Shagrat (band)

Shagrat was a British band formed by Steve Peregrin Took and Mick Farren in 1970, they recruited Larry Wallis (guitar, backing vocals), Tim Taylor (bass), Phil Lenoir (drums), Dave Bidwell (percussion). Mick Farren left the band shortly after and never recorded with them.

Origin of the name

The band was named after the orc Shagrat from The Lord of the Rings and was a contraction of 'Shagrat The Vagrant', the name under which Steve Took had been credited on Mick Farren's album Mona. Larry Wallis offers an alternative explanation. "Steve Took" was Steve Took's real name as far as we were concerned, so he decided to take on another persona, "Shagrat" who was the guy with the slanty eyes, pointed beard and the suede shoes. Interviewed in 1972, Steve himself offered yet another explanation: I am gutter Rock, I'm a schneide. That's why I had Shagrat - it was a rat trip. Rats turn over at an amazing pace and they have a lot of kids. Not only do they eat the poison but they thrive on it and get bigger and they can still slip under doorways. It's the ecology trip. Do you know how many rats were killed in New York last year? 'Cos I don't! Hah! I can't remember my figures.

Career

At Strawberry Studios in Stockport, they recorded a session of which three tracks are known to survive, "Boo! I Said Freeze", "Peppermint Flickstick" and "Steel Abortion". The band undertook their first gig, at the Phun City Festival near Worthing, Sussex on 24–26 July 1970. The band played a 30-45 minute set, including all the songs from the Strawberry Studios session. The gig had certainly got the band off to a good start, but problems set in immediately afterwards. Phil Lenoir left (Took claimed that they never saw him again after the festival) as did Tim Taylor, leaving Shagrat in search of a new rhythm section.

A new drummer was recruited, Chicken Shack's Dave Bidwell, while Took switched to bass guitar. They continued to rehearse together in preparation for several live dates which had been booked and they received approaches from several record labels. In the end what finally terminated Shagrat as a performing entity was the fact that Took was the band's only full time member. Chicken Shack had never actually broken up and during 1970 regenerated into Savoy Brown, taking Bidwell along with it. Wallis meanwhile joined Blodwyn Pig and later UFO. With gig bookings looming, and Took not wishing to cancel, his only option was to play those gigs by himself.

Band members

Electric Shagrat

• Steve Took: Lead Vocal, Rhythm guitar, maracas
• Larry Wallis: Lead Guitar and backing vocals.
• Tim Taylor: Bass
• Phil Lenoir: Drums

Acoustic Shagrat

• Steve Took; Vocal, acoustic guitar
• Larry Wallis: Acoustic Bass
• Dave Bidwell: Percussion (tambourine, handclaps)

External links

• Steve Peregrin Took's official website