Tractor

Tractor is a British folk rock band founded in Rochdale, Lancashire, England by guitarist/vocalist Jim Milne and drummer Steve Clayton in 1971. Both had been members of a beat group, The Way We Live since 1966. The band first released their self titled debut album in 1972 for the Dandelion label and continued making records until 1981. Since 2001, the ensemble have continued touring and released past catalogue of their material.

Links To Peel
Tractor became a cult band in the 1970s thanks to a demo tape sent to John Peel in 1971. Peel's association with the band also led to the setting up of Cargo, one of the most influential studios of the 1970s. Unknown to the band, John Peel had a secret passion for Rochdale after starting his first ever job there in a cotton mill.

As Peel's radio career took off, he received hundreds of tapes every week from young hopeful bands. One of them was from The Way We Live - Tractor's original incarnation. Legend has it that he was attracted to the tape because he saw a Rochdale postmark on the envelope. John was so enthusiastic about the band, and their fusion of folk and rock that he wanted to sign them to his new record label Dandelion. The next morning an A&R man arrived on the band's doorstep in Rochdale and they signed a deal - it was the beginning a fruitful relationship with Peel. There was just one thing Peel wanted to change - he didn't like their name and so they became Tractor. The name was chosen after Peel was looking out of his kitchen window at Peel Acres in Suffolk and saw a tractor in the fields adjacent to his house.

The money that Peel gave the band allowed Tractor to do many things. He gave them £2,000 - a huge sum of money in those days - to buy whatever equipment they needed. Tractor went on to build a recording studio in the attic of Steve Clayton's parents flat in Heywood. It was here in this tiny room that Tractor recorded some of their music. Tractor's debut album made it to Number 18 in the charts.

Their success led to them opening a music shop and PA hire company on Kennion Street in Rochdale and leasing space for a recording studio upstairs.

Shortly after the death of Peel, Julian Cope paid tribute to the DJ by choosing Tractor's eponymous 1972 LP on Dandelion Records as record of the month at his Head Heritage website.

Shows Played
1972
 * 14 March 1972: Stony Glory (maxi-single) Dandelion
 * Radio Luxembourg Tracklistings 3: As You Say (single - b-side) Dandelion