Opal Butterfly

Opal Butterfly
Also known as The Cardboard Haven
Origin Oxfordshire, England
Genres
Years active 1967 (1967)-1970 (1970)
Labels CBS
Polydor

Opal Butterfly was an English, psychedelic rock band, from Oxfordshire, England that was active between 1967 and 1970. Although the band itself did not gain widespread success, the musicians did go on to conduct successful musical careers. The band featured Simon King (drums) (born 1950, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England), and, for a short time, Lemmy, who both met again in Hawkwind. Further members were Robert C. "Robbie" Milne (lead guitar) (born 1947), Allan Love (lead vocals) (born 1947), Richard Bardey (bass) (born 1947), and Tommy Doherty (rhythm guitar) (born 1947). The band released three official singles of the heavy psychedelic rock style before disbanding.[1]

History

Before becoming Opal Butterfly, the group was known as The Cardboard Haven. They were formed in 1967 in Oxfordshire. Their original lineup consisted of Roger Warner on bass guitar, Robbie Milne on lead guitar, 17-year-old Simon King on drums, Alan Cobb on keyboards, and vocals shared by the group. Locally, they performed at clubs and dance halls with a repertoire of R&B and blues standards. Even though the group garnered a considerable following, Simon King would leave the group to form Opal Butterfly.[2]

Opal Butterfly

Later in the year Simon King formed his new band and recruited Milne. The remaining lineup were associates of the two and included Allan Love on vocals, Richard Bardey on bass, and Tom Doherty on guitar. Regarding the name, Doherty stated "Butterfly by itself was a bit dull, so we thought of something more colorful".[2]

The group began recording demos and received the interest of CBS Records. These included covers of "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Wind Up Toys", both tracks by The Electric Prunes.[3] In 1968, the band released their first official recording "Beautiful Beige"/"Speak Up" which was described as a solid piece of harmonal psychedelic pop, but made no impactful gains. The group's most notable recordings came in 1969 with an organ-backed remake of The Who composition "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands" with the B-side being "My Gration Or?". Despite radio play, the single only gained them local support and the band would revamp its lineup and change labels to Polydor. Most notably, the band acquired Lemmy Kilmister.[3]

Kilmister met the band at a club called The Drug Store, located in Chelsea. He started a friendship with King who then asked him to join and Kilmister would be a member until the group's decision to kick him a few months later.[4] With the new label, the new lineup released a single, "Groupie Girl"/"The Giggling Song". For this final effort, the band returned to its roots as the songs were more blues influenced in nature. However, the single caused a slight uproar when the cover featured a nude woman and radio stations refused to play the single. Throughout 1969 into 1970 the band initiated a tour in Britain for sets of 90 minutes. They appeared in the Derek Ford film, Groupie Girl (1970), as "Sweaty Betty".[5] Lemmy did not contribute to any recordings or the film.[6] One last line-up change was formed but did not change the band's fortunes and they broke up in 1970.

Kilminster and King would cooperate again in the space rock band, Hawkwind.[3]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Opal Butterfly". stevelitchfield.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Opal Butterfly - History". marmaladeskies.co.uk. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Opal Butterfly - Biography". allmusic.com.
  4. ↑ "White Line: An Autobiography of Lemmy". Google.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Groupie Girl (1970) | BFI". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  6. ↑ "Simon King and Hawkwind". Stevelitchfield.com. Retrieved 2015-12-29.

External links

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