British Columbia

The Canadians

The Strangers shortly after arriving in the UK, late 1966. Photo credit: Barry Casson

Bobby Faulds (aka Bobby Hanna) – lead vocals

David Foster – keyboards/vocals

Mike Stymest – bass

Wes Chambers – saxophone

Rich England – saxophone

Billy Stewart – trumpet/valve

Barry Casson – drums

Having enjoyed success in their native Victoria, British Columbia as Bobby Faulds & The Strangers, the group makes plans to relocate to England in late 1966 after drummer Barry Casson, who has spent time in London, recommends moving there.

The band arrives in England in early October 1966, having travelled overland across Canada from Vancouver to Gander, Newfoundland where they pick up their flight.

On arrival, the group stay with Faulds’ relatives in Kettering, Northamptonshire. Renamed The Canadians, they start by playing some local gigs.

5 November 1966 – Corby Civic Centre, Corby, Northamptonshire (Northamptonshire Advertiser)

 

12 December 1966 – Dorothy Ballroom, Cambridge with Bob Kidman & His Band, the Prowlers, The Few Four and The Breed (Cambridge News) Billed as The Canadian Strangers

15 December 1966 – Tiles, Oxford Street, London with Him & The Others (Melody Maker)

17 December 1966 – Refectory, Golders Green, London (Melody Maker)

17 December 1966 – Cue Club, Praed Street, Paddington, London (Melody Maker)

18 December 1966 – The Cavern, Liverpool with The Prowlers, The Mead, The Defenders and Times Five (Phil Thompson’s Story of the Cavern book)

 

Just before Christmas, the horn section returns home to Canada. Around the same time, the band signs to the Roy Tempest Agency and gains work backing visiting US acts.

23 December 1966 – Clouds, Derby with John Evan Soul Band (Derby Evening Telegraph)

24 December 1966 – Flamenco, Folkestone, Kent (Folkestone, Hythe & District Herald)

25 December 1966 – Dungeon, Nottingham with The In Crowd (The Canadians were backing The Drifters) (Nottingham Evening Post)

31 December 1966 – Starlight Ballroom, Boston Gliderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire with The Equals, The Triads, Ray Bones at the Organ and Frank and Keith (The Canadians were backing The Spellbinders) (Lincolnshire Standard) The Canadians may have been back at this venue on 7 January backing The Soul Sisters 

31 December 1966 – The Cavern, Liverpool (All-nighter) with The Prowlers, The Beechwoods, The Tatters, The States, The Klubs, The Kids, The Sign and The Times, The Hideways and The Shades (The Canadians were probably backing The Soul Sisters) (Phil Thompson’s Story of the Cavern book)

8 January 1967 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (The Canadians were backing The Soul Sisters) (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)

10 January 1967 – Whisky A Go Go, Wardour Street, Soho, London (Melody Maker) The Canadians probably also played on 11 January backing The Soul Sisters

14 January 1967 – Dungeon, Nottingham (The Canadians were backing The Spellbinders) (Nottingham Evening Post)

14 January 1967 – Rawmarsh Baths Hall, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire with the Rumours (The Canadians were backing The Spellbinders) 

23 January 1967 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with Traction (The Canadians were backing Inez & Charlie Foxx) (Evening Sentinel)

30 January 1967 – Golden Torch, Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Amboy Dukes (The Canadians were backing Inez & Charlie Foxx)(Evening Sentinel)

30 January 1967 – Clouds, Derby with Peppers Machine (The Canadians were backing Inez & Charlie Foxx)(Derby Evening Telegraph)

 

11 February 1967 – Dungeon, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post)

Tour with Chuck Berry (Record Mirror and Disc & Music Echo):

17 February 1967 – Princess Theatre, Chorlton, Greater Manchester and Domino Club, Openshaw, Greater Manchester

18 February 1967 – New Century Hall, Manchester

18 February 1967 – Manchester Tech College, Manchester

19 February 1967 – Saville Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, London with Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement and Del Shannon (riot at this show or the one on 26 February)

20 February 1967 – Queen’s Hall, Wolverhampton (unlikely given Cardiff which is confirmed below but not impossible)

20 February 1967 – Cardiff Top Rank, Cardiff, Wales

21 February 1967 – Olympia, Paris, France

22 February 1967 – Stevenage Locarno, Stevenage, Herts

22 February 1967 – Cedar Club, Birmingham (or is this the Rum Runner?)

23 February 1967 – Streatham Locarno, Streatham, London

23 February 1967 – Blaises, Queen’s Gate, London

24 February 1967 – Durham University, Durham

24 February 1967 – Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear

25 February 1967 – Sussex University, Brighton, West Sussex

25 February 1967 – Agincourt Ballroom, Camberley, Surrey

26 February 1967 – Saville Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, London with Hamilton & The Hamilton Movement and Herbie Goins & The Night-Timers (riot at this show or the one on 19 February)

27 February 1967 – The Cavern, Liverpool with The Multivation, The Klubs and The Tremas (Phil Thompson’s Story of the Cavern book)

18 March 1967 – Civic Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire with The Original Drifters, The Sound Society and The Solents (Evening Sentinel)

Tour with Bo Diddley:

 14 April 1967 – California Ballroom, Dunstable, Bedfordshire

15 April 1967 – Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, Lancashire

16 April 1967 – Saville Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, London

17 April 1967 – Cardiff Top Rank, Cardiff, Wales

18 April 1967 – Cromwellian, South Kensington, London

19 April 1967 – Blaises, Queens Gate, London

19 April 1967 – Sybilla’s, Swallow Street, London

During late April/early May, English guitarist Mick Patel from The Loose Ends joins The Canadians who travel to Cologne in May to play gigs.

27 April 1967 – Golden Torch Tunstall, Staffordshire with The Soul Sisters and The Toggery (Evening Sentinel) Possibly with Mick Patel on guitar by now

On their return to the UK, Bobby Faulds signs a solo deal and records as Bobby Hanna.

David Foster and Mick Patel will subsequently join The Warren Davis Monday Band. Casson meanwhile joins Ruskin T Emery Revue with Australian guitarist Ray Danaher

The following resource was also really helpful:

https://dungeonmods.wordpress.com/

Thanks to Barry Casson for his help

 

Live from Vancouver – The Sound Set, The Reign, The Look and The Silver Chalice Revue

SGM EP Live from Vancouver The Sound-Set, The Reign

The Sound-Set, the Reign SGM 45 EP Live from VancouverHere’s a fantastic EP featuring some otherworldly music from Vancouver, Canada. There’s a a sweet innocence to the best songs on this record, and a melancholic feel at times.

Both sides of the sleeve read “Rols Royce Bookings 683-5332 Presents … Live from Vancouver”, obviously intended to promote bookings for the bands, but none of the songs were cut live. The label, SGM Records was located at Station “D”, Vancouver 9. All songs published by Astral Music BMI.

The Sound Set

The Sound Set’s “Mind in a Bottle” is one of the highlights of the EP. The influence of the Beatles is apparent, but the song comes together beautifully, with cool guitar and organ sounds, great harmonies and an interesting song structure. Robert Turner and Ken Dedrick wrote “Mind in a Bottle”.

The members of The Sound Set:

Rob Turner – organ and vocals
Ken Dedrick – bass and vocals
Gerry Tomey – drums
Murray Raymond – guitar

Rob Turner wrote to me:

The Soundset was originally formed by Ken Dedrick and myself in South Burnaby, Gerry Tolmey on drums and Murray Rayment on guitar. We played at Gassy Jacks Disco in Richmond a lot and had an ongoing Sunday evening gig at the HMCS Discovery naval base in Vancouver Harbour. We also did a lot of casual gigs in the Vancouver area. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos.

We recorded another song after Don joined called “Everyone’s Born Under the Same Old Sun” at Psi Chord but it was never released. We also recorded several original songs for a CBC radio show, produced by Ray McGuire of Trooper, with Derek Solby on drums. I remember a song called “Someone in the Shadows”. Unfortunately the tapes from both those sessions got lost.

The band had by this time (1968-69) changed its name to Ichabod Crane and we were playing gigs in the interior of BC and on Vancouver Island as well.

