Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera

History

The group emerged from a soul/blues band called 'The Five Proud Walkers'. After supporting Pink Floyd on tour, they were inspired to change their approach and become a more psychedelic outfit. The band consolidated as Richard Hudson on drums, John Ford on bass, Colin Forster on lead guitar, Jimmy Horrocks (Horovitz) on organ and flute (who left early in the band's history), and Dave Terry on vocals and harmonica. Initially just calling themselves Velvet Opera, they developed their full name when Terry took to wearing a cape and preacher's hat in the style of the title character in the 1960 film adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' novel, Elmer Gantry.

They started to make club appearances in London, using electronic backing sounds, and