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Spontaneous Combustion (English band)

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For other uses, see Spontaneous combustion (disambiguation).

Spontaneous Combustion
OriginPoole, Dorset, England, United Kingdom
GenresProgressive rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock, space rock, folk rock, country rock
Years active1968 (1968)–1981 (1981)
LabelsEMI, Harvest, Capitol, Lingasong
Past membersGary Margetts
Tris Margetts
Tony Brock
Steve Evans
Jode Leigh
Mike U'Dell
Alec Johnson
James (Jay) Sharkey
Pete Taylor

Spontaneous Combustion were an English progressive rock band formed in 1968 in Poole, Dorset,[1][2] with brothers Gary Margetts (guitar, Mellotron, lead vocals) and Tris Margetts (bass, VCS3, vocals), and Tony Brock (drums, piano, vocals).[3][4] The band released three albums and four singles working with producers Greg Lake, Robert Fripp, Robert Kirby, and Conny Plank before ending in 1981 when Tris Margetts became bassist in the Greg Lake Band with Gary Moore.[5][6] In 2012 their albums and singles were remastered and released as deluxe reissues with reproductions of artwork, and singles that weren't previously on albums; additional deluxe reissues have released in the decade since. Their original records and artwork are collector's items.[7][8]

History

[edit]

The band was originally formed as Transit Sound in 1968 by friends Gary Margetts and Steve Evans, joined by Tris Margetts and Tony Brock.[9] Initially they played cover songs in local Dorset clubs but began adding their original music. In August 1970 Evans left and the band continued as a trio.

In 1970 Greg Lake, who lived in the same town, and at the time had achieved success as a member of King Crimson and had recently formed Emerson, Lake & Palmer,[10] offered to produce the band and encouraged EMI Records to sign them.[11][12] Lake also suggested a name change to Spontaneous Combustion.[13]

The band opened for Emerson, Lake & Palmer several times in 1971-72. Their first album, Spontaneous Combustion, which was produced by Lake, was released in 1972.[14] Their single "Sabre Dance", covering the classical composition by Aram Khachaturian, featured a guest appearance by Robert Fripp.[15] The band's second album Triad was released later in 1972,[16][17] and they supported the album with a headline appearance at the Harvest Mobile Tour Fall '72 promoted by EMI.[18]

Drummer Tony Brock left the band in 1973 and later formed The Babys.[19] The Margetts brothers continued the band with new drummer Jode Leigh and guitarist/singer Alec Johnson. This lineup recorded the album Time in 1975.[20]

The band broke up in 1977; their song "Spaceship" appears on the 2007 Harvest Records compilation album Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air.

Tris Margetts was bassist of the Greg Lake Band with Gary Moore, Ted McKenna and Tommy Eyre from 1981 to 1983; the band recorded two studio albums,[21][22] and the live album King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Greg Lake In Concert recorded November 5, 1981, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, that was broadcast live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio program. The set list included songs from the band's first album Greg Lake and Greg's King Crimson composition "21st Century Schizoid Man" as well as a mix of ELP's "Fanfare For The Common Man" and "Karn Evil 9"; Greg's ELP song "Lucky Man", and Gary Moore's "Parisienne Walkways".[23]

The live recording has been released multiple times with various titles (including London '81), sometimes featuring songs recorded at other concerts during the band's 1981 tour of the UK, U.S. and Canada, and some releases include Greg's King Crimson song "In The Court Of The Crimson King" and other selections such as Greg's Emerson, Lake & Palmer song "C'est la Vie".[24]

In 2012, interest in Spontaneous Combustion was revived when their first recording "Just a Dream", produced by Greg Lake during recording sessions of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1971 album Tarkus, was inadvertently included in the 2012 deluxe reissue of Tarkus as a bonus track titled "Unknown Ballad". This unlabeled recording was discovered in the ELP archives by reissue producer Steven Wilson, who erroneously believed it to be an unreleased ELP song from the Tarkus sessions (in fact, the song featured Lake playing Keith Emerson's piano and singing harmony vocals on the chorus).[25] After the origin of the recording came to light, the reissue was withdrawn. In 2016, Lake produced another reissue of Tarkus with the Spontaneous Combustion song included, along with an explanation of the 2012 error.[26]