The Reign, Vancouver BC photo
The Reign

The Reign

The Reign’s “Sea of Dreams” is another standout, the lead guitarist bouncing licks through an Echoplex while the singer quietly intones the lyrics. Following a drum break there’s a brief impassioned section over a distorted lead.

The Reign were together from 1965-1968. Their members were:

Steve Nordin – lead vocals
Don Geppert – guitar
Russ Sankey – guitar
Bob Douglas – bass and vocals
and four drummers: Jack Matches, Frank Gigliotti, Graham Walker and Ken Erickson.

Don Geppert gave me some background on the Reign and sent in the fantastic photos of the group:

Here are a few shots of “The Reign” with then drummer Frank Gigliotti. The first shot is in my basement where it all began.

Stan Cayer was the owner of “Rols-Royce Bookings” and our manager. The record came about totally through Stan who put up the $ and used it to promote his bands at the time. It was recorded at Psi-Chord by Robin Spurgeon in 1968. I still have the contract we signed with Stan.

We believe the drummer on “Sea Of Dreams” (who was absent from the photo) is Jack Matches.

We were very young at the time so the record was exciting. Unfortunately we weren’t rocketed to the top of the charts with it.

After The Reign fizzled out, Rob, Ken, Gerry (Sound Set) and I formed a band called Icabod Crane and played around the Vancouver scene. No recordings.

Bob Douglas was later in Soul Unlimited / Mantra after Carl Graves left the band, and Five Man Cargo (see comments on that page). Don Geppert is now a recording engineer in British Columbia. Russ Sankey passed away in 2008.

Thanks also to Don for filling me in on some of the members of the Sound Set.

The Reign photo live on stage
The Reign live on stage
The Reign live on stage photo
The Reign live on stage

SGM EP Live from Vancouver The Look, The Silver Chalice Revue

The Look

The Look from Vancouver originally consisted of:

Bob Warden – lead guitar and vocals
Dave Boucher – guitar
Barry Warden – bass and vocals
Jack Willander – drums

Bob Warden wrote “In a Whirl”, another gentle song with good harmonies and a nice balance between the rhythm guitar and the drums. I believe after this release Bob Rowden and Barry Rowden joined from the Painted Ship.

 The Silver Chalice Revue photo
The Silver Chalice Revue

The Look, The Silver Chalice Revue, SGM 45 Live from VancouverThe Silver Chalice Revue

With heavy drumming and a horn section “Soul Drifting” by the Silver Chalice Revue sounds a little out of place next to the other three cuts of psychedelic pop balladry on the EP. It’s a strong track, though, and there’s an edgy sound to the guitarist and the lyrics.

Members of the Silver Chalice Revue were originally in a group called the Squires. Silver Chalice played around Vancouver from ’67-’69. Guitarist Daniel Orlando wrote “Soul Drifting”.

Billy Regan (Billy Ostendorp) – vocals
Danny Orlando – guitar
Charlie Howard (Charlene Howard) – keyboards
Brian Linnit – sax
Terry Linnet – trumpet
Bobby Regan (Bob Ostendorp) – bass
Tom Watson – drums

 The Silver Chalice Revue photo
The Silver Chalice Revue
 The Silver Chalice Revue photo
The Silver Chalice Revue

Stan Cayer owned both Rols Royce Booking and the SGM label. He had his own 45s on the label, from the fine rocker “3 Wild Women” and the ballad “Crying on My Pillow” in the early ’60s to a release in the early ’70s, “My My Gemini!” plus an LP I haven’t seen.

The only other releases on SGM that I know of come from a group called Long Time Comin’ (formerly the Shags and the Shapes o’ Things) with “Paper Rose” / “Downhill Slope” on SGM 5-S from 1970 and “Part of the Season” on SGM 12-S from 1972. “Paper Rose” was written by Gary Webstad and produced by Stan GM Cayer. Long Time Comin’ also released one 45 on London Records of Canada in 1971, “Magic World”, written by Mike Bosley and produced by Stan Cayer. All of these are published by Astral Music as well. You can see a few photos of Long Time Comin’ on the PNW Bands site. Other members included Jerry Lipinski and Howie Atherton.Thanks to Ed for the photos of the Silver Chalice Revue.

The Chessmen (British Columbia)

Chessmen Mercury promo photo. From left: Bruce Peterson, Larry Borrisoff, Myles Kingan, Terry Jacks and Guy Sobell
From left: Bruce Peterson, Larry Borrisoff, Myles Kingan, Terry Jacks and Guy Sobell

Chessmen Vancouver business card

Clockwise from left: Al Wiertz, Bill Lockie, Guy Sobell and Terry Jacks
Clockwise from top left: Al Wiertz, Guy Sobell, Terry Jacks and Bill Lockie.

Chessmen London 45 Meadowlands

Chessmen Jerden 45 Mr. Meadowlands

The early roots of The Chessmen began in the late 1950’s with musical influences from the Swedish group The Spotnicks and the English group The Shadows. Guy Sobell was a guitarist in a Vancouver band, The Ken Clark Trio, and while in Europe, he had heard these groups and decided to form his own band when he returned to Canada.

At the same time, a 17 year old named Terry Jacks had put together a “surf” band”, The Sand Dwellers. The group never played live but recorded two unreleased songs including one original penned by Jacks and fellow member John Crowe called “Build Your Castle Higher”. It was later recorded and released by a California group Jerry Cole and The Spacemen with the title changed to “Midnight Surfer”. When the Sand Dwellers folded, some of the members re-formed as The Vancouver Playboys.

Jacks and Sobell were introduced by a mutual friend, Sam Bawlf, who later became the Environment Minister of British Columbia. (Sam,Terry, and Guy all happened to be going to the University of British Columbia at the same time). Guy and Terry teamed up with two other UBC students, Bill Lockie, a guitar player who was learning to play bass, and Erik Kalaidzis, a singer who played chess with Guy. Thus `The Chessmen’. They started out doing gigs at UBC fraternity houses for $40 a night without a drummer. Kalaidzis later left the group because his vocal style was more classical and not geared to what the group was doing at the time. So the band became an instrumental group.

The Chessmen played in the Okanagan (the interior part of British Columbia) in the winter of 1963 and stayed at some strange motels; namely the `Tell-a-Friend’ in Vernon, and ‘The Davy Crockett’ in Kamloops. Lockie recalls Jacks swimming in the motel pool at night while it was snowing and way below freezing. The next day, their newly found drummer, Tom Meikle didn’t show up and they had to play with no drums.

At a gig in Kelowna, Jacks met a guy named Craig McCaw who was played in a band called The Shadracks. He had come to The Chessmen concert with his friend John Tanner (who later went on to become a well known disc jockey in Vancouver). It was a fateful meeting as Craig would later play with Terry in The Poppy Family, an internationally acclaimed group.

Back in Vancouver, The Chessmen got a new drummer, Kenny Moore, who played with them on their first single, “Meadowlands” b/w “Mustang” and a third previously unreleased song called “When I’m Not There”. These were recorded at Robin Spurgin’s Vancouver Recording Studio in 1964.

Red Robinson, a highly acclaimed Vancouver disc jockey who had a lot of connections in the music business passed the tape on to Alice Koury, Vice President of London Records and in December 1964, London released The Chessmen’s first single, “Meadowlands” b/w “Mustang”. It did really well locally and Red Robinson who was undoubtedly instrumental in launching The Chessmen, was credited as the producer of the record. With Red’s help, the single was also released in the U.S. on Jerden Records out of Seattle, with the A-side listed as “Mr.Meadowlands” just to spice it up a bit.

With the success of their first single the band toured, playing roller rinks, high schools and dances across British Columbia throughout the spring of 1965. Terry recalls that because he wasn’t a great guitar player, the other band members were thinking about replacing him in the group. Then, he wrote a song called “The Way You Fell”. Because no one in the group could sing, Terry ended up singing the song and adding his own harmony to it. Up to that point the band had considered other possibilities for a lead singer including adding a female vocalist to their line up. They had tried out a girl named Bonnie Huber, who played some shows with them and even recorded some demos with the band. She was great but the band was too gross for a little girl.

