Perth County Conspiracy, also known as Perth County Conspiracy (does not exist) was a Canadian psychedelic folk music group based in
Stratford,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, active during the 1970s. Their music is characterised by its message-oriented lyrics and unconventional arrangements.
History
Perth County Conspiracy was formed in 1969.
The founding members were guitarist-singers Richard Keelan (formerly of the American band
The Spike Drivers) and
Cedric Smith,
who were joined by Terry Jones (guitar, vocals), Michael Butler (bass), George Taros (piano, vocals), and other friends and family members.
The group first played in Toronto in late 1968 or early 1969.
During the 1970s a number of others were a part of the Conspiracy, including David Woodhead, Jerome Jarvis, Larry Brown, Paul Gellman, Peter Cheyne and Dorit Learned. In the mid-1960s through to the late 1970s, the Perth County Conspiracy would play nightly at Harry Finlay's
Black Swan Coffee House in Stratford, Ontario, usually following the evening performances at the
Stratford Shakespearean Festival Theatre. Oftentimes they would play until almost 4 a.m. The band organized an annual picnic on the opening night of the festival.
The group also toured across Canada playing at universities and also at
Massey Hall
Massey Hall is a performing arts auditorium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Although original ...
. Their singles "You've Got To Know " and "Uncle Jed" reached numbers 59 and 76 on the Canadian charts.
The band signed with the
Columbia label in 1970,
and recorded two albums. The 1970 self-titled album features Shakespearian dialogue and audio collage elements mixed with folk and folk rock music that might place it in the genre of
psychedelic folk
Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of contemporary folk music, folk, but adds musical elements common ...
. ''Alive'', recorded in 1971, was a live concert album.
The band then went independent and released a string of records on their own.
Bob Burchill (guitar, vocals) joined the group in 1973. The group remain active until at least 1977.
Around 1990 former members of the band began to reunite once a year at a Black Swan Coffee House Revival in Stratford in support of homelessness in Perth County. In 2011, the CBC radio show ''
Inside the Music'' featured an hour-long exploration of the group and their music.
Discography
* ''Does Not Exist'' (Columbia, 1970, EKL-375) (#56 Can)
* ''The Perth County Conspiracy'' (CBC Radio, 1970)
* ''Alive'' (2 LPs, Columbia, 1971, GES-90037) (#72 Can)
* ''What School Bus Tour'' (Rumour/Mushroom, 1973, RUMOUR-II)
* ''Breakout to Berlin'' (Rumour, 1975, RUMOUR-V), also released as ''Kanada'' (
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
855 424 in
GDR
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
)
* ''Ten Lost Years—And Then Some'' (Rumour, 1977)
References
External links
*
*
Entry at canadianbands.com
{{Authority control
Canadian folk music groups
Musical groups from Ontario
Musical groups established in 1969
1969 establishments in Ontario