The Portsmouth Sinfonia was an English orchestra founded by a group of students at the Portsmouth School of Art in 1970. The Sinfonia was generally open to anyone and ended up drawing players who were either people without musical training or, if they were musicians, ones that chose to play an instrument that was entirely new to them. Among the founding members was one of their teachers, English composer Gavin Bryars. The orchestra started as a one-off, tongue-in-cheek performance art ensemble but became a cultural phenomenon over the following 10 years, with concerts, record albums, a film and a hit single. They last performed publicly in 1979.
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Links to Peel[]
The Portsmouth Sinfonia- Now Everyone Can Play - Short Documentary
Peel had some sympathy for the ideas behind the Portsmouth Sinfonia, declaring in his Sounds column of 1 June 1974 that he was thinking of starting a rock equivalent ("Wanted: four non-musicians"), to help him endure the “absurdities of the rock industry”. He described the classical-based originals as “a group of people whose love for the music has prompted them to demonstrate that it’s not all cant and pomposity in the hope of saving it from its audience and thus, ultimately, from itself.”[1]
Unsurprisingly, the DJ didn't fail to give occasional airtime to the Portsmouth ensemble, whose varying lineup included Peel session artist Brian Eno, from their debut single to an LP of Cover Versions of pop tunes, '20 Classic Rock Classics', released in 1979 and revisited into the 1990s.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- None
Sessions[]
- None
Other Shows Played[]
Portsmouth Sinfonia - Heartbreak Hotel
- 12 March 1974: William Tell Overture (7") Transatlantic BIG 515
- 17 September 1979: Telstar (LP - 20 Classic Rock Classics) Philips
- 19 September 1979: Heartbreak Hotel (LP - 20 Classic Rock Classics) Philips
- 25 May 1996 (BFBS): Uptown Top Ranking (LP-20 Classic Rock Classics) Philips
See Also[]
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