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Shagrat was a British supergroup formed by Steve Peregrin Took and
Mick Farren Michael Anthony Farren (3 September 1943 – 27 July 2013) was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground, who had a significant influence on the development of British proto ...
in February 1970 after they split with Twink, their partner in the prototype
Pink Fairies Pink Fairies are an English proto-punk rock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and ot ...
supergroup of late 1969. They recruited
Larry Wallis Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was a British rock guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead. Biography Early bands In 1968, he formed a band calle ...
(guitar, backing vocals) and Tim Taylor (bass), both formerly of The Entire Sioux Nation. Farren left the band shortly after its establishment and never recorded or performed with them (although he gave some press interviews on the formative band's behalf during this time). Shagrat then became Took's band outright with Wallis, Taylor, Phil Lenoir (drums), and later Dave Bidwell (percussion). As well as being an offshoot of the birth of the original Pink Fairies incarnation of 1970–1972, Shagrat set the template for Took's solo/frontman career (into which the band eventually mutated). Shagrat also proved to be an ancestor of both the 1973 Pink Fairies incarnation which recorded the '' Kings Of Oblivion'' album and also the founding
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
incarnation which recorded '' On Parole'', in both cases after Farren recommended Wallis, based on his guitar playing with Shagrat, respectively to the Fairies as a guitarist/singer and to Lemmy as a guitarist. Took discussed the band retrospectively in the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' and it would much later receive coverage in '' Rockerilla'', ''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'' and ''
Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
''


Origin of the name

The band was named after the Orc Shagrat from ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
'' and was a contraction of 'Shagrat The Vagrant', the name under which Steve Took had been credited on Mick Farren's album ''
Mona – The Carnivorous Circus ''Mona—The Carnivorous Circus'' is a 1970 album by the UK underground artist Mick Farren. The album was recorded to fulfill contractual obligations. Farren had recently returned from a tour of the west coast of North America without his band ...
''. In 1991, Larry Wallis gave an alternative explanation. "'Steve Took' was Steve Took's real name as far as we were concerned, so he decided to take on another persona, 'Shagrat' who was the guy with the slanty eyes, pointed beard and the suede shoes."Beautiful Dreamer – A Tribute To Steve Took, Nigel Cross, '' Rockerilla'', 1991 Interviewed in 1972, Took himself offered yet another explanation: "I am gutter Rock, I'm a ''schneide''. That's why I had Shagrat – it was a rat trip.
Rats Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
turn over at an amazing pace and they have a lot of kids. Not only do they eat the poison but they thrive on it and get bigger and they can still slip under doorways. It's the ecology trip. Do you know how many rats were killed in New York last year? 'Cos I don't! Hah! I can't remember my figures.""Steve Took – From Bolan Boogie To Gutter Rock"
Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...
,
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
14 October 1972


Career

At Strawberry Studios in
Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
, they recorded a session, produced by Wallis's father, consisting of three tracks, "Peppermint Flickstick", "Boo! I Said Freeze" and "Steel Abortion". Having been previously scheduled to appear at the May 1970 Hollywood Music Festival in
Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...
, the band finally undertook their first gig, at the Phun City Festival near
Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...
,
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
on 24–26 July 1970. The band (minus Taylor, with Took playing bass) played a 30–45 minute set, including all three songs from the Strawberry Studios session plus a cover of " 7 and 7 Is" by
Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
. The gig had certainly got the band off to a good start, but problems set in immediately afterwards. Phil Lenoir left (Took claimed that they never saw him again after the festival), leaving Shagrat in search of a new rhythm section. A new drummer was recruited,
Chicken Shack Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb (guitarist), Stan Webb (guitar and vocals), Andy Silvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined by Christine McVie, Christine Perfect (later ...
's Dave Bidwell, while Took continued with bass guitar. They continued to rehearse together sometimes alongside prospective bassists, in preparation for a 13 December 1970 live date at the Roundhouse Christmas Spaced Party event which had been booked and they received approaches from several
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, ...
s. Shagrat's eventual demise resulted from Took being the band's only full-time member. Bidwell was one of three Chicken Shack members who, during 1970, transferred to Savoy Brown. Wallis meanwhile joined
Blodwyn Pig Blodwyn Pig was a British blues rock musical ensemble, band, founded in 1968 by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter Mick Abrahams. Career Abrahams left Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull after their debut album, ''This Was'', was released, due to a ...
and later UFO. With the Roundhouse gig booking looming, and Took not wishing to cancel, his only option was to play the gig by himself, which he did.''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'' April 2004 "Freak Scene" Sarah Gregory p.78
Wallis and Bidwell in early 1971 assisted Took in the recording of a set of four acoustic demos, – "Amanda", "Strange Sister", "Still Yawning Stillborn" and "Beautiful Deceiver". The trio also rehearsed for possible live performances as an acoustic band, which Wallis recalled involved Bidwell "pounding (the) fuck out of a telephone book."