Chessmen London Recording Artists business card

Chessmen London 45 The Way You Fell

Terry Jacks & Chessmen news clipping

Chessmen Mercury 45 Love Didn't DieWith Terry now in place as the band’s vocalist, “The Way You Fell” b/w “She Comes By Night” was recorded at Vancouver Recording Studio with their new drummer, Al Wiertz and released on London Records in April 1965. That single ended up being one of The Chessmen’s most successful records, peaking at #4 on the CFUN Top 50 in Vancouver.

1965 was turning out to be a busy year for the group.

Terry had gone to see Brenda Lee at The Cave Supper Club in Vancouver, wanting her to hear a song he’d written with the hope that she would record it. He ended up becoming good friends with Brenda and her manager, Dub Allbritten who was one of the biggest managers in Nashville. Besides Brenda, he had worked with Red Foley, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, and Roy Orbison just to name a few. He also had co-written Brenda’s huge hit “I’m Sorry”. Dub offered to manage The Chessmen and got them a recording contract in the U.S. with Mercury Records. They recorded four songs in Nashville with producer Jerry Kennedy who had produced Roger Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Charlie Rich among many other famous artists.

It was an incredible step forward for the band. It was almost unheard of at the time for a little Canadian band with moderate success going to Nashville to record, and being signed to a major record label with one of the biggest managers and most prominent producers in Nashville.

In September 1965, The Chessmen made their way down to Nashville for a recording session via a Greyhound bus. New drummer Myles Kingan and electric accordion (Chordovox) player Bruce Peterson had since become members of the band.

Bruce Peterson was well known among the other band members for his dry sense of humour and the trip to Nashville was no exception. He had brought along a small box, wrapped up very carefully. As people walked by him on the bus they would ask him what was in the box. He told them that it was his pet aardvark. During the trip, when the bus entered a tunnel somewhere in Colorado, he stood up suddenly and announced loudly that his aardvark had escaped. Astonished passengers on the bus lifted up their feet as he pretended to search the bus for his fictional pet, which of course was never found.

Once in Nashville, the band was put up by the record company at a sleazy motel, where they all had to share a room. The walls in the room were full of holes and huge cockroaches had infested them; so the guys sprayed shaving cream into the holes to prevent the cockroaches from coming out. However, now it turned out even worse. These monster cockroaches would emerge from the walls, covered in shaving cream, and would run around the floor all night long! Guy’s memories in Nashville included buying Beatle boots and striped pants, and visiting Hank Snow’s guitar store.

Mercury had booked the group into Fred Fosters studio, where many famous hits had been recorded including all of Roy Orbison’s records. During the recording session, the group found it amusing that their producer Jerry Kennedy kept going to the vending machine, throughout the session, purchasing peanut butter filled Ritz crackers, which he seemed addicted to.

Following the session on September 16th and 17th, the band returned to a busy schedule in Vancouver. On September 24th they played the The Beach Boys show along with Charlie Rich and The Castaways at the PNE gardens. On November 5th they played with Buddy Knox, then toured the dance halls and high school circuit, and on November 28th ended up doing a show with Roy Orbison at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

The songs they had just recorded on their first trip to Nashville “Love Didn’t Die” b/w “You Lost Your Game” were released in December 1965 on Mercury Records. On December 29th the band played with Gary Lewis and The Playboys in Vancouver.

With new members Al Weirtz and Larry Borisoff.
With new members Al Weirtz and Larry Borisoff.

Chessmen Mercury 45 What's Causing This Sensation

Chessmen C-Fun chart May 7, 1966

On February 25th 1966, The Chessmen returned to Nashville for two sessions. This time the record company had booked them a flight to Nashville. Larry Borisoff, a new member on this trip, replaced Bill Lockie on bass guitar and also helped out on vocals.

While waiting for a connecting flight at the airport in Chicago, a drunken Jacks bet the guys he could get a bottle of rum from the bar without being seen. But the bartender spotted him as he swiped the bottle and he fled, running down the wrong way on the escalator to escape. In the parking lot he ditched the booze and jumped into a surprised girl’s car to hide. Although he wasn’t caught, the delay caused the band to miss their connecting flight to Nashville.

When they finally arrived, The Chessmen cut what was to be their last single “What’s Causing This Sensation” b/w “For Running Wild” which was released in April, 1966 on Mercury Records. Prior to the session Guy Sobell had shown up looking a bit pale, he had apparently been hit by a car outside the studio. Although shaken, he wasn’t seriously injured and proceeded to record his solo in “What’s Causing This Sensation”.

On the flight home from Nashville, drummer Miles Kingan passed out having had a bit too much to drink prior to leaving the airport. Terry and Guy remember pulling down his pants and putting his hand down his underwear, then calling the stewardess and complaining that Miles was acting in an obscene manner. The stewardess woke him up and told him to get his act together or she would have to report him to the pilot.

Upon their return, The Chessmen continued touring across British Columbia with their new drummer Duris Maxwell, their fifth and final drummer. Guy recalls the time when someone threw a beer bottle at Duris while the group was playing in Victoria. Duris stopped playing, walked up to the front where Jacks was singing and said “Whoever threw that bottle would you please come up to the stage”. Despite his polite request, he did not look like a guy you would want to mess with and no one responded.

The Chessmen’s final gig was in Ladner, British Columbia on July 15th 1966 where the band was paid $180 to play. Terry and Guy recall that there was a lot of drinking before the performance. Local mobile sound engineer Douglas Gyseman (aka Kurtis Vanel) recorded the last gig. (Two of these tracks plus a bonus track that he recorded appear on the Chessmen Collection CD).

The break-up of The Chessmen occurred after Guy’s father gave him a choice of either going to London University (because Guy was quite “a brilliant guy”) or getting out of the house and continuing music with Jacks. He chose University. Checkmate.

While in England, he met Jimi Hendrix who purchased his white Fender Stratocaster guitar for £80. When asked in a 1966 Chatelaine Magazine interview if success had changed The Chessmen in any way, Jacks replied, “No, we all still eat raw eggs for breakfast!”

A CD of British Columbia’s Chessmen re-mastered from the original master tapes under the supervision of Terry Jacks contains their eight rare single sides, plus bonus tracks of the group live at their last concert in 1966 and a previously unreleased demo of ‘You Lost Your Game’. Fans of tough garage sounds will dig the never-before-heard “No Blood in Bone”.

3’s a Crowd

3s a Crowd Dunhill promotional photo
1967, l-r: Trevor Veitch, David Wiffen, Brent Titcomb, Donna Warner, Richard Patterson and Ken Koblun

The vibrant music scene that existed in Canada during the ‘60s has rarely been given the exposure it merits. Undoubtedly, the Canadian music industry must shoulder much of the blame. Not only did it actively discourage the flowering of homegrown acts, but the fact that American-based, Canadian artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and The Band have proven they are the equal of their American and British contemporaries, underlines what can be achieved with industry support. For those who chose not to base themselves in the US, the prospect of international acclaim was slight, which may explain why the folk-rock outfit 3’s a Crowd have remained an obscurity outside Canada.The original 3’s a Crowd line-up was formed in Vancouver in the summer of 1964, when folk singer, guitarist and comedian Brent Titcomb (b. 10 August 1940, Vancouver, British Columbia) joined forces with singer Donna Warner (b. 23 May 1946, Edmonton, Alberta).

Of the two, Titcomb had the more established career, having spent the best part of the early ‘60s frequenting the city’s folk clubs, where he combined traditional folk songs with a comedy routine. (On several occasions he would book himself at two clubs on the same night; after performing as a folk singer at the first, he would then drive to the next to perform as a comedian, often under the names “Uncle Roy Plain” and “Dr Mezner”.)

Titcomb’s stage act soon attracted the attention of performer Oscar Brand, and in early 1964 he was invited to perform at the world famous Calgary Stampede, which is where he befriended Donna Warner, currently singing with The Kopala Trio. Warner’s musical accomplishments were somewhat different to Titcomb’s, having spent much of her youth singing in a number of choirs in her native Edmonton. (Her grandfather incidentally, had been a choirmaster in Glasgow.) The pair nevertheless, had a lot in common (a mutual love of folk music and a “very quirky sense of humour”) and made arrangements to meet up in Vancouver once Warner had finished high school that summer.

