Harsh Reality are a little-known,
proto-prog
Proto-prog (short for proto-progressive) is the earliest work associated with the first wave of progressive rock music, known then as "progressive pop". Such musicians were influenced by modern classical and other genres usually outside of tradi ...
band formed in
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, England, in 1968 out of the remnants of the Freightliner Blues Band (formerly the Revolution). The band consisted of Mark Griffiths and Dave Jenkins on
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s, Alan Greed on lead vocals and
organ
Organ and organs may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function
* Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body.
Musical instruments
...
,
Roger Swallow
Roger Swallow (born 23 February 1946 in Northampton, England) is an English producer, musician and songwriter. He was a member of The Albion Band and worked with many artistes in the late 1960s/early 1970s as a session and touring drummer/percuss ...
on
drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
, and Steve Miller on
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
and backing vocals. They released a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
for
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...
in 1968 ("Tobacco Ash Sunday" / "How Do You Feel") before releasing their only
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
, ''Heaven and Hell'', also on Philips in 1969. A final single followed soon after, before the band split in 1969.
Their ''Heaven and Hell'' LP is now a highly sought-after rarity, selling for hundreds of pounds between eager
collectors
Collector(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Collector (2011 film), ''Collector'' (2011 film), an Indian Malayalam film
* Collector (2016 film), ''Collector'' (2016 film), a Russian film
* Collectors (film), ''Collectors'' (film), a 2020 So ...
. For this reason, Harsh Reality is somewhat famous/infamous in collecting circles.
Though seen as part of the proto-progressive rock era, their work represented a marriage between the sounds of
Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...
,
Traffic
Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...
and early
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
.
Following the band's demise,
Roger Swallow
Roger Swallow (born 23 February 1946 in Northampton, England) is an English producer, musician and songwriter. He was a member of The Albion Band and worked with many artistes in the late 1960s/early 1970s as a session and touring drummer/percuss ...
played with Principal Edwards Magic Theatre,
Matthews Southern Comfort
Matthews Southern Comfort (MSC) is a British country rock/folk rock band, formed in 1970 by former Fairport Convention singer Ian (later Iain) Matthews. The original line-up consisted of Matthews, lead guitarist Mark Griffiths (who later becom ...
,
Plainsong
Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...
,
Albion Country Band
The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, is a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. An important grouping in the genre, i ...
, and
Al Stewart
Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...
; before moving to California and establishing himself as an electronic musician, songwriter and entrepreneur. Alan Greed went on to work with
Ray Russell
Ray Russell (September 4, 1924 – March 15, 1999) was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories.
His most ...
on the ''Rock Workshop'' albums, and as a
session singer
A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...
. Greed later fronted the
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
/
progressive outfit, The Running Man. A self-titled album was released in the UK on the Neon
record label
"Big Three" music labels
A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
in 1972.
Mark Griffiths has worked with Matthews Southern Comfort,
Jonathan Kelly
Jonathan Kelly (born Jonathan Ledingham, 8 July 1947 – 2 May 2020) was an Irish folk rock singer-songwriter, who enjoyed a varied career in music, playing with many musicians and groups, including Eric Clapton and Tim Staffell. He formed Jon ...
, Al Stewart,
David Essex
David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. From 1973 to 1994, he attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most suc ...
,
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
, and
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
&
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...
. The rest of the band also went into session work.
The song "Tobacco Ash Sunday" was covered by
Paul Weller
John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...
for AOL Sessions.
''Heaven and Hell'' was reissued for the first time on CD by
Esoteric Recordings
Esoteric Recordings is a UK independent record label specialising in 1970s progressive rock, folk, psychedelic, and jazz-rock reissues as part of Cherry Red Records. Its releases include both catalogue reissues and new works from artists who ...
on 26 September 2011, with four bonus tracks and a 16-page booklet containing a lengthy interview with the band.
Discography
*"Tobacco Ash Sunday" b/w "How Do You Feel" (October 1968)
*"Heaven And Hell " b/w "Praying For Reprieve " (May 1969)
*''Heaven And Hell'' (Philips SBL 7891, 1969; official CD reissue: Esoteric, 2011)
References
{{Authority control
English rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1968
British progressive rock groups
People from Stevenage
Musicians from Hertfordshire