Simon Dupree and the Big Sound were a British psychedelic band formed in 1966 by brothers

Derek Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of '' Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name ar ...

(

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root ter ...

(vocals,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

), and

Ray Shulman Raymond Shulman (born 8 December 1949) is a Scottish musician, and the youngest of three brothers in progressive rock band Gentle Giant. Shulman was born in Portsmouth. His father was a trumpet player in a jazz band, and that was the first inst ...

(

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

, trumpet, vocals); also known for their later

prog rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

band,

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...

Career

They started as The Howling Wolves and then became The Road Runners, playing R&B around the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

area, home of the Shulman brothers, becoming Simon Dupree and the Big Sound in early 1966. Making up the rest of the group were Peter O'Flaherty (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

) (born 8 May 1944, in Gosport,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

), Eric Hine ( keyboards) (born Eric Raymond Lewis Hines, 4 September 1944, in

, Hampshire), and Tony Ransley ( drums) (born Anthony John Ransley, 17 May 1944, in Portsmouth, Hampshire). Those early group names aside, their repertory was focused a lot more on the

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

s of

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

, Don Covay, and

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

, than on

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

. 'Simon Dupree and the Big Sound' came about in the course of their search for a flashy name. The group were signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

, under producer Dave Paramor. Their first few singles, notably "I See The Light" (1966), failed to chart, then in October 1967, the group's

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...

and their record label decided to try moving Simon Dupree and the Big Sound in the direction of psychedelia. They broke through at the end of 1967 with the psychedelic "

Kites A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face ...

", a Top 10

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Regarding themselves as blue-eyed soul brothers, they hated it as it was so unrepresentative of their usual style. The follow-up, "For Whom The Bell Tolls", was only a minor hit, and a subsequent single "Broken Hearted Pirates", featuring an uncredited

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, made no headway at all. A then unknown

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

player by the name of

Reginald Dwight Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

was hired to fill in for an ill Eric Hine and he joined them on a 1967 tour in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. They were asked to allow him to stay on, and he was almost recruited as a permanent member. They politely rejected the chance to record any of his compositions (although they did ultimately record "I'm Going Home" as the B-side of their final (contractually obligated) single), and laughed when he told them he was adopting the stage name of Elton John. On 5 April 1968, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound appeared alongside Amen Corner, Gene Pitney, Don Partridge and Status Quo at The Odeon Theatre,

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on the first night as part of a twice nightly UK

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

. In early 1969 they were booked to appear at the Lanchester Polytechnic in Coventry, but did not turn up. Their support act

Raymond Froggatt Raymond William Froggatt (born 13 November 1941) is an English songwriter and singer.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 159-160 Biography Froggatt (otherwise known as "Froggy") was born in Bordes ...

played the entire evening. The group released one studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

; ''Without Reservations'', on

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

(1967), and a compilation ''Amen'' (1980). A more recent set, ''Part of My Past'' (2004), includes all their singles, album tracks and previously unreleased material prepared for their second album, release of which was cancelled at the time. In November 1968, they released a single "We Are The Moles (Part 1)/(Part 2)" under the moniker The Moles. Released on the

label, the single did not give any hint of the identity of the artists, with both songs credited as written, performed and produced by The Moles. Rumours spread that it was an obscure release by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, who also were under contract at Parlophone, with Ringo Starr on lead vocals. Frustrated as being seen as

one-hit wonders A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

being pushed by their

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

as a pop group rather than the soul band they had always intended to be, they disbanded in 1969 and the Shulman brothers went on to form the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

group

Discography

Albums

*''Without Reservations'' (June 1967

PMC 7029 or PCS 7029) – UK No. 39

Compilations

*''Kites'' (also known as 'Amen') ( compilation album: 1982, See for Miles/

Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...

CM 109) *''Part of My Past'' ( compilation album: March 2004)

Singles

*"I See the Light" / "It Is Finished" (2 December 1966 Parlophone R 5542) – UK No.53 *"Reservations" / "You Need a Man" (24 February 1967 Parlophone R 5574) – UK No.54 *"Day Time, Night Time" / "I've Seen It All Before" (5 May 1967 Parlophone R 5594) – UK No.58 *"

" / "Like the Sun Like the Fire" (27 October 1967 Parlophone R 5646) – UK No.9 *"For Whom the Bell Tolls" / "Sleep" (8 March 1968 Parlophone R 5670) – UK No.43 *"Part of My Past" / "This Story Never Ends" (27 May 1968 Parlophone R 5697) – UK No.62 *"Thinking About My Life" / "Velvet and Lace" (20 September 1968 Parlophone R 5727) *"We Are the Moles, Part 1" / "We Are the Moles, Part 2" (15 November 1968, Parlophone R 5743, as THE MOLES) *"Broken Hearted Pirates" / "She Gave Me the Sun" (7 February 1969 Parlophone R 5757) *"The Eagle Flies Tonight" / "Give It All Back" (14 November 1969 Parlophone R 5816)

Notes

References

External links

Portsmouth Music SceneAllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon Dupree and the Big Sound British pop music groups Parlophone artists