The Calgary gathering proved to be notable in more ways than one, however. During a visit to the city’s premier folk den, the Depression, Titcomb and Warner were introduced to singer/songwriter David Wiffen (b. 11 March 1942, Sydenham, Kent, England), who would feature prominently in 3’s a Crowd’s story in later years. A love of folk music again provided a common bond but their paths ultimately diverged as Titcomb and Warner duly headed west to Vancouver.

Once there, the pair quickly became regulars at Les Stork’s Bunkhouse, a coffeehouse where Warner worked as a waitress and performed on “open mike” nights with Titcomb. On a number of occasions, guitarist Trevor Veitch (b. 19 May 1946, Vancouver, British Columbia) joined in, and his proficiency on the instrument so impressed them that the three of them decided to form a group. They also took part in after-hours get-togethers with local and visiting musicians in what were essentially “kitchen jams”.

The newly established trio quickly set about grooming their act, which mixed comic routines with the folk songs of the day. Around January of the following year, the group officially debuted at the Bunkhouse coffeehouse under the oddly titled moniker, The Bill Schwartz Quartet. Apparently the name was Titcomb’s idea – the group apologised all weekend for Bill’s absence until the very last song of the last set on the last night when Titcomb’s high school buddy “King Anderson” showed up on stage wearing an eye patch and joined in on harmonica.

Understandably the club owners were not amused, after all they had been led to believe that a quartet would be playing and had paid for one accordingly. A new name was deemed necessary, and on hearing the group’s conversation, Anderson pitched in: “Two’s company and three’s a crowd.” The band adopted the name immediately.

The first reference to the trio’s new name appears to have been in June 1965, when the group was pictured on the front of the local TV Times. The band’s sudden rise to fame was no doubt due to a series of shows at the Ark two months earlier, where it had performed with local jazz double bass player Danny Schultz. (The group’s performance caused quite a stir and was impressive enough in fact for the organisers to record some of the shows.)

The next logical step was to move lock, stock and barrel to Toronto, the epicentre of the Canadian music scene, and in a propitious move, the group sent a demo tape to Sid Dolgay, formerly a member of Canada’s premier folk group The Travellers. Dolgay had recently formed his own management company, Universal Performing Artists (UPA), and was on the lookout for new talent. Suitably impressed by the group’s tape, he invited them to Toronto to perform some engagements and shortly afterwards signed the trio.

Although they didn’t know it at the time, Toronto would become 3’s a Crowd’s home for the next three years. While there the group would become a regular fixture at the city’s renowned Riverboat club and a popular live attraction on the folk circuit.

The best part of late 1965/early 1966 was spent touring the length and breadth of the country, largely as a trio (the group could rarely afford the luxury to pay supporting musicians). Nevertheless on a few occasions, former Bad Seeds bass player Brian Ahern (later Emmylou Harris’s producer and second husband) joined the band to add a little muscle.

By the spring of 1966, however, 3’s a Crowd’s following was such that a full-time bass player was a distinct possibility. The scene was changing too, and the impact of The Byrds and Bob Dylan’s new brand of “electric folk” couldn’t be ignored.

Consequently, the group enlisted the services of bass player Kenny Koblun (b. 7 May 1946, Winnipeg, Manitoba) during early March. A former member of Neil Young’s high school band The Squires (and later Four To Go), Koblun would prove to be a transient musician in the 3’s a Crowd story. His various comings and goings were marked by personal problems, and in many ways his relationship with the band was not that dissimilar to his contemporary in Buffalo Springfield, Bruce Palmer.

The Buffalo Springfield in fact provided a useful link. Koblun’s relationship with that band would remain close, and within a month of joining 3’s a Crowd, he was tempted away by an offer to join Stephen Stills and Richie Furay in an embryonic version of that band. (Koblun and Young had befriended Stills the previous year, when Stills’s group The Company shared the bill with The Squires.)

As Koblun told rock historian John Einarson: “Stills called me and told me that I should come down to California to join his band.” Which is what Koblun did, but the arrangement proved to be brief: “I spent a week with Stills and Furay but nothing was happening. I had to make a decision. I had twenty dollars in my pocket. Either spend it on food and stay with Stills in California, or spend it on a taxi fare to LA airport and the manager from 3’s a Crowd was going to pay for my ticket back to Toronto. So that was what I did.” (Unknown to everyone concerned, Young and Palmer were on their way to LA to meet up with Stills and Furay as Koblun was on his way out.)

Back with 3’s a Crowd, Koblun lasted long enough to appear with the group for a taping of the highly-rated TV programme The Juliette Show, before dropping out after an engagement at the Raven’s Gallery in Detroit in mid-April.

In his place the group enlisted bass player Comrie Smith (b. 29 September 1945, Toronto, Ontario), who ironically also shared a Neil Young connection. Smith and Young had in fact been high school friends at Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute in Toronto from 1959-1961.

When The Squires relocated to Toronto in mid-1965, they spent a brief period playing together and made some rough demos of Young’s songs in Smith’s attic. After Young moved on, Smith took some of his songs to Arc Records but nothing came of it at the time. However, some of these songs, including “Casting Me Away From You”, “Hello Lonely Woman” and “There Goes My Babe” have finally surfaced on the first installment of Neil Young’s Archives series.

Smith’s enlistment brought stability to 3’s a Crowd and in the latter half of 1966 the band was awarded its first Juno (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) for best folk group of the year, a distinction it would also enjoy the following year.

The Juno award undoubtedly raised the group’s profile and in September of that year 3’s a Crowd won a short-term deal with Epic Records in New York. Initially, the label promised to record four singles but in the event only one was completed at the first session with Toronto producer Ben McPeek and New Yorker Bob Morgan. Drums, bass and a horn section were added later to fill out the sound.

3's a Crowd Epic PS

The Pacers promotional card
The Pacers promotional card

David Wiffen at the Bunkhouse Coffeehouse LP

David Wiffen at the Bunkhouse Coffeehouse LP back cover

Bruce Cockburn with The Flying Circus, November 1967 poster
Bruce Cockburn with The Flying Circus, November 1967
Bruce Cockburn, early 1968
Bruce Cockburn, early 1968

The result was the catchy folk-rocker “Bound To Fly” written by black American songwriter Len Chandler, coupled with a cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Steel Rail Blues”. The single was given a Canadian release on 24 October, and (according to Billboardin January 1967) was even issued in Britain, making it the band’s sole UK outing and a rarity at that. (The single finally peaked at #34 on the Canadian RPM chart and proved to be the group’s biggest hit.)By the time the single appeared Koblun was back in the fold, having played with American singer Carolyn Hester in the interim. His second stint, however, barely lasted out the year. On this occasion it was a desperate call from his old friend Neil Young, which led to his third departure in less than a year.

In early January, while Buffalo Springfield were performing in New York, Canadian Bruce Palmer had been arrested on marijuana charges and summarily deported. The others headed back to LA but with tour dates to honour, an immediate replacement was required. Young naturally suggested his former cohort – and it certainly helped that Koblun was familiar with Stills and Furay. It seemed a perfect arrangement and yet perhaps predictably, Koblun’s tenure with the group proved to be short-lived. While Koblun was under the impression that he was joining the band, the others merely thought he was “filling in”, until Palmer sorted out his problems and returned. After only three weeks, Koblun was asked to leave and returned somewhat despondently to Toronto.

3’s a Crowd meanwhile, re-enlisted Comrie Smith, who appears to have acted as a sort of “all-utility man” for whenever Koblun was absent. Amid all this activity, the band returned to New York to record a follow-up single with A&R man Ted Cooper. The result, the comedy single “Honey Machine” c/w “When The Sun Goes Down”, was quickly disowned by the trio, who fell out with Epic over the label’s marketing of the band. (The label saw the group as a sort of novelty/comedy act, which was not the image the trio wanted to project.) In the end, 3’s a Crowd severed their ties with Epic and the single thankfully died a quick death.

Back in Canada, 3’s a Crowd resumed gigging and at Ottawa’s Le Hibou coffeehouse (most likely for shows between 28 March-2 April) reunited with David Wiffen, who was singing in a local group called The Children.

His next move was to join a local beat group called The Pacers, who were soon offered a recording deal in Montreal. Trekking east, the group soon discovered that the promise of a deal had been a smokescreen; the company merely looking for an excuse to milk the group for all its worth. Wiffen and the others were subsequently obliged to slog it out on the local club scene, which at the time was very exhausting (8pm-3am, seven nights a week!). A lone single on RCA Victor – “I Want You Back” c/w “Windjammer”, turned up in late 1965 but it’s not clear whether Wiffen appears on it.

