The Creation (band)
The Creation | |
---|---|
Origin | England |
Genre(s) | Rock Power Pop Psychedelic rock |
Years active | 1966–1968 Reunited: mid-1980s |
Label(s) | , Polydor, Mercury Records |
Associated acts |
The Birds |
Website | myspace.com/thecreationofficial |
Members | |
Kenny Pickett (lead vocals) Mick Thompson Jack Jones (dr) Bob Garner Doug Sandom Ron Wood Eddie Phillips Kim Gardner David O'Brien (only live, rhythm guitar, 1968) |
The Creation were an English psychedelic rock band, formed in 1966.
Contents |
Original band members
- Kenny Pickett (born Kenneth George Pickett, 3 September 1942, in Ware, Hertfordshire — died 10 January 1997) on vocals
- Eddie Phillips (born Edwin Michael Phillips, 15 August 1942, in Leytonstone, East London) on lead guitar
- Mick Thompson on rhythm guitar
- Jack Jones (born Jack Llewleyn Jones, 8 November 1944, in Northampton, Northamptonshire) on drums
- Bob Garner (born Robert Anthony Garner, 15 May 1946, in Warrington, Lancashire) on bass.
Career
The first four mentioned had been in The Mark Four, accompanied by John Dalton who had left to join The Kinks. Garner had previously been in the Tony Sheridan Band.
Their style was originally loud pop-art, similar to The Kinks and The Who, but developed into a more typically mid 1960s psychedelic sound. The most popular Creation song was "Painter Man", which made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1966, and reached number 8 in the German chart in April 1967. The song featured, in an intersection in the second half, lead guitarist Phillips's trademark of playing his instrument with a violin bow. He was reputedly the first guitarist to pioneer this technique, although Jimmy Page would later do so to greater acclaim.[1] Phillips was also responsible for coining many of the band's best known quotes: "Our music is red – with purple flashes" was one such soundbite that was also used in their marketing material. They took their pop art experimentation slightly further when singer Kenny Pickett would spray paint a canvas during their live shows, before a member of the road crew would set light to artwork on stage.[2]
Although most of their singles were issued in the UK, after "Making Time" and "Painter Man", there were no further hits. They even had four singles were issued in the US("Making Time" b/w "Try And Stop Me", "Painter Man" b/w 'Biff Bang Pow", "If I Stay Too Long" b/w "Nightmares", and "How Does It Feel To Feel" b/w "Life Is Just Beinning"), without success. They did remaining extremely popular in Germany and in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
At the end of 1966, Garner left and was replaced by Kim Gardner; plus in March 1968 Pickett left and was replaced by Ron Wood (both of these new members had been in The Birds), but Pickett soon returned, replacing both Phillips and Gardner. Shortly afterwards, however, Creation disbanded; Pickett continued as songwriter for their American producer, Shel Talmy, and also became American road manager for Led Zeppelin; Ron Wood joined the Jeff Beck Group; Gardner co-formed Ashton, Gardner & Dyke and was later a member of Badger; Jones became a cabaret singer. Pickett and Phillips later wrote the hit single "Teacher Teacher" for Rockpile.
The Creation re-formed in the mid 1980s with Phillips, Pickett, Dalton, and Mick Avory (drums, ex-Kinks), releasing a single on Jet Records and recording an album in a more contemporary rock style. The reformed band continued to tour, with various line-up changes, capitalising first on their cult notoriety with the underground mod and garage rock audiences and subsequently in their return to cool after the success of Creation Records. Their influence on popular music has been greater than their limited chart success. In the 1970s, Boney M released a disco version of "Painter Man" that reached the UK top ten. Eighties mod band Makin' Time are among the many garage bands who have taken their name from a Creation song, while Edward Ball wrote a song for The Times, "Red With Purple Flashes", based on the Eddie Phillips quote. The most successful UK indie record label of the Nineties, Creation Records, took their name from the band.[3] They performed in the United States for the first time at the final edition of in November, 2001.
References
- The famous indie record label, Creation Records, was named after them.
- There are bands called Makin' Time, The Paintermen and Biff Bang Pow!
- Their song "Makin' Time" was used in the movie Rushmore directed by Wes Anderson.
Discography
Albums
- 1967 We Are Paintermen (issued in German and Sweden only)
- 1968 The Best Of The Creation (issued in German and Sweden only)
- 1975 The Creation (UK collection)
- 1982 The Mark Four/The Creation (German collection)
- 1994 Painter Man (UK budget collection)
- 1998 "Our Music Is Red - With Purple Flashes" (UK collection)
- 2004 Psychedelic Rose: The Great Lost Creation Album
UK Singles
- June 1966 - "" / "Try And Stop Me"
- October 1966 - "Painter Man" / " Biff Bang Pow"
- 1967 - "Cool Jerk" / "Life Is Just Beginning" (German only)
- June 1967 - "If I Stay Too Long" / "Nightmares"
- October 1967 - "Life is Just Beginning" / "Through My Eyes"
- February 1968 - "How Does it Feel to Feel" / "Tom Tom"
- May 1968 - "" (/) / "The Girls are Naked" (Pickett/Gardner/Jones) (Polydor 56246)
- Bonney Moroney (Larry Williams) b/w (Larry Williams/Johnny Watson/Zawinul) (Germany only, Hit-ton HT 300210)
- 1968 "For All that I Am" (Friedland/Kahan) b/w "Uncle Bert" (Wood/Pickett/Gardner/Jones) (Hit-ton HT 300235, Germany)
- 1968 - "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" / "Uncle Bert" (German only)
- April 1987 - "A Spirit called Love" / "Making Time" / "Mumbo Jumbo" (12" EP)
- July 1994 - "Creation" / "Shock Horror" / "Power Surge" (CD single)
Compilations, etc
- September 1973 - Creation 66-67 (12" LP)
- October 1973 - "" / "Painter Man" (7" single)
- September 1982- How Does it Feel to Feel (12" LP)
- February 1984 - Recreation (12" LP)
- February 1984 - We Are Paintermen (12" LP)
- May 1984 - "Making Time" / "Little Bert" (7" single)
- 1985 - Live at the Beat Scene Club (7" EP)
References
- ^ Chris Hunt. Eddie Philips interview.
- ^ Chris Hunt. Eddie Philips interview.
- ^ Chris Hunt. Eddie Philips interview.
External links
- Eddie Phillips interview: 1974 by Chris Hunt, published in Guitarist, 1988.
- http://www.myspace.com/thecreationofficial
- The World Of Eddie Phillips And The Creation Yahoo! Group mailing list - a place to discuss Phillip's career and his music.
- Eddie Phillips Q And A - an e-mail interview with Phillips.