Lost 1972 heavy prog monster by British progsters who became the house band in Vienna’s underground music club Electronic. Post Hellmet, its like Jethro Tull meets Marsupilami vibes with manic flute and heavy prog guitar, and at times a King Crimson intensity. Elegy escaped Austrian clutches in 1973 and disbanded. Should have been on Harvest, Dawn or Vertigo, only one crumbling 60 minute tape survived, and this is it True Believers.
Firstly I would like to say that this account is how I remember it, not necessarily how it was. The '70s were a fantastic time. Things happened that made Reality seem not quite how they were, if you get my drift! Of course the passing of time might have something to do with it as well. So if anybody wishes to correct me then please feel free.
I had been playing in a band in Brighton called Attic. It was there that I met Terry [ex-Hellmet]. When that was exactly I don't recall but sometime later Terry had hooked up with the rest of Elegy [ ex-Gin House] and invited me to join. They were looking for somebody who could sing and play another instrument. At that time I was heavily into Jethro Tull and so the natural instrument was flute. We rehearsed in Ian Lambert's (or Larry as he became known) parents' house in Crawley. He'd padded out a bedroom with egg boxes and mattresses. Worked a treat!
After some time rehearsing the agent they'd been working for came up with a 6 week residency in a club in Vienna. I gave up my job as a Customs & Excise clerk and we accepted the gig. It was a Saturday and we'd said our goodbyes, packed our bags and were waiting for a call from the agent to say the deal had finally been ok'd and off we would go. This never came, but being young and impetuous we thought we'd go anyway. So into the transit van and off we went.
We arrived in Vienna nearly 24 hours later around midnight, called on the agent, Hans Hausner, who luckily had a flat for us. Well, I say flat, but it was one large room with a kitchen area and the running water was outside in the hall, along with a shared toilet. Luxury! We stayed there for our time in Vienna but did rise to having a second flat sometime later on the floor above.
We played in a club outside Vienna in a place called Schwardorf. Payment was enough for either a packet of cigarettes or a frankfurter on the way home with the remainder promised at the end of our residency. Tracks:
01. Dream Of Life — 0:00
02. Thoughts And Decisions — 13:05
03. Fortune Teller — 18:32
04. Eleanor Rigby — 22:29
05. Lost — 29:23
06. Every Little Thing — 33:13
07. The Prisoner — 39:16
08. Repercussions — 44:38
09. Man With A Plan — 49:17
Personnel:
Terry Aiken — vocals Paul Seager — lead guitar Chris Cox — keyboards, flute, vocals Steve Day — bass Ian Lambert — drums
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