The others soon lost heart and returned home, while Wiffen moved to Ottawa, after hearing about the folk scene based around the Le Hibou coffeehouse. Before long he was invited to join the city’s premier folk-rock group, The Children, which at that time featured aspiring singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn (b. 25 May 1945, Ottawa, Ontario) and drummer Richard Patterson (b. 20 September 1944, Ottawa, Ontario), both of whom would feature greatly throughout his career. Wiffen and Patterson struck up a rapport and when 3’s a Crowd enquired about Wiffen’s services, he was keen to champion Patterson as a drummer.

His erstwhile colleague’s background was also distinguished. During the early ‘60s Patterson had played in Canada’s answer to Cliff Richard & The Shadows, The Esquires, who incidentally were one of Neil Young’s favourite groups. The Esquires had cut a number of singles for EMI/Capitol Records during the early to mid-‘60s. The Esquires had also produced Canada’s first professional music video and been voted Top Pop Vocal & Instrumental Group of 1964.

The addition of Wiffen and Patterson in April 1967 was to all intents, the turning point in the band’s career. Patterson’s solid drumming strengthened the group’s overall sound, while Wiffen’s attractive baritone (not dissimilar to Fred Neil’s), provided an interesting counterpoint to Warner’s voice and boosted the group’s overall appeal immeasurably. They also brought with them much of The Children’s material, which by the standards of the day was excellent.

With Wiffen and Patterson aboard, the “expanded” group made its debut on the popular afternoon show Take 30 where, according to Patterson, host Paul Soales spent most of the interview asking Wiffen and himself why they had joined an established act instead of forming a new band of their own.

The exposure generated by the show nonetheless helped 3’s a Crowd to break out of the Canadian market. An important engagement at Steve Paul’s prestigious New York club, the Scene from 15-21 May was quickly arranged, while the band also made regular visits to the Back Porch Club in Columbus, Ohio. Another important showcase from that period was the annual Mariposa Folk Festival (Canada’s answer to Newport), held at Innis Lake near Toronto on 11-13 August.

The festival, featuring the cream of Canada’s folk community, reached a watershed in its history that year; 1967 was not only the last year before the festival moved to its present location on Toronto Island, but was also the first to feature electric instruments. The inclusion of local groups 3’s a Crowd and Kensington Market reflected this growing acceptance of “electric folk”, and was an acknowledgement of the folk-rock scene emerging in Canada.

As important as Mariposa was, however, it would be eclipsed that summer by the world famous Expo Exhibition being staged in Montreal. 3’s a Crowd had been spotted performing at the Riverboat by one of the entertainment co-ordinators for the Ontario Pavilion and were subsequently allocated a slot at the Pavillion in late August and early September.

Prior to this, the group concluded a two-week engagement at the Le Hibou coffeehouse (27 July-6 August), after which Smith left to make way for a returning Ken Koblun, who no doubt was in a better frame of mind. In the intervening months since leaving Buffalo Springfield, Koblun had been playing with Elyse Wienberg’s O.D Bodkins and Company, but was eager to re-establish his position in his former group. For 3’s a Crowd, Montreal’s Expo ’67 was the premier event of the summer and the one that ultimately bagged the all-important record deal.

3's a Crowd at Mama Cass's house, l-r: Richard, Ken, Trevor, Brent and David. Donna on the floor
3’s a Crowd at Mama Cass’s house, l-r: Richard, Ken, Trevor, Brent and David. Donna on the floor

In a fortuitous twist of fate, a friend in LA had asked Warner’s boyfriend (at that time one of the promoters of Toronto’s first mini outdoor music festival) to accompany Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty of The Mamas and the Papas on a visit to Expo. What’s more, he also asked him to make sure they had everything they desired. Warner’s man not only kept his word, but also ensured that Elliot and Doherty were escorted to the Pavilion as 3’s a Crowd took the stage.Though Doherty clearly enjoyed his old friend’s group, it was Elliot, who, according to Patterson “saw a possible career opportunity for herself as a producer” for 3’s a Crowd. Enthused by their performance, she contacted Jay Lasker, President of ABC Dunhill, to rave about her new find and Lasker asked for a demo tape to be forwarded to him immediately.

For the purposes of recording the demo, Harvey Glatt (who Patterson says “owned most of the publishing of the new songs the group was performing” and had managed The Esquires and The Children) hired out Bell Studios in New York in mid-September. He also commissioned his friend Rick Shorter (The Paupers’s debut album being among his credits) to produce the three songs. While in New York, the band continued to work showcase dates, before returning to play at the Canadian Pavilion Feature stage at Expo ‘67.

Then finally, after what seemed a lifetime, a call came through to Sid Dolgay that the group was expected in Los Angeles as soon as possible to sign a deal and begin recording. Abetted by David McLeod, previously the talent co-ordinator and liaison for the Ontario Pavilion, and now acting as the band’s road manager, 3’s a Crowd flew out to LA for a month’s work in mid-October.

For Patterson in particular the group’s arrival in LA brings back fond memories: “Dunhill sent a couple of limos direct to the plane’s staircase and a photographer covered the arrival for the record label. As a matter of fact part of the arrival was…a photo shoot where we had to parade up and down the staircase a couple of times, and cavort around the tarmac waving our hands to the then non-existent cheering fans.”

The group was then driven to a small but comfortable Beverly Hills hotel round the corner from Dunhill’s offices, which according to Patterson “had a wonderful in-house restaurant where we non-suntanned northerners could order a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for a mere fifty cents.”

Sessions began soon afterwards at Studio 3, Western Recorders on Sunset Boulevard with engineer Chuck Britz assisting Elliot. However, as Patterson recalls, after a week in the studio, “Cass lost interest in the every day of it” and by end of the week, Dunhill staff producer Steve Barri (PF Sloan’s writing partner) was in charge. (When the album came out though Elliot was credited as co-producer, perhaps in recognition of the fact that she had discovered the band.)

The first week was also notable for the presence of top session drummer Hal Blaine, who was brought in, according to Patterson, to “size my talent up”. Patterson didn’t know it but in those days the majority of sessions with bands included the use of top studio drummers sitting in with the group. Patterson needn’t have worried though; Blaine was bowled over by his playing and offered the use of his equipment stored in the studio’s basement! As the sessions progressed, the band also found time to play a few local dates including a performance at the student union, UCLA on 20 October; a photo of which found its way onto the back cover of their album later in the year.

Photographs from 3’s a Crowd’s arrival at the airport plus a group visit to Western Costume Company were also slated for the album’s cover and inside collage. In the latter case the band spent a morning looking at various catalogues of photos in the company’s inventory before choosing their favourites. In the end, Veitch decided on a white set of tails once worn by Fred Astaire, while Warner picked one of Maid Marion’s dresses from a Robin Hood film. Titcomb’s choice was a First World War fighter pilot’s uniform. Koblun, on the other hand, dressed in an old policeman’s outfit, while Patterson chose a 1930s full-piece bathing outfit and Wiffen dressed as a New York Irish boxing coach! A final photo taken at Elliot’s house (with 3’s a Crowd decked out on her sofa) after a dinner party held for the band one evening was also picked out for use.

Back in Toronto, the band embarked on a frenzy of activity, the highlight of which, was a television special for the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) called Our Kind Of Crowd. The show, aired from coast to coast, boosted the group’s credentials and also provided a platform for their chosen guests, comedian Richard Pryor and up and coming singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell; both relatively unknown at the time but soon destined for greater things.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about 3’s a Crowd; although the TV show was clearly a great success and bode well for the future, the group’s career was about to grind to an unwelcomed halt.

Ironically, the recent success proved to be the group’s ultimate undoing. The pressures of touring were as Patterson concedes “taking its toll on both Donna and Kenny”, and following a stint at the Riverboat during December, Koblun quit for the fourth and final time, suffering from nervous exhaustion.

He subsequently returned to Winnipeg and enrolled on a computer course at the city’s university. In the early ‘70s he briefly ventured back into music, playing with a few local groups, before trading in his bass for a career in computers. He currently lives in San Francisco.

