West Coast Consortium, or simply Consortium, were a British psychedelic pop group which recorded for

Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

between 1967 and 1970. They were best known for the single "All the Love in the World".

Background

The band was originally formed as Group 66, consisting of Robbie Fair (also named Robbie Leggat, lead vocals), Geoff Simpson (lead guitar, backing vocals), Brian Bronson (rhythm guitar), John Barker (bass), and John Podbury (drums). They started out doing covers, but later started to write their own songs. They became a harmony-singing group in the mould of

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

and The Four Seasons. They were first renamed XIT, and after they were signed to Pye Records, they changed the name again to West Coast Consortium.

Career

1960s

The band released "All the Love in the World" under the shortened name of Consortium in 1969, which reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 11 on the Dutch chart. They released a few more singles but these failed to chart. Although Pye had offered the band a chance to record an album, the band did not record any album at that time. On the week of 24 March, 1969, their single "When the Day Breaks" entered the Dutch

Tipparade The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, wh ...

chart at no. 12.

1970s

In 1970, the band moved on to the

Trend A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors th ...

label which was run by

Barry Class Barry Class is an entrepreneur, former music store chain owner, band manager, record label founder, musical director, producer and recording studio owner. His greatest success as a manager was with the soul group The Foundations. He also managed t ...

who managed

The Foundations The Foundations were a British soul band who were primarily active between 1967 and 1970. The group's background was West Indian, White British and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single " Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the ...

. In 1971, the group had a single released, "Annabella " bw "Tell Me My Friend" on Trend 6099 004. On the week of 12 September 1971, their single "

Melanie Cries Alone "Melanie Cries Alone" was a single for English psychedelic pop group Consortium. It was released in the UK in 1970 but became a hit a year later in another country. Background "Melanie Cries Alone" was composed by Myers, Worsley and Robinson. It ...

" made its debut at no. 18 on the Top 20 TMP chart in Portugal. Spending another week in the chart, it got to no. 13. The lineup underwent a number of changes in the 1970s. Simpson left the band as he was unwilling to leave his young family to go on a tour in Italy in 1970, and he was replaced by Billy Mangham. keyboardist John Caley was also added to the lineup. Later Brian Bronson and John Barker also left, as did Mangham. The band drafted in new members Brian Parker (guitar), Ken Brown (bass), but Podbury and Caley then left, to be replaced by John Albert Parker (Brian's brother) on drums, while Mick Ware also joined as second lead guitarist. The band went on with a much heavier almost psychedelic style. The band recorded an album in 1975, ''Rebirth'', but it was not released and the band broke up without any album released.

Later years

A 27-track anthology of their recordings was later released in 2003. The only album that they recorded, ''Rebirth'', was only released in 2006. Further collections of previously unreleased material have since been released.

Discography

Albums

* ''Looking Back: The Pye Anthology'' (2003) * ''Rebirth'' (2006) * ''Mr. Umbrella Man (A Collection Of Demos 1967-1969)'' (2008) * ''13th Hour'' (2010) * ''All The Love In World: The Complete Recordings 1964 - 1972. (2024)

Singles

* "Some Other Someday" (1967) * "Colour Sergeant Lilywhite" (1968) * "All the Love in the World" b/w "Spending My Life Saying Goodbye" (1969) * "When the Day Breaks" b/w "The Day the Train Never Came" (1969) * "Beggar Man" b/w "Cynthia Serenity" (1969) * "I Don't Want Her Anymore" (1969) * "

" (1970) * "Annabella" (1971) * "Sunday In The Park" (1972)

References

External links

* Discogs
Consortium (2)
{{Authority control Pye Records artists Trend Records (UK label) artists English psychedelic rock music groups