Kaleidoscope are an Englishpsychedelic rock band from London that originally were active between 1967 and 1970.[1] The band's songs combined the elements of psychedelia with whimsical lyrics.[2][3] The band were also known at various times as The Sidekicks, The Key, I Luv Wight and Fairfield Parlour.[4]
Having performed since 1963 under the name The Sidekicks, they became The Key in November 1965, before settling upon the name Kaleidoscope when they signed a deal with Fontana Records in January 1967 with the help of the music publisher Dick Leahy.[5][6] The group consisted of Eddy Pumer on guitar, Steve Clark on bass and flute, and Danny Bridgman on drums and the vocalistPeter Daltrey, who also played various keyboard instruments.[5][7][8] Most of the band's songs were compositions of Pumer's music and Daltrey's lyrics.[7] While the group did not achieve major commercial success in its time, it retains a loyal fan base and its recordings are still held in high regard.[2][3]
The band's first single "Flight from Ashiya" (b/w "Holidaymaker") was released on 15 September 1967 by Fontana Records, a little earlier than the band's first album Tangerine Dream.[1] The single, with its lyric about an impending plane crash, got critical acclaim and quite an amount of radio airplay but failed to reach the charts.[1][3] The song has subsequently appeared on many compilation albums, including Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969, the second box set of the Nuggets series, and Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery.[9]
Two months later, Tangerine Dream—also produced by Dick Leahy—was released. The album included "Flight From Ashiya", "Please Excuse My Face" and "Dive into Yesterday," now considered some of the band's best songs.[10] Meanwhile, the band performed live on several BBC radio shows.[1] A new single was released in 1968 called "Jenny Artichoke" (b/w "Just How Much You Are"), inspired by Donovan's, "Jennifer Juniper".[1] After the release the band traveled around Europe, supporting Country Joe and the Fish at the Amsterdam Concert Hall while in Netherlands.[1]Faintly Blowing, also produced by Leahy, was released in 1969 by Fontana Records.[1] This time the band's sound was heavier, but the tracks still included psychedelic elements with striking lyrics but it failed to reach the charts.[1][11] After the failure of Faintly Blowing, they released two more singles.
By the end of the decade, failing with their last single "Balloon", the band moved on with their new manager, DJ David Symonds, whom they met during the BBC sessions, under the name Fairfield Parlour, with the same lineup.[12] Although now called a progressive rock band, their music did not change much, still including fairy-tale lyrics with psychedelic harmony.[13] The band's first single as Fairfield Parlour, "Bordeaux Rosé", was released on 17 April 1970 on the Vertigolabel.[12] It got a considerable amount of radio airplay, but failed to chart. After releasing several singles, the album From Home to Home was released on 14 August 1970 with Symonds' production.[12] While the band was getting ready to release the album, they again used another name for themselves, I Luv Wight, as they were asked to record the theme song for the Isle of Wight Festival, "Let the World Wash in", which was released a week after the album From Home to Home.[12][13] They made the opening for the festival as Fairfield Parlour.[14]
The band's fourth album, White Faced Lady, which they financed independently, was recorded in Morgan Studios in London.[13][15] Attempts at finding a record company failed and the album was shelved until 1991 when it was released under the name Kaleidoscope on an independent label.[15][16] The band's last appearance in the early days was at a concert in Bremen, Germany, in 1972.[15]
In 2003, the Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour's BBC radio sessions, recorded between 1967 and 1971, were released as Please Listen to the Pictures on the independent label Circle.[17]