In his place 3’s a Crowd recruited bass player Wayne Davis (b. 28 April 1946, Toronto, Ontario) from R&B outfit Bobby Kris and The Imperials, and before that Just Us.

As Patterson reveals, however, Koblun was not the only member to succumb to the pressures on the road. Donna Warner also struggled to cope with the heavy workload and on a number of occasions was too ill to perform. During the group’s Expo stint the previous summer, Ottawa-based singer Colleen Peterson (b. 14 November 1950, Peterborough, Ontario) had ably covered for Warner and would continue to do so at intervals throughout early 1968. In this way Peterson’s role bore an uncanny resemblance to Comrie Smith’s earlier in the year.

Peterson, another of Harvey Glatt’s protégés was a respected singer on the folk circuit and in 1967 had won a Juno award for most promising new vocalist. More importantly, she was well acquainted with the band’s repertoire, having been closely associated with The Children. She was, as Patterson points out, “a natural choice”.

3's a Crowd Australian RCA PS Bird Without Wings - Coat of Colours
A rare Australian pressing!

3's a Crowd RCA Victor 45 Bird Without Wings

3's a Crowd in early 1969. Clockwise from front: Colleen, Dennis, Richard, Bruce and David.
3’s a Crowd in early 1969. Clockwise from front: Colleen, Dennis, Richard, Bruce and David.

3’s a Crowd spent most of early 1968 showcasing the album, which had yet to be given a Canadian release. The “expanded” group’s debut single, a cover of Bruce Cockburn’s catchy “Bird Without Wings” was issued in early February (and even gained an Australian release!). Its relative success (peaking at #61 on the RPM chart) coincided with a tour of Western Canada, featuring memorable dates at the Simon Fraser University on 28 February and the Retinal Circus in Vancouver from 1-2 March.The band then headed back to the US West Coast for a series of dates at the Ice House in Glendale from 5-17 March supported by folk singer couple Jim & Jean. Patterson remembers Neil Young showing up in his Austin Mini Cooper one afternoon, perhaps hoping to catch his old buddy Ken Koblun. Young subsequently invited the group to an informal jam at Stephen Stills’s girlfriend’s house in Topanga Canyon a few days later, and the events that followed were to become the stuff of legend.

As Patterson recalls the car (containing Jim & Jean, Titcomb, Warner and himself) was stopped by the police on route to the party and its occupants presented with a fait accompli; either reverse and go home or carry on and be arrested with the other party goes at the house. (The police had just raided the house and in the ensuing drama three members of the Buffalo Springfield and Eric Clapton had been arrested on suspected drug charges.) Patterson and company returned home, narrowly avoiding one of rock music’s most famous drug busts.

In retrospect the Topanga Canyon episode signaled the end of The Buffalo Springfield, and 3’s a Crowd’s career was about to take a similar path. Back in Canada, the group was joined by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for a memorable performance at Massey Hall, where the group debuted the album in its entirety with full orchestration, an act never to be repeated. However, Warner’s declining health could not be ignored and following some final dates at Toronto’s Friars Tavern in early May, she left the group just as the album Christopher’s Movie Matinee hit the shops.

The record, though far from being a long lost classic, is still a wonderful collection, which holds up surprisingly well today. The highlights include the sprightly folk-rockers “Drive You Away”, (penned by Wiffen), and “Bird Without Wings”, plus the melancholic ballad “Cotton Candy Man”, the latter also emanating from Bruce Cockburn, who contributed two other songs to the collection. The album’s real gem (as far as this listener is concerned), however, is the band’s haunting version of Bill Hawkins’s (of The Children) “Gnostic Serenade”, which shows how gifted a singer Wiffen is.

At the time, the record was largely ignored, although Billboard did run a brief review earlier in the year: “The music is good, alive and invigorating. It won’t take long for this group to make a solid dent on the best seller charts.”

Review of Electrocution of the Word, inexplicably referred to as "Explosion of the Universe" in this review, Ottawa Journal, August 30, 1968.
Review of Electrocution of the Word, inexplicably referred to as “Explosion of the Universe” in this review, Ottawa Journal, August 30, 1968.

And perhaps it would have had there been a group to support it, but as Patterson points out, when Warner left, Titcomb and Veitch lost interest in the band and were not prepared to put things on hold while she recuperated.But if Titcomb and Veitch were no longer in the picture, there were still commitments to be honoured; Sid Dolgay’s two investors in the group – Harvey Glatt and Toronto film producer Sid Banks were intent on pushing the band. (There was outstanding debt to be paid off and a recently issued album to promote.)

As a result a new version of the band was formed in Ottawa during the summer comprising David Wiffen and Richard Patterson alongside some old and familiar faces.

Former Children members Bruce Cockburn and Sandy Crawley (b. 7 December 1947, Ottawa, Ontario), the son of independent filmmaker Budge Crawley, who made the rock documentary Janis, were drafted in alongside Colleen Peterson.

The new group was completed with bass player Dennis Pendrith (b. 13 September 1949, Toronto, Ontario), who had been in Cockburn’s last band Olivus, and before that had played with Simon Caine & The Catch, Luke & The Apostles and the short-lived group Livingstone’s Journey.

In the midst of all these changes, RCA Victor belatedly released a second single from the album, a cover of Dino Valenti’s “Let’s Get Together” backed by “Drive You Away”, which stalled at #70 on the RPM charts.

The new line-up quickly returned to the road, spending the best part of the summer supporting The Turtles and Gary Puckett & The Union Gap on their Canadian dates.

During this period 3’s a Crowd found time to record a recent Bruce Cockburn composition “Electrocution of The Word”, and Glatt subsequently produced a video to accompany it, which ran at Ottawa’s Teen Pavilion as part of the Canada Exhibition.

Amid all this activity, 3’s a Crowd were hired by Sid Banks to provide the youth element to a new TV series that he had been commissioned to produce called One More Time, hosted by Broadway actor/singer Gilbert Price. Twenty-six episodes were recorded for the first series during the late summer and the band were asked to perform two/three songs per show. (The majority of the music on the show was Broadway hits and guest slots by a few other pop groups, but it was one way for Banks to recoup some of his investment in the band.)

The series was a reasonable success and was renewed for another season with a second batch of taping in the winter. Banks, however, felt that the group’s songs were, according to Patterson, “too alternative for the audience” and pitched the idea of “putting a pop arrangement to some of the top Broadway tunes”. 3’s a Crowd were understandably reticent about such an undertaking but in the end came up with some rather unusual renditions of songs such as “Mack The Knife”.

Donna Warner (middle) singing on Jay Telfer's Perch album sessions, spring 1969
Donna Warner (middle) singing on Jay Telfer’s Perch album sessions, spring 1969

After the TV series ended in early 1969, the band was offered a spring tour of the US college and university circuit. Crawley, who was more intent on pursuing an acting career opted out leaving the others to fulfil what essentially were 3’s a Crowd’s final dates.The last engagement at Columbia in South Carolina was a low-key affair and summed up the group’s career in a nutshell. They had never been a highly touted band and yet the degree of talent within the group, when looked at retrospectively, would suggest that they deserved a lot more recognition than they did.

Since the group’s final split, the band’s members have, collectively, produced a remarkable body of work. Cockburn undoubtedly has maintained the most visible profile; with close to thirty albums, and a top thirty US hit in “Wondering Where The Lions Are” to his credit, he has produced a wealth of material that surpasses many of his (better-known) ‘60s contemporaries.

Titcomb also emerged as a solo artist (producing three albums for small Canadian labels), but is perhaps best known for his songwriting skills. Canada’s popular country singer Anne Murray recorded many of his songs, including “Sing High, Sing Low” and “I Still Wish The Very Best For You”. Besides this, Titcomb has also made a habit of cropping up in the most unlikely places. He made a cameo appearance in the popular TV series Due South, and has also done voice-overs for cartoon programmes The Care Bears and Clifford The Dog. If that weren’t enough he has produced song jingles for radio and television, appeared in a TV commercial for Canadian Tire and been featured on a commemorative postage stamp acknowledging the corporation’s 75th Anniversary! His son Liam Titcomb has also established himself as a singer/songwriter of note.

