Octopus were an English

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band, resulting from renaming a Hatfield (UK) based band named the Cortinas in late 1968. At the time of the renaming the group consisted of founder members Paul Griggs and his brother

Nigel Griggs Nigel Griggs (born 18 August 1949) is an English musician. He is perhaps best known for having played bass guitar in the band Split Enz. He is the brother of Paul Griggs from the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls. Biography A professional m ...

, Rick Williams and Nigel (Gary) Whinyates. As the Cortinas they released one single on Polydor in 1968. As Octopus they released one LP ''Restless Night'' on

Penny Farthing The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds, owing to it travelling a large distance for every ro ...

in April 1971, along with several singles from 1969 to 1971. Octopus supported many well-known groups including

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

and

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

and had several members who later joined famous groups: including drummer

Brian Glascock Brian Glascock (born 17 July 1948, Islington, North London) is an English rock drummer for The Gods, Toe Fat, Carmen, Captain Beyond, Soy Cowboy, and primarily for The Motels. He also played on albums by Dolly Parton, Iggy Pop, and Joan Armatra ...

, who replaced Nigel Whinyates in late 1969, John Cook and Tim Reeves of

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry (formerly known as Mungo Jerry Blues Band) are a British rock band formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex, in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing line-up always fronted by Dorset, the ...

, and brother

himself and Malcolm Green, both later of the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

group,

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand band formed in 1972. Regarded as the first New Zealand band to gain significant recognition outside of Australasia, they were initially noted for their progressive rock, progressive/art rock sound, flamboyant visua ...

. Paul Griggs was later a founding member of the pop group

Guys 'n' Dolls Guys 'n' Dolls were a UK pop group, initially comprising a three-girl/three-boy line-up and later becoming two-girl/two-boy. In the mid-1970s, they scored UK top-ten hits with the singles "There's a Whole Lot of Loving" and " You Don't Have to ...

References

English psychedelic rock music groups {{UK-band-stub