Ariel (band)
Encyclopedia
- See Ariel (Russian band)Ariel (Russian band)Ariel are a "VIA" band based in Chelyabinsk, Russia.They were formed in 1970 and headed by Valery Yarushin. From 1989 to the present day, they have been headed by Rostislav Gepp. The group emerged from a fusion of two earlier ensembles, called Ariel and Allegro...
for the Russian band.
Ariel was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band based around the duo Mike Rudd
Mike Rudd
Mike Rudd is a New Zealand born musician and composer who has been based in Australia since the late 1960s, and who is best known as the leader of respected Australian progressive rock bands Spectrum and Ariel in the 1970s....
and Bill Putt, who formed the band in 1973 after the breakup of their previous group Spectrum
Spectrum (band)
Spectrum is an Australian progressive rock band that formed in Melbourne in 1969 and, in its original period, remained in existence until 1973. Its members also performed under the alter-ego Indelible Murtceps...
(which also performed under the alter-ego Indelible Murtceps). The original Ariel line-up was Rudd (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Putt (bass), Tim Gaze
Tim Gaze
Tim Gaze is an Australian rock and blues guitarist, songwriter, singer and producer. He was a member of several prominent Australian groups of the 1960s and 1970s including Tamam Shud, Kahvas Jute, Ariel and Rose Tattoo.-Biography:...
(guitar), Nigel Macara (drums) and John Mills (keyboards). Gaze and Macara were recruited from seminal Australian progressive rock band Tamam Shud
Tamam Shud
Tamam Shud were an Australian psychedelic and progressive rock band, formed in Sydney in 1967, which released two albums, Evolution and Goolutionites and the Real People before disbanding in 1972...
.
History
The band released three studio albums and two live albums between 1973 and 1977, during which there were several line-up changes, with Rudd and Putt the only permanent members. Other members of Ariel included guitarists Harvey JamesHarvey James
Harvey William James was an Australian rock guitarist. He was a member of the bands Mississippi, Ariel, Sherbet and The Party Boys...
and Glyn Mason and keyboard player Tony Slavich.
Their debut album A Strange Fantastic Dream, produced by Peter Dawkins
Peter Dawkins (musician)
Peter Dawkins is a New Zealand-born record producer and musician, best known for his hit 1970s productions for Australian-based pop artists, including Dragon, Australian Crawl and Air Supply. He has won multiple production awards, including the Countdown Producer of the Year...
was released on EMI's progressive label Harvest in December 1973 and reached #12 on the Australian LP charts in February 1974.http://www.milesago.com/Artists/ariel.htmhttp://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=5405. It included their most successful single "Jamaican Farewell", which peaked at #34, its success hampered by lack of airplay, especially in Sydney, although it impressed the industry enough to win the FACB 'Single Of The Year' http://www.milesago.com/Artists/ariel.htm. According to the liner notes for the CD release of the album, there were calls to ban the LP because of its psychedelic cover artwork by Stephen Nelson, which included a figure holding a hypodermic syringe. Airplay for the LP was further hindered by the banning of three songs (the darkly satirical "Confessions Of A Psychotic Cowpoke", "Medicine Man" and "Chicken Shit") by the commercial radio industry's self-regulatory body in Australia, the FACBhttp://www.milesago.com/Artists/ariel.htm. Critical reception to A Strange Fantastic Dream was glowing.
According to Australian popular music and culture website Milesago:
One particularly important outcome for the group was that EMI International's President, Allan Davies, fell in love with the album: "You know, Peter," he enthused to Dawkins, "I can't recall ever hearing a song about necrophilia!" Renowned British DJ John Peel also picked up both album and single and "said some really nice things about both of them". These and other factors led to Ariel being invited to tour the UK and record their next album at Abbey Rd [sic]http://www.milesago.com/Artists/ariel.htm.
The remastered re-release of A Strange Fantastic Dream was described as "extraordinary" by The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
in September 2002 http://www.mikeruddbillputt.com/reviews/reviews_page.htm.
Gaze and Nigel Macara left the band abruptly after a trip to Perth in early 1973, so Rudd and Putt began work on an ambitious science-fiction themed concept work entitled The Jellabad Mutant, which they hoped to record. For rehearsals they brought in drummer John Lee (later a member of The Dingoes
The Dingoes
The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band initially active from 1973 to 1979, formed in Melbourne they relocated to the United States from 1976. Most stable line-up was John Bois on bass guitar, John Lee on drums, Broderick Smith on vocals and harmonica, Chris Stockley on guitar and Kerryn...
) who in turn brought in Harvey James, thereby establishing the second lineup of the group, which lasted until early 1975.
Ariel recorded a full demo of The Jellabad Mutant and presented it to their label EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, but it was rejected. On the strength of the first LP, EMI in Britain had arranged recording time for the group at their famous Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London, but the rejection of The Jellabad Mutant by EMI Australia forced Ariel to fall back on reworked material from Rudd's previous group Spectrum
Spectrum (band)
Spectrum is an Australian progressive rock band that formed in Melbourne in 1969 and, in its original period, remained in existence until 1973. Its members also performed under the alter-ego Indelible Murtceps...