Peterson, who died of cancer in October 1996, also found success after leaving 3’s a Crowd. Her first notable recording was with the New York group Taking Care of Business, who released a lone album, Open For Business on Traffic Records in 1969. In the mid-‘70s she became a popular country singer in Nashville and recorded a string of albums for Capitol. She later returned to Canada and enjoyed a hit with a cover of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”. Shortly before she died Peterson was involved in the first LP by Sylvia Tyson’s band The Quartette.

Her predecessor Donna Warner kept a low profile but did make a guest appearance on Jay Telfer’s unreleased album Perch in mid-1969, singing backing vocals. She subsequently appeared on an album with Tommy Banks Century II productions in the early ‘70s and currently resides in Edmonton where she sings in a local choir at a local cancer care facility.

Veitch, like his erstwhile colleagues also found belated success. For a while, he became American singer/songwriter Tom Rush’s right-hand man, but when the duo parted in the mid-‘70s he headed for LA where he has lived ever since. Veitch is perhaps the most unlikely member of the group to find success as a songwriter, and yet no one could quite have foreseen the level of success that was generated from Laura Brannigan’s “Gloria” and Toni Basil’s “Mickey”, both co-penned by Veitch. He has also found a niche for himself as a session player, appearing on albums by artists as diverse as Pink Floyd, Madonna, Frank Sinatra and Luther Vandross. And then there is also his work on film soundtracks, such as Pretty Woman and Top Gun.

Dennis Pendrith also followed the session path. One of Canada’s top session musicians, he also plays with The Bebop Cowboys, while Patterson recorded a lone single with Canada Goose, a cover of Jackie Wilson’s hit “Higher and Higher” for the New York based Tonsil Records, which reached #44 on the RPM charts. He subsequently joined forces with Tom Rush and Ian and Sylvia Tyson’s Great Speckled Bird before working for The Canadian Broadcasting Company for 16 years.And finally there is David Wiffen, who, despite a loyal following in Canada, has remained something of an obscurity elsewhere. That is a huge injustice as his solo work is easily comparable to many of his oft-cited contemporaries. Like Nick Drake and David Ackles, Wiffen has only produced a handful of recordings, yet that has not prevented his songs from being widely covered by many highly respected artists.

Following the break up of 3’s a Crowd, Wiffen paid his way down to Oakland, California to record his second solo album after bagging a recording deal with Fantasy Records. The label – best known for Credence Clearwater Revival – arranged for Wiffen to work with former Youngbloods guitarist Jerry Corbitt, and although Wiffen was able to invite along Sandy Crawley, most of the players were unfamiliar to him. This caused some problems as the record was later finished without his involvement and the master tapes were reportedly damaged. Not only that but only promotional copies were made available in the US. The record did see a Canadian release, but copies are now extremely scarce, and the record has only been re-issued (by Italian label Comet Records’ subsidiary Akarma Records), despite containing his best known songs “Drivin’ Wheel”, “More Often Than Not” and “Mr Wiffen”.

The distribution problems in the US were certainly frustrating but at least Wiffen had the consolation that his work was being covered by the likes of Tom Rush, Roger McGuinn, Ian & Sylvia Tyson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Eric Anderson and Harry Belafonte.

Wiffen’s influence also is evident in more contemporary artists; “Drivin’ Wheel” has become an integral part of The Cowboy Junkies’ live sets. This renewed interest in his work has led to the recording of his first solo album since 1973’s highly acclaimed Coast To Coast Fever album which saw Wiffen collaborate with former 3’s a Crowd members Bruce Cockburn and Dennis Pendrith. His latest album, which is entitled South of Somewhere, includes a number of reworked versions of Wiffen’s “classic” songs plus some new material.

3’s a Crowd’s career meanwhile may finally receive the recognition that it deserves. Richard Patterson has been busy working on a compilation album mixing the band’s album and early singles with later live material, which has previously been unreleased. The CD compilation has yet to see the light of day.

Nevertheless, the respect given to group members Bruce Cockburn and David Wiffen mean that the band will always be held with affection by those who witnessed the group play in Canada during the mid-late ‘60s.

David Wiffen Coast to Coast Fever LP

Christopher's Movie Matinee Canadian mono RCA Victor LP side 1
Christopher’s Movie Matinee Canadian mono RCA Victor LP
Christopher's Movie Matinee US stereo promo LP on Dunhill side B
US stereo promo LP on Dunhill

Recordings

45 Bound To Fly/Steel Rail Blues (Epic 5-10073) 1966
45 Honey Machine/When The Sun Goes Down (Epic 5-10151) 1967
45 Bird Without Wings/Coat of Colours (RCA Victor 4120) 1967
45 Bird Without Wings/Coat of Colours (Dunhill D-4120) 1968 (US release)
45 Let’s Get Together/Drive You Away (RCA Victor 4131) 1968
45 Let’s Get Together/Drive You Away (Dunhill D-4131) 1968(US release)
LP Christopher’s Movie Matinee (RCA Victor DS-50030) 1968 (Canadian ‘mono’ copy)
LP Christopher’s Movie Matinee (Dunhill DS-50030) 1968 (US release)Advertised gigs

November 14-20 1965 – 4-D, Regina, Saskatchwan
November 21-December 4 1965 – Esquire Club, Saskatoon
December 12-23 1965 – Guiseppe’s, Edmonton
January 6-19 1966 – Brass Rail, Halifax, Nova Scotia
March 1-6 1966 – Le Hibou, Ottawa
March 17-20 1966 – 4-D, Regina
March 29 1966 – Riverboat, Toronto
April 5-10 1966 – Riverboat, Toronto
April 19-21 1966 – Raven’s Gallery, Detroit
April 23-28 1966 – Riverboat, Toronto
February 24-26 1967 – Le Hibou, Ottawa
February 28-March 5 1967 – Le Hibou, Ottawa
March 28-April 2 1967 – Le Hibou, Ottawa
May 15-21 1967 – Steve Paul’s The Scene with Dianne Brooks, Eric Mercury and The Soul Searchers
July 27-30 1967 – Le Hibou, Ottawa
August 1-6 1967 – Le Hibou, Ottawa
August 11-13 1967 – Mariposa Folk Festival, Toronto
August 17-September 8 1967 – Expo ’67 Exhibition, Ontario Pavilion, Montreal
September 1967 – Steve Paul’s The Scene, New York with Lothar & The Hand People
October 2-9 1967 – Canadian Pavilion, Expo ‘67 Montreal
October 20 1967 – Student union, UCLA, Los Angeles
November 11 1967 – Neil McNeil’s High School, Toronto
November 13-25 1967 – Granny’s, Walker House Hotel, Toronto
December 2 1967 – Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
December 19-24 1967 – Riverboat, Toronto
January 1968 – Lawrence Park Collegiate, Toronto
February 28 1968 – Simon Fraser University, Vancouver
March 1-2 1968 – Retinal Circus, Vancouver
March 5-17 1968 – Ice House, Glendale, California with Jim & Jean
March 29 1968 – Massey Hall, Toronto
April 22-May 4 1968 – Friars Tavern, Toronto
May 14-18 1968 – Le Hibou, Ottawa
November 19-24 1968 – Le Hibou, Ottawa
January 16-18 1969 – Pornographic Onion, Toronto

The article would not have been possible without the generous help of John Einarson and particularly Richard Patterson, who interviewed the band members. Thanks also to Graham Wiffen, Donna Warner, Sandy Crawley, Brent Titcomb and Trevor Veitch for their input. Thank you to Ivan Amirault for the scans from RPM.

