Barclay James Harvest

Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), keyboardist/vocalist Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme (1947–2010), and drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004). After signing with EMI's Parlophone label in the UK for one single in early 1968, they moved to the more progressively inclined Harvest label. The name for the band, according to The International Barclay James Harvest Fan Club, signifies nothing specifically. Having exhausted other possibilities, each of the band members wrote single words on pieces of paper which were drawn out of a hat one by one. All were rejected until only three were left: James, a guy who used to sing with the band, Harvest because they were living in a farmhouse, and Barclay after the bank, because they aspired to make money. These were then rearranged to get the best-sounding name - "Barclay James Harvest".

Links to Peel
During a 50th anniversary concert's encore in 2018, the band played an audio from 14th April 1968. It featured Peel introducing Barclay James Harvest's first single, Early morning. Peel says:

"'This is their first record, and it won't be their last. They're going on to do great things'"In an interview with Eon Music in 2016, John Lees mentioned one of his highlights was listening his debut single on Peel's show:

"'The highlight was hearing our single the first time on radio, and it was played by John Peel. I remember thinking that it was absolutely fantastic, that.'" In the ABC Of Beauty in the Disc & Music Echo, published in 1968, he proclaimed Barclay James Harvest as one of the bands to look out for.

In an interview with Stewart "Wooley" Wolstenholme, in Record Mirror, published on 29th August 1970, he mentioned Peel liking the band's single but not keen on the LP:

"'John Peel heard our record 'Early Morning' and liked it, so he played it. However, he heard our LP and wasn't bothered with it, although the reviews were good'"

In 1974 Peel nominated their album, Everyone Is Everybody Else, as one of his 1974 Top Ten Albums in Sounds music magazine, but by the end of the 70's, with the emergence of punk, he started to disown many of the earlier artists of the prog rock genre he supported.

Sessions
1. Recorded: 1968-04-23. Broadcast: 05 May 1968. Repeated: 04 August 1968 2. Recorded: 1971-12-20. Broadcast: 14 January 1972 3. Recorded: 1972-02-01. Broadcast: 08 February 1972. Repeated: 25 February 1972, 18 April 1972 4. Recorded: 1974-08-01. Broadcast: 08 August 1974. Repeated: 12 September 1974
 * Mr. Sunshine / Early Morning / So Tomorrow / I Can't Go On Without You / Eden Unobtainable
 * Blue John's Blues / The Poet / After The Day
 * After The Day / The Poet / Medicine Man
 * Crazy City / Mining Disaster / For No One / Paper Wings

Live
Recorded at the Paris Theatre: 1971-02-21. Broadcast: 21 February 1971 Recorded: 1977-013-14. Broadcast: 14 March 1977
 * 1) She Said
 * 2) Mockingbird
 * 3) Dark Now My Sky
 * 1) Crazy City
 * 2) Polk Street Rag
 * 3) Hymn For The Children
 * 4) For No One
 * 5) Mockingbird
 * 6) Rock 'N' Roll Star

Other Shows Played

 * Early Morning -A-Side Single 1968-
 * 12 May 1968: Early Morning (7" - Early Morning / Mr. Sunshine) Parlophone
 * 1969
 * 30 July 1969: Brother Thrush (7" - Brother Thrush / Poor Wages) Harvest
 * 1972
 * Radio Luxembourg Tracklistings 4: I’m Over You (single) Harvest
 * Radio Luxembourg Tracklistings 6: Early Morning (single) Parlophone
 * 16 May 1972: I'm Over You (LP - Early Morning Onwards) Starline
 * 22 September 1972: Early Morning (LP - Early Morning Onwards) Starline
 * 22 September 1972: After The Day (LP - Early Morning Onwards) Starlines
 * 1973
 * 31 May 1973: After The Day
 * 1974
 * 27 August 1974: Paper Wings (LP - Everyone Is Everybody Else) Polydor
 * 1977
 * John Peel's 70's Mixtape 3B: Poor Man's Moody Blues (LP - Gone To Earth) Polydor
 * 1978
 * 15 June 1978: Rock 'N' Roll Star (LP - Live Tapes) Polydor
 * 15 June 1978: Poor Man's Moody Blues (LP - Live Tapes) Polydor
 * 19 October 1978: 'Classics: A Tale Of Two Sixties (LP-XII)' (Polydor)