Legacy and retrospect

Following a positive reaction to Took's solo performance in lieu of a Shagrat band set at the Roundhouse, he continued with the solo format. Took made some headway as a live act, frequently supporting the Pink Fairies and
Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
, attracting some coverage in the UK music press and even performing a live radio session on Steve Bradshaw's ''Breakthrough'' programme on
BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Plac ...
. Took continued to make use of the Shagrat bandname by occasionally billing himself as 'Steve Shagrat Took' – notably on advertisements for his support slot for Hawkwind at Chatham Central Hall on 18 November 1971. Wallis' guitar work for Shagrat earned him Farren's recommendation in 1972 as the new guitarist/frontman for the Pink Fairies. Following Paul Rudolph's departure from the band, remaining members Duncan Sanderson and Russell Hunter had been working with Took on a rerecording of acoustic Shagrat song "Amanda" as a possible single. Longtime Took friend Mick Wayne happened to be in the studios at the time and was roped into the session on guitar. Afterwards, Wayne, Sanderson and Hunter formed a new Pink Fairies lineup which recorded the single "Well Well Well." Unhappy at Wayne's songwriting and playing style however, the other two Fairies approached Farren to nominate a successor. Farren's choice was Wallis and he repeated this choice two and a half years later when asked by Lemmy to suggest a guitarist for the founding lineup of Motörhead. The two band incarnations featuring Wallis recorded the ''Kings Of Oblivion'' and ''On Parole'' albums respectively. This was to be the start of a long personal and professional relationship between Wallis and Farren, which encompassed Wallis' production work and co-songwriting on Farren's second solo album '' Vampires Stole My Lunch Money''.''Give The Anarchist A Cigarette'', Mick Farren,
Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...
2001, , p386
The partnership was renewed in late 2001 when Wallis provided musical backing at Farren's reading of his memoir ''Give The Anarchist A Cigarrette'' at London pub Filthy McNasty's. Looking back on Shagrat in 1972, Took opined that the band had suffered from being ahead of its time. Interviewed by
Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...
in 1972 for the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', Took commented that record companies "didn't want to buy Steel Abortion or Peppermint Flickstick. A bit naughty, the words, but then I'd taken in all this American culture and American society in general, and got chemicalised out of it, a general trip, and put it all into words. Now there's
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
's '' School's Out'' and '' Killer'', Hawkwind and the general thing is there now, and it wasn't there then because they couldn't accept that it was gonna sell. I was saying to 'em. "Look, man, look at the Yanks, because we're about three years behind them as far as youth culture is concerned. This is what's gonna sell." and they'd say, 'Oh yes, lads sure, do they really want to hear this sort of thing?"


Critical reception

''
Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
s Michael Heatley awarded Captain Trip Records' 2001 ''Lone Star'' album release of Shagrat's studio sessions three stars out of five in the November 2001 edition, commenting "They sound rather like
Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...
fronting
Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
. Plenty of personality that shines through despite the somewhat suspect sound quality."''
Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
'' November 2001 p.107
''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'' in April 2024 included ''Lone Star'' in a listing of " Stars of Beards - 10 UK underground classics" as a sidebar from a "Freak Scene" cover feature on the 1960s/1970s UK underground scene.


Band members


Electric Shagrat

* Steve Peregrin Took: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, maracas *
Larry Wallis Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was a British rock guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead. Biography Early bands In 1968, he formed a band calle ...
: lead guitar, backing vocals *Tim Taylor: bass * Phil Lenoir: drums


Acoustic Shagrat

* Steve Peregrin Took; vocals, acoustic guitar *
Larry Wallis Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was a British rock guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead. Biography Early bands In 1968, he formed a band calle ...
: acoustic bass *Dave Bidwell: percussion (tambourine, handclaps)


Timeline


Discography


Album

* ''Lone Star'' (2001, recorded 1970-1971)


References


External links


Steve Peregrin Took's official website
{{Authority control English protopunk groups Musical groups established in 1970 Rock music groups from London