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

Email: Warchive@aol.com

3's a Crowd Bird Without Wings US promotional sleeve on Dunhill

US promotional sleeve

3's a Crowd rare German RCA Victor PS
Rare German sleeve
RPM, Sept 26, 1966
RPM, Sept 26, 1966
RPM, Oct 24, 1966
RPM, Oct 24, 1966
RPM, February 24, 1968
RPM, February 24, 1968
RPM, March 3, 1968
RPM, March 3, 1968

The 2 x 2 of Kelowna

Bernie Prost, drummer for the British Columbia band 2 x 2, knocked me out when he sent me five unreleased songs the band cut in 1967. If a 45 had been released of Jim Davidson’s originals, “By and By” and “2 x 2 Theme” it would be a major collectible today, and justifiably famous – at least among fans of garage bands! They aren’t slouches with their cover songs, either, as they rip up the Monkees’ “Let’s Dance On” and one of the better versions of “Stepping Stone” I’ve heard. Here’s the story in Bernie’s own words:

“2 By 2”, formed in Kelowna in 1965 and disbanded in 1968. Our band formed because Jim and Barry were playing a lot of parties wanted to take their playing to the next level. So they started looking for a drummer and bass player. My sister, who was friends with them both, mentioned one day that I played the drums, I was 15 at the time and a few years younger but there weren’t too many drummers around. I had a friend, Mel, who played guitar and said he’d give the bass a shot so we had a couple of practice sessions late in the summer of 1965 and we hit it off. As it turned out Mel was an incredible bass player right from the start.

We needed a place to rehearse where we wouldn’t drive people crazy and luckily for us one of Barry’s neighbors owned a trucking company located in the industrial section of Kelowna. He offered to let us practice there in the evenings after the place was closed for business. The place was a warehouse where he garaged his trucks. It was pretty crowded with large trucks and tractor tires etc. Often we would set up our equipment on the flat bed of one of the trucks. In the summers we’d sometimes practice at my parent’s house in the garage. We’d leave the door open on purpose as quite a few girls lived & roamed in the neighborhood. So in that sense we really were a garage band.

We became a popular event in the dance halls of the Okanagan Valley. Our favourite place to play in Kelowna was The Aquatic, headquarters of the Kelowna Regatta. We also watched and were influenced by the bands that played at the Aquatic such as the Shadracks, Kount IV, Jimmy And The Rebounds, the Strange Movies, the Undertakers, and The Nocturnals to name a few. We also played The Okanakan Mission Hall which is still there. Much expanded, it features the same stage we perfomed on (http://www.okmissionhall.com/). The Aquatic burned to the ground in 1969, which was also the year of Altamont and Charles Manson which shook up the west coast scene, so it was a disquieting end to an era.

The Kount IV was another Kelowna band, one of the guitar players was Morris Bishop whom I went to school with. I’m not sure what happened to them. The Undertakers were from Kamloops, B.C. I remember them because they used a hearse to pack their gear in. We all thought that was pretty cool. I think they dressed in black suits. I’m good friends with Don Burnett, drummer of the Strange Movies… he was also the drummer for Jimmy and the Rebounds.

We played gigs at the Kelowna Regatta and the Penticton Peach Festival as well as other halls in Vernon, Kelowna, Peachland, Penticton and Kamloops. The best times were during the summers of 1966 and 1967, where we performed our own music at numerous events and private parties. In those days it was impossible to say no to girls and beer.

When we formed the band we were mostly influenced by the sounds of the British Invasion, of course, as they were the reason for the explosion of garage bands across North America, in the mid to late sixties. We were also influenced by the people who influenced the Brits: Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. We were known for a cover of Elvis’ ‘One Night With You’, with Barry on killer lead vocals, which would have made The King himself proud. Unfortunately we no longer have a recording of that track. Later on we became more influenced by other west coast bands such as Paul Revere and The Raiders; The Youngbloods and The Buckinghams.

The tracks we have included here were recorded in the sound studios of radio station CKOV in Kelowna, 1967. There are only 5 songs, 2 are original material written and sung by Jim Davidson, Barry Green on harmonies. The others are Grizzly Bear….Youngbloods, I’m Not Your Stepping Stone….Paul Revere and The Raiders and Let’s Dance On…The Monkees.

Jim Davidson was singing the lead vocal on most of it. Barry Green sang on Let’s Dance On and Steppin Stone, and on Grizzly Bear it was a team effort between Jim & Barry. Barry’s voice is the high one while Jim’s was a bit lower with that nice unique quality. Mel and I sang the odd back up harmonies.

The instrumental tracks were played live to the floor back to back in one take for each. We then actually ran into the sound booth to record the vocals. We had to do the whole thing in one hour as that was all we could afford, so there wasn’t much room for error.

The original tape is long gone. I salvaged what I could from a cassette tape and burned them onto a CD. We’re still looking for photographs and I’ll send them if I find any.

Later Jim started another garage rock band in Toronto, in 1977, called The Membrains playing a mixture of original tunes and covers of primarily sixties rock. Jim and I occasionally got together to do some recording at my place in Toronto. Mel started a group with his brothers in Kelowna that became quite popular and they are still playing today. As of this date the band members are alive & well, doing their own things. We keep in touch…. with great memories for sure.

The 2 x 2:

Barry Green – lead guitar
Jim Davidson – rhythm guitar
Mel Kunz – bass guitar
Bernie Prost – drums

The 2 x 2 – Two by Two Theme
The 2 x 2 – By and By
The 2 x 2 – Let’s Dance On
The 2 x 2 – I’m Not Your Stepping Stone
The 2 x 2 – Grizzly Bear

A special thanks to Bernie Prost for sharing the music and story of his band. If anyone reading this has a photo of the group please contact me.

The Nocturnals


Nocturnals in RPM, August 16, 1965
click to see full article

The Nocturnals started as an instrumental band called the Rousers in Haney, BC, east of Vancouver in the late 1950’s. They evolved into the Nocturnals, based in Vancouver, with members Bill McBeth drums and lead vocals, Ron Henschel on guitar, Chad Thorp organ, Wayne Evans on bass, and Roger Skinner and Carl Erickson on saxophone.

The band had regular bookings at the Grooveyard, located at 795 Carnarvon in New Westminster, a nightclub they part-owned. Les Vogt (member of another early Vancouver band the Prowlers) and Red Robinson opened the club in September, 1965. The Nocturnals kept their stake in the club a secret so competing bands wouldn’t refuse bookings there.

The Grooveyard succeeded in a Vancouver scene that attracted top r&b acts. The club’s primary competition was Danceland, a big hall on the other side of town which attracted U.S. servicemen from the Whidbey Island base.

Les Vogt produced a two LP set, Live From the Grooveyard, featuring bands who appeared regularly at the club: the Stags, Kentish Steele and the Shantelles, the Epics, Soul Unlimited and the Night Train Revue. The Nocturnals have four songs on the album: “Mustang Sally”, “Slow Down”, “You Make Me Feel So Good” and “Get On Back”. Far from being live, it was recorded at Robin Spurgin’s studio with crowd noise overdubbed, and released in 1966 on New Syndrome, run by Tom Northcott, who made a few records himself. The album accurately reflects the soul-oriented live shows typical of working bands of the time.

In late 1965 the Nocturnals traveled to Kearney Barton’s Audio Recording in Seattle, the same studio used by the Sonics and the Wailers. Their first single, “Because You’re Gone” chugs along steadily with a Peter Gunn-style riff, flashes of horns, fine drumming and chanting vocals. Their second featured two more originals, “This Ain’t Love” b/w “You Lied.” Both of their Regency 45s reached the top ten on CFUN.

For their first two singles the band had help in song writing from Kathy Dubin and Jeanne Fink, two sisters who were fans of the band. Kathy and Jeanne wrote “Because You’re Gone” with Billy McBeth and the flip “Can It Be True” with Henshel. Jeanne’s daughter Linda headed the Nocturnals fan club!

In 1967 they signed to Trans-World and released three more 45s. The second of these, “Detroit” b/w “Do What You Want” was picked up for U.S. release on Milton Berle’s Embassy Records in March, 1967. Although it didn’t chart, “Detroit” is a good track, with all the elements that would have made their live show exciting – fuzz guitar, soulful horn charts, and group vocals.

A highpoint for the Nocturnals was playing the huge Expo 67 in Montreal. Afterwards the band relocated to Ontario, but, uninterested in adapting to the new psychedelic styles, they returned home after a few months. The band broke up in 1968, with Billy McBeth going into The Fox and Wayne Evans and Carl Erickson both staying in music for some time.

In April and June, 2007 the Nocturnals reunited for two live performances. They also released a CD of all their 60’s recordings, and a DVD of clips of the band from CBC-TV’s Let’s Go show and at the PNE backing the Coasters.

Sources include articles in the Vancouver Sun and the PNW Bands site. Thank you to Ivan Amirault for the RPM cover scan.


Photo from Live! from the Grooveyard LP