, supplemented by new songs hastily written by Rudd for the sessions. Despite the problems surrounding the recording, the resultant album Rock & Roll Scars (1975) is now regarded as one of the best Australian albums of the period, although it failed to make any significant commercial impression. It was mixed in the UK by Geoff Emerick
Geoff Emerick
Geoffrey Emerick is an English recording studio audio engineer, who is best known for his work with The Beatles' albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road...
, who worked on many of the later recordings by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, and produced by Peter Dawkins.
Concerning the rejection of the Jellabad Mutant project, Rudd later said:
It's interesting to speculate what might have happened had we been allowed to proceed with the Mutant with an intact budget [EMI slashed the budget for Rock'n Roll Scars adding to the pressure] and with the time to to reflect and be creative with the raw material you hear in the demos. I regret not going in to bat for it at the time. We had a fabulous opportunity with the best technical assistance any band could have wanted. But I didn't sell the dream, even to myself.http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=5405.
After returning to Australia in early 1975 Ariel added a fifth member, singer-guitarist Glyn Mason, formally of Chain
Chain (band)
Chain are an Australian blues band formed in Melbourne as The Chain in late 1968 with a lineup including guitarist, vocalist Phil Manning; they are sometimes known as Matt Taylor's Chain after lead singer-songwriter and harmonica player, Matt Taylor...
, Jeff St John & Copperwine and Home. The five-piece version of the band performed for several months but recorded only one single, although unofficial live recordings of this lineup have survived. It was during this period that Rudd introduced Dawkins to newly-arrived New Zealand band Dragon
Dragon (band)
Dragon is a popular New Zealand rock band, they were formed in Auckland, New Zealand in January 1972 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in May 1975. They were previously led by singer Marc Hunter and are currently led by his brother bass player Todd Hunter...
. Dawkins (who had by then moved to CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
immediately signed Dragon and went on to produce a string of Australian hit albums and singles with them in the late 1970s.
After the expiration of their EMI contract the group signed with CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
for their third LP Goodnight Fiona (1976) and their only other charting single, the non-album track I'll take you high which reached #36 in January 1976. They made another trip to the UK in April 1976 but while there drummer John Lee left the band. He briefly joined English group Dirty Tricks and then finally rejoined The Dingoes
The Dingoes
The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band initially active from 1973 to 1979, formed in Melbourne they relocated to the United States from 1976. Most stable line-up was John Bois on bass guitar, John Lee on drums, Broderick Smith on vocals and harmonica, Chris Stockley on guitar and Kerryn...
after they relocated to America. Lee was replaced in Ariel by Nigel Macara.
Harvey James quit Ariel abruptly later in 1976 after he was invited to join leading Australian pop group Sherbet
Sherbet (band)
Sherbet was one of the most prominent and successful Australian rock bands of the 1970s. Their biggest singles were "Summer Love" and "Howzat" , both reaching number one in Australia. "Howzat" was also a top 5 hit in the UK. Though the band's success in the U.S...
, where he replaced founding member Clive Shakespeare
Clive Shakespeare
Clive Richard Shakespeare is an English-born Australian guitarist and producer and he is a co-founder of Sherbet which had commercial success in the 1970s including their number one singles, "Summer Love" in 1975 and "Howzat" in 1976.-Biography:Clive Shakespeare was born in England in 1949 and his...
. James' first recording with Sherbet was their Australian #1 and UK Top 5 hit "Howzat". James was replaced in Ariel by keyboard player Tony Slavich.
Macara left again in October 1976 and was replaced by another former Richard Clapton
Richard Clapton
Richard Clapton is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Sydney, New South Wales. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are "Girls on the Avenue" and "I Am an Island"...
Band member, Iain McLennan. The single "Disco Dilemma" was released in April 1977, just before expiration of their CBS contract, after which they signed to local independent label Image Records. They recorded the single "It's Only Love" for their new label; the song featured lead vocals from its writer Glyn Mason.
Ariel announced its breakup in July 1977 and, just before their CBS contract expired http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=5405, the "Island Fantasy" themed farewell concert was staged on Sunday 21 August 1977 at the Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The show was recorded and released over the two albums Ariel Aloha (Oct 1977) and Live - More From Before (1978). These two albums were subsequently reissued in 1980 as Ariel Live In Concert.
Studio albums
- A Strange Fantastic Dream (1974)
- The Jellabad Mutant (Recorded in 1974, Released in 2002)
- Rock & Roll Scars (1975)
- Goodnight Fiona (1976)
Live albums
- Aloha Ariel (1977)
- Live! More from Before (1978)
- Live in Concert (1980) 2LP set that combines both Aloha Ariel and Live! More from Before.
Singles
- "Jamaican Farewell" / "Red Hot Momma" (1973)
- "Yeah Tonight" / "( I Am The) Laughing Man" (1974)
- "Keep On Dancing" / "I'll Be GoneI'll Be Gone"I'll Be Gone" or "Some Day I'll Have Money" is a song by Australian progressive rock group Spectrum released as their debut single by EMI on Harvest Records in January 1971. It peaked at #1 on the national singles chart, while it reached Top 5 in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The song was...
" (1975) - "I'll Take You High" / "I Can't Say What I Mean" (1976)
- "I Can Do Anything" / "Cypherland Blues" (1976)
- "Disco Dilemma" / "How Do You Do It?" (1977)
- "It's Only Love" / "It's Time we Said Our Goodbyes" (1977)