Cream

"Cream were superb, Clapton doing things with his machinery that you simply cannot do with a guitar untouched by magic." John Peel, 1967

thumb|280px|right|JP introduces the band's final concert in 1968

Cream were formed in 1966 by guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker and split up after a farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall in late 1968. They were the first "supergroup", composed of former members of other well-known groups, the first major group to employ extended inprovisation at the heart of their live performances, and the first "progressive" or "heavy" rock group to attain major stardom (especially in the US). Their recordings featured a mixture of blues, pop and psychedelic styles, which made them a key group of the period and an influence on numerous bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

When Peel returned from the US in early 1967, Cream's first LP, Fresh Cream, had just been issued and the group were building a reputation through their live gigs. He featured their singles, "I Feel Free" and "Strange Brew", in his Radio London shows. Later, "Tales of Brave Ulysses", with its psychedelic influence (the myth-based lyric and Clapton's wah-wah pedal work) became a Perfumed Garden favourite. Cream were also featured regularly on "Top Gear" during 1967-68, both on record and in session. In August 1976 Peel did a retrospective show on Cream and Clapton, his comments then being in line with the critical reaction that had set in against them; but he retained enough enthusiasm for their music to choose "Crossroads" to lead off the Peelenium for 1968 and to play tracks from the CD collection of their BBC sessions in 2003.

Peel introduced Cream at a Saville Theatre concert in 1967 and later recounted how he had had an altercation with Ginger Baker - "a surprisingly violent man" - when the latter refused to end a long drum solo. He also introduced their final concert. The band also had connections with the underground scene which Peel then supported, through their lyricist Pete Brown, who did sessions for Night Ride (as a poet and with his band The Battered Ornaments) and Martin Sharp, the illustrator who designed the album sleeves for Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire and was best known for his psychedelic artwork for Oz magazine.

Festive Fifty Entries
None

Sessions

 * Two sessions. First three listed tracks on each session, plus Born Under A Bad Sign, included on BBC Sessions CD

1. Recorded: 1967-10-24-DD. First broadcast: 29 October 1967. Repeated: 10 December 1967 2. Recorded: 1968-01-09. First broadcast: 14 January 1968. Repeated: 18 February 1968
 * Take It Back / Outside Woman Blues / Sunshine Of Your Love / Tales Of Brave Ulysses / Born Under A Bad Sign
 * Swlabr / The Politician / Steppin' Out / We're Going Wrong / Blue Condition

Other Shows Played

 * 01 July 1967: Strange Brew
 * 17 July 1967: Cat's Squirrel
 * 14 August 1967: Tales Of Brave Ulysses (single) Reaction
 * 11 August 1968: Born Under A Bad Sign (LP - Wheels of Fire - In The Studio) Polydor
 * 09 March 1969: Doing That Scrapyard Thing (LP-Goodbye)' (Polydor)
 * 06 February 1979: Sunshine Of Your Love (Single) Polydor
 * 04 November 1999: Crossroads (Peelenium 1968)
 * 18 September 2001: Tales Of Brave Ulysses (LP - Disraeli Gears) Reaction
 * 21 May 2003: I'm So Bad (LP - Full Cream) (Polydor)
 * 01 July 2003: Steppin' Out (LP- BBC Sessions) (Polydor)
 * 29 July 2003: Steppin' Out (LP- BBC Sessions) (Polydor)
 * 31 July 2003: Crossroads (LP- BBC Sessions) (Polydor)
 * 20 August 2003: Outside Woman Blues (LP- BBC Sessions) (Polydor)
 * 24 September 2003: Strange Brew (LP- BBC Sessions) (Polydor)