Beau, born Christopher John Trevor Midgley (born May 1946), is a British singer-songwriter and twelve-string guitar player, who first became known in the late 1960s through his recordings for John Peel's Dandelion Records label. He released two albums on Dandelion – Beau (1969) and Creation (1971)(which featured Jim Milne and Steve Clayton from Tractor as backing musicians on some tracks), plus the single "1917 Revolution" which had greater success abroad than it did in the United Kingdom. "1917 Revolution" is said to have been the inspiration for America's "A Horse with No Name".
Links to Peel[]
Beau first got got involved with Peel via his manager, Clive Selwood and in an interview explained how he discovered him:
"In ’68 I went down to Polydor in London to do an audition for Elektra Records. I played 22 tracks for Clive Selwood who was the UK manager for Elektra...Clive took the tapes over to Jac Holzman in New York as Jac had the final say on all things Elektra. They had a some UK artists, like the Incredible String Band. But like I say, they were moving away from solo acoustic folk. Jac said “No, he isn’t what we’re after”. So Clive came back to me and said “I’m with John, I manage John and we’re starting up a new label called Dandelion.” They said they wanted to start with an album, which surprised me as I expected a single because that was the norm. But Clive had heard the 22 tracks I’d put down at Polydor so he knew there was the material. Then everything shifted really quick. [1]
Later in the interview, he was asked how much contact he had with Peel:
A fair bit of contact at the time because John was always around. He was a lovely guy, he was like he appeared. There was no edge. He was laid back. John hated confrontation with anything or anybody which was why Clive and Shurley dealt with everything business-wise. John turned up, he’d listen and be available to talk. He’d chuck in little bits but he’d never try and influence what you’d be doing. Ever. Several of the people on Dandelion seemed to think that because we were working with Peel it meant John would push us on Top Gear. There was no way. He couldn’t go pushing his own label. Just the simple caché of being on the label was a mark of quality. The John Peel connection was very important, more important than getting played. He played relatively little of the Dandelion catalogue on his show but several sold quite well. His name had credibility worldwide. [2]
In the second part of the interview, Beau was asked whether he had contact with artists on John Peel's Dandelion label and mentioned what it was like to visit Peel Acres, when JP was living In London:
"I remember when we launched the label in The Netherlands, when we did the Paradiso in Amsterdam, there was me, Bridget and Medicine Head. We were staying at the Schiller Hotel, and we crowded up into John’s room. Peel was a great raconteur. Despite the reputation of the time, he didn’t take drugs and was clean as a whistle. He told us he’d worked in the States as John Ravencroft. Apparently he’d been at a radio station in Oklahoma. Then he got a job in Dallas. He was sitting there in the Schiller saying “Yeah, I was in the room when Lee Harvey Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby.” We said “Yeah, OK John.” We thought he was taking the mick! Anyhow, after John died there was a big retrospective on TV. There was footage of when Lee Harvey Oswald was being brought in. There was this guy with a gun… bang. Camera pans and there is Peel! He really was in the police station when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald! I went to his flat a few times, a mews place just off the Marylebone Road. I remember the first time I went there, I opened the door and there was a spiral staircase. I got to the top and behind on the landing there was this little squat fella playing the sitar. It was Marc Bolan. Of course, I’d heard Tyrannosaurus Rex. Bolan was well known on the scene and John had done a lot for him but I didn’t recognise him! I just went up the stairs and he went “Hi” and carried on playing. The thing that got me was that there were three long shelves on the wall absolutely stuffed with LPs. They weighed a lot and were bowing between the brackets. What pleased me was that there were so many that I’d got. I wasn’t into everything that Peel liked, but it was interesting to see the stuff that influenced him and the collection he’d amassed." [3]
Beau also performed as John Trevor, where his track, Sky Dance, was included in Dandelion's 1972 compilation album, There Is Some Fun Going Forward, which featured on the front cover, Peel sitting in a bath tub with a woman.
Since the year 2000, Trevor Midgley has been running the extensive John Peel's Dandelion Label site as part of his own website, including the Dandelion Records Forum. It also includes the complete story of his career as Beau, including how "1917 Revolution" gave Dandelion its only number one hit single - in the Lebanese charts.
Shows Played[]
- 13 August 1969: 1917 Revolution (7") Dandelion
- 24 August 1969: 1917 Revolution (7") Dandelion