Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

P'raps you could collaborate with Bubbs on a Pyramid scheme?

Nutz also had a big CSNY influence at least on the first two albums.

The problem with that era was most bands were the sum of other people's parts but not parts that were fused. They just had different influences that emerged from song to song. At least Lone Star were a little more the complete package in terms of having some individuality. Still, can't really argue with the guitar that opens Nutz Two and resolves into a Sweet style campy chugger that suggests that they had a couple of Queen albums too.

It all came together on Hard Nutz though that is more obviously Zep influenced. On stage I remember them as being a Purps type, Hammond driven metal boogie band.

The HM Kids were definitely more Watford than Stoke City with a sound pitched somewhere between Goats Head Soup and Tomorrow Belongs To Me.

Didn't Bethnal get adopted by Sounds as an East End quasi punk band? I had a single or maybe an ep that featured an Animals cover. They had a fiddle player. Never saw them.

Saw Crawler a few times out of loyalty to those that had been Kossoff's band mates. With the benefit of hindsight they were crap. Ditto the O Band / Band Called O who also threatened to join the top tier for a couple of years. College circuit and City Hall bands by and large and yes it must have been an ok living even with people paying 75p to get in.

That said the second division was dominated and clogged up with a bunch of perenials who seemed to be stuck in rock purgatory for about five years. There were also a lot of mid table, too big for the Roundhouse too small for Hammersmith / The Rainbow acts that ended up playing the New Victoria or somewhere like that.

Then there were all the relegated sides looking to get back up into the 1st division like Paice Ashton and Lord and Streetwalkers.

All very static though, especially as it would take most new acts at least three records to get a sniff of a shot at promotion. Three records is a long time in rock n roll even back then. How many musicians started a recording career in 74, looked all set to enjoy a decent life as a mid level rock n roller by the end of 75, only to have their hopes and dreams torn away in 77 while all the major label money piled on the New Wave.

Steve Gibbons anyone? Moon? Druid!!!

I was sphinxing along those lines.

I am convinced that there is a really good book to be written about those years between 73 and 76 ish. A "Please Kill Me" from the horse's mouth job. I watched the Harlech TV Man documentary the other day which centred on Welsh Connection and their farewell shows at the Roundhouse. It's as much another world as "The London Nobody Knows" or "Randall and Hopkirk". Worth doing before too many people peg it.

BTW spot-on re Van Halen. Many of the more gifted plank spankers I went to school with switched allegiances from W.Ash and Lizzy and Blackmore to EVH almost overnight. Can't beat that first album and the Sabbath tour boots.

Well it depends on what you want. I don't really listen to much doom with guttural vocals, I prefer the classic stuff. As for death metal, Autopsy's Mental Funeral is always a good place to start.