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Medicine Head

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Medicine_Head_-_'(And_The)_Pictures_In_The_Sky'_-_1971_45rpm

Medicine Head - '(And The) Pictures In The Sky' - 1971 45rpm

Medicine Head were an English blues rock band based around the duo of John Fiddler and Peter Hope-Evans, active from 1968 to 1977. Other musicians included former Yardbirds vocalist Keith Relf, who produced the band's second album and then joined on bass.

(Read more at Wikipedia.)

Links To Peel[]

Medicine Head's first three albums were released by Peel's Dandelion Records and the band scored the label's only chart single with "(And the) Pictures in the Sky", which reached number 22 in 1971. They achieved greater success after leaving Dandelion, however, with "One and One is One" (No. 3, 1973).[1]

Peel presents Medicine Head

A flyer for an early Peel and Medicine Head gig

As Peel was known to point out, the band's Dark Side Of The Moon album was released before the well-known Pink Floyd LP of the same name. He was also fond of relating how he produced their debut, New Bottles Old Medicine, in a single afternoon with the band's amplifiers threatening to give out at any moment. [2]

After the band broke-up, Fiddler formed British Lions with former members of Mott The Hoople including Morgan Fisher and Dale Griffin, later producer of many Peel sessions.[1]

Festive Fifty Entries[]

None

Sessions[]

1. Recorded: 1969-12-15. First broadcast: 10 January 1970. Repeated: 09 May 1970

  • His Guiding Hand / Walkin' Blues / Be Blessed To Your Heart / Close Baby / (& Goin' Home 1970-05-09)

2. Recorded: 1970-10-13. First broadcast: 24 October 1970. Repeated: 23 January 1971

  • The Night Is Young / Sing With The Drum / Hungry Eye / To Train Time (& Once There Was A Day 1971-01-23)

3. Recorded: 1971-05-24. First broadcast: 12 June 1971. Repeated: 24 July 1971

  • Pictures In The Sky / You Get The Rockin' And Rollin' / Don't You Worry / Medicine Pony (& The Night Is Young 1971-07-24)

4. Recorded: 1971-12-21. First broadcast: 14 January 1972. Repeated: 18 February 1972

  • Kum On / Rain / You And Me / Only To Do What Is True

5. Recorded: 1972-04-25. First broadcast: 02 May 1972. Repeated: 27 June 1972

  • Back To The Wall / Magic Prize / You're Not Here

6. Recorded: 1972-08-14. First broadcast: 25 August 1972. Repeated: 05 October 1972

  • Not Like A Soldier But Like An Old Love Song (aka How Does It Feel) / Approximately Blue Suede Shoes / Rock & Roll Kid / Through A Hole

7. Recorded: 1973-08-21. First broadcast: 18 September 1973. Repeated: 27 November 1973

  • Rainy Day Blues / In The Palm Of Your Hand / Be My Flier / How Does It Feel

8. Recorded: 1974-11-28. First broadcast: 05 December 1974. Repeated: 09 January 1975

  • Walkin' Blues / It's Got To Be Alright / I Just Wanna Make Love To You / Can't Live A Lie

9. Recorded: 1976-06-29. First broadcast: 15 July 1976. Repeated: 03 September 1976

  • Over You / It's Natural / Sun Sinking Low

10. Recorded: 1977-04-27. First broadcast: 03 May 1977. Repeated: 02 June 1977

  • His Guiding Hand / Slip And Slide / Pictures In The Sky / It's Natural

(Please correct mistakes and add any missing info)

Live[]

Recorded: unknown. First Broadcast: 26 April 1970

  1. His Guiding Hand
  2. Home's Odyssey
  3. Fiddle Dee Dee
  4. Two Men Now
  5. When The Night Falls
  6. Walkin' Blues

Recorded: 1971-04-15. First Broadcast: 25 April 1971

  1. Call On Your Saviour (And Sing With The Drum)
  2. Medicine Pony
  3. Once There Was A Day
  4. The Pig Stomp
  5. Thou Shalt Not Pass

Other Shows Played[]

(The list below is researched only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive and is almost certainly incomplete. Please add more information if known.)

1969
1970
1971
  • 23 January 1971: unknown (sourced from David Cavanagh's Good Night & Good Riddance book)
  • 27 March 1971: You Got Me Rockin' And Rollin' (LP - Heavy On The Drum) Dandelion
  • 24 April 1971: unknown (sourced from David Cavanagh's Good Night & Good Riddance book)
1972
1973
1974
  • 02 May 1974: Take Two Steps (LP - Thru' A Five) Polydor
1975
1976
1979
1980s
(JP: "(That Wild Billy Childish track) reminded me very much, in style and in content to a certain extent, of the first LP by Medicine Head, which I produced meself, and produced in an afternoon too. My goodness! We did things differently in those days: I could tell you a yarn or two. My favourite track from that session was Walkin' Blues, Medicine Head's version of the old Robert Johnson favourite (probably not a favourite of yours, but a favourite of mine anyway) in which their amplification equipment threatened to break down throughout, and it all sounded rather wonderful in the end, and I thought, as a special treat, because I like the cut of your jib, I thought I'd play it for you.")
  • 03 May 1988: Call On Your Saviour (And Sing With The Drum) (LP - Heavy On The Drum) Dandelion
  • 08 August 1988: Coast To Coast (7") Dandelion
1990s
2000s
Other

Releases on Dandelion Records[]

Albums

  • New Bottles Old Medicine
  • Heavy On The Drum
  • Dark Side of the Moon

Singles

  • His Guiding Hand / This Love of Old
  • Coast to Coast / All For Tomorrow
  • (And the) Pictures in the Sky / Natural Sight
  • Kum On / On the Land
  • Only To Do What Is True / Sittin' in the Sun
  • How Does It Feel / Morning Light

John Peel's Record Box[]

Two singles by the band were found in John Peel's Record Box:

  • His Guiding Hand / This Love of Old
  • Coast to Coast / All For Tomorrow

See Also[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. ↑ See Dale Griffin: Peel Sessions produced.
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