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John Peel Wiki
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Tomorrow

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Tomorrow (previously known as The In Crowd and before that as Four Plus One) were a 1960s psychedelic rock band. They were among the first psychedelic bands in England along with Pink Floyd and Soft Machine. The band released two singles, one of which, "My White Bicycle", was later covered by heavy rock act Nazareth, and as a novelty record by Neil the Hippy (Nigel Planer) of The Young Ones TV series. According to drummer John 'Twink' Alder, the song was inspired by the Dutch Provos, an anarchist group in Amsterdam which instituted a community bicycle program: 

"They had white bicycles in Amsterdam and they used to leave them around the town. And if you were going somewhere and you needed to use a bike, you'd just take the bike and you'd go somewhere and just leave it. Whoever needed the bikes would take them and leave them when they were done."  [1]

Tomorrow's September 1967 single "Revolution" influenced the Beatles to produce the same title track, although a completely different song, a year later. Tomorrow singer Keith West is perhaps better known as a participant in Mark Wirtz's Teenage Opera project that gave him a solo hit single "Excerpt from a Teenage Opera (Grocer Jack)" and brief commercial success. Guitarist Steve Howe later joined progressive rock band Yes, whilst Twink joined The Pretty Things on their concept album, S.F. Sorrow, before forming The Pink Fairies.

Links To Peel []

Despite critical acclaim and support from DJ John Peel, who regularly featured their single "My White Bicycle" on his Perfumed Garden radio show, the band was not a great success in commercial terms, perhaps because singer Keith West's summer 1967 hit single, "Excerpt From A Teenage Opera", overshadowed their own work. In addition, the "drug song" controversy which was raging at the time meant that, because of its lyrics and "psychedelic" sound, "My White Bicycle" received little radio airplay apart from on Peel's shows. (It may well have been banned by Radio London, as it does not appear in any of the weekly playlists on the station's website.)

They were one of the "underground" groups strongly associated with London's UFO club, which Peel attended regularly during his periods of shore leave from Radio London. They also appeared at the celebrated "14 Hour Technicolor Dream", a benefit held in support of International Times at Alexandra Palace on 29 April 1967, at which Peel was among the audience. Tomorrow recorded the first-ever John Peel session for BBC Radio One on 21 September 1967. It was first broadcast on 01 October 1967, when Peel made his Radio One debut on the Top Gear show. Yet because they broke up in early 1968 they are less well-known than some of the other artists who did sessions in the early days of Top Gear.

Sessions[]

Two sessions. 'Three Jolly Little Dwarfs' and 'Revolution' from #1 appear on the 1998 compilation 50 Minute Technicolour Dream (CD, RPM Records). 'Colonel Brown' and 'Real Life Permanent Dream' available on Shapes & Sounds (Orange & Red Beams From The BBC Archives, 1967-1969) (CD, Top Sounds Records, 2006). 'My White Bicycle' from #1 available on Radio Tymes (CD, Top Sounds Records, 2011). 'Blow Up' from #2 available on Shapes & Sounds (Orange & Red Beams From The BBC Archives, 1967-1969) (CD, Top Sounds Records, 2006).

1. Recorded: 1967-09-21. First Broadcast 01 October 1967. Repeated 12 November 1967

  • Three Jolly Little Dwarfs / My White Bicycle / Revolution / Real Life Peanut (or Permanent) Dream / Shy Boy / Colonel Brown

2. Recorded 1968-01-31.First broadcast 04 February 1968.

  • Blow Up / Strawberry Fields Forever / Now Your Time Has Come / The Incredible Journey Of Timothy Chase

Other Shows Played[]

Tomorrow_-_My_White_Bicycle_(1967)

Tomorrow - My White Bicycle (1967)

'My White Bicycle', a track Peel enjoyed very much

(Please add further information if known)

See Also[]

External Links[]

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