In 2020, rock historian Brett Milano included the debut Spontaneous Combustion album in his list of "Classic Albums By Young Musicians: 25 Age-Defying Greats".[27]

Discography

[edit]
  • Spontaneous Combustion (1972)
  • Triad (1972)
  • Time (1975)

References

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  1. ^ Gough, Patrick (17 August 2009). "Seaside rock". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Bournemouth, England. https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4548129.amp/ . Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  2. ^ Burridge, Alan (2009). Bournemouth Rocks! : A Brief History of Rock Music in Bournemouth, Boscombe and Poole, 1960–1980. Natula Publications. ISBN 978-1-897887-77-6. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  3. ^ Artist biography and album review, album credits, track list, Spontaneous Combustion 1972 debut album Spontaneous Combustion. AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/album/spontaneous-combustion-mw0000847693 . Retrieved 16 March 2020. AllMusic Review by Steven McDonald.
  4. ^ Spontaneous Combustion band members. EMI Harvest Spontaneous Combustion Triad full-page advertisement in Melody Maker, reprinting Melody Maker's review of Triad 11 November 1972. Melody Maker, November 1972. (Date and page number blurry in image.) Retrieved 24 February 2020. "Working in a tight network of drums, bass and lead guitar ... heightened by fine production... Their material apparently written jointly by Gary Margetts (guitar, lead vocal), Tris Margetts (bass guitar, VCS3, vocals) and Tony Brock (drums, percussion and vocals) contains some imaginative lyrics. Melody Maker, Nov 11, 1972. See them on the Harvestmobile tour. New single: Gay Time Night. Harvest Records."
  5. ^ Artist biography and album reviews, album credits, track list with music samples, 1997 two-CD reissue of Spontaneous Combustion debut album Spontaneous Combustion (1972) and second album Triad (1972). AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/album/triad-spontaneous-combustion-mw0000608715 . Retrieved 16 March 2020. AllMusic Review by Steven McDonald.
  6. ^ Welch, Chris (December 1981). "Birth of a Band". International Musician and Recording World: pages 28-29, 31. Archived from the original: http://ladiesofthelake.com/cabinet/birth.html . Retrieved 18 March 2020. "[Greg] began the difficult task of trying to create the Greg Lake Band. 'I wanted one I'd be happy with, and it was not easy! My standards were high, and there just aren't that many people out there who are good musicians and nice guys. There are a lot of good players, but I couldn't begin to work with them. And there's some nice guys around, but they're not such good players. It's a rare combination to find. I have to work with people I respect.' Tris Margetts on bass is an old friend, and Greg likes his style. 'He's a clean, thoughtful bass player.'"
  7. ^ Thompson, Fred (2002). The Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting. Chapter: Harvest. Backbeat Books, London, United Kingdom. 326 pages. ISBN 978-0879307134. Available in .pdf: https://books.google.com/books?id=GtGGDwAAQBAJ&q=spontaneous+combustion+band+uk.&pg=PT492 Retrieved 7 March 2020. "...Spontaneous Combustion. ... Singles by these bands are colossally hard to collect."
  8. ^ Grishin, Yuri (2007). The Famous British Collectable Record Labels, Volume 2: Harvest Label 1969 - 1980. Limited Edition. Available in .pdf. https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=651937 . Retrieved 7 March 2020. "Artists & groups: ... Adam Faith, The Beatles, The Hollies, ... Deep Purple, ... Pink Floyd, ... Spontaneous Combustion, ..."
  9. ^ "Rain Beat" (21 August 1970). (No author byline.) Christchurch Herald, Poole, No. 462. Times-Herald Newspapers. https://m.facebook.com/spontaneouscombustionbanduk/photos/a.114209955312995/114625308604793/?type=3&source=54 . Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Spontaneous Combustion | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  11. ^ Shipston, Roy (1971). "ELP, They're All Absolutely Shattered!". Disc and Music Echo. http://ladiesofthelake.com/cabinet/disc71.html . Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  12. ^ Epstein, Dmitry M. (May 2013). "Interview with Greg Lake". DMME.net. https://dmme.net/interview-with-greg-lake . Retrieved 28 February 2020. "... the record business had become such a big money business and some artists were just not able to get into it. If you didn’t get a big record deal, you just couldn’t compete, and I knew a few really great artists, like the ones you’ve just mentioned [Spontaneous Combustion], and I didn’t want them to go by without having a career."
  13. ^ Cherry, John (2020). "Spontaneous Combustion". Bournemouth Beat Boom. Retrieved 4 July 2022. "Greg Lake, another Oakdale resident, ... used to live in Dale Valley Road a stone’s throw from the Margetts family home in Nansen Avenue. Greg pulled a few strings by introducing the band to EMI’s Nick Mobbs ... He also offered to produce their debut album and gave the band a new name, Spontaneous Combustion, after a Cannonball Adderley number."
  14. ^ "Spontaneous Combustion - Spontaneous Combustion | Songs, Reviews, Credits", AllMusic, retrieved 28 May 2021
  15. ^ 23 Daves (2 September 2020). "Left and to the Back: Spontaneous Combustion - Sabre Dance/ And Now For Something Completely Different". Left and to the Back. Retrieved 28 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Triad - Spontaneous Combustion | Songs, Reviews, Credits", AllMusic, retrieved 28 May 2021
  17. ^ Melody Maker review of Spontaneous Combustion's second album Triad (11 November 1972), reprinted in EMI Harvest Triad full-page advertisement in Melody Maker. Melody Maker, November 1972. (Date and page number blurry in image.) Retrieved 24 February 2020. "Working in a tight network of drums, bass and lead guitar ... heightened by fine production... Their material apparently written jointly by Gary Margetts (guitar, lead vocal), Tris Margetts (bass guitar, VCS3, vocals) and Tony Brock (drums, percussion and vocals) contains some imaginative lyrics. Melody Maker, Nov 11, 1972. See them on the Harvestmobile tour. New single: Gay Time Night. Harvest Records."
  18. ^ EMI announcement: Spontaneous Combustion headlining Harvestmobile Tour, Fall 1972. "International News Reports: EMI to Launch MoWest (Motown West) in the U.K., With Big Promo Splash. Harvest Drive". (No author byline). Billboard. 16 September 1972, pages 44, 49. https://books.google.com/books?id=5ycEAAAAMBAJ&dq=spontaneous+combustion+band+uk&pg=PA44 . Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  19. ^ "On the Beat with Tony Brock of the Babys: Talks Nostalgia and Walking to His Own Beat". Modern Drummer Magazine. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  20. ^ Track list, photos and credits, Spontaneous Combustion third album Time (1975). https://www.discogs.com/Time-Time/master/549987 . Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  21. ^ Prasad, Anil (2011). "Greg Lake: New Perspectives". Innerviews. https://www.innerviews.org/inner/lake.html . Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  22. ^ Pilato, Bruce (1997). The Greg Lake Retrospective: From The Beginning (1997) two-CD set, 36 page booklet with interview and images. http://images.45worlds.com/f/cd/greg-lake-esdcd-552-4-cd.jpg . Retrieved 8 May 2020. Page 23.
  23. ^ Artist biography, album credits, track list, King Biscuit Flower Hour: Greg Lake In Concert. AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/album/king-biscuit-flower-hour-greg-lake-in-concert-mw0000645066 . Retrieved 4 July 2022. AllMusic Review by Lindsay Planer.
  24. ^ Album credits and track list, and subsequent versions' titles and track lists, King Biscuit Flower Hour: Greg Lake In Concert. https://www.discogs.com/master/329145-Greg-Lake-King-Biscuit-Flower-Hour-Presents-Greg-Lake-In-Concert . Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  25. ^ Milano, Brett (3 November 2020). "How Steven Wilson Made Prog Rock Cool Again". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  26. ^ Emerson Lake & Palmer – Tarkus (2016, CD), retrieved 28 May 2021
  27. ^ Milano, Brett (11 May 2020). "Classic Albums By Young Musicians: 25 Age-Defying Greats". uDiscover Music. https://udiscovermusic.com/stories/young-musicians-classic-albums/ . Retrieved 16 July 2020. "Spontaneous Combustion: Spontaneous Combustion (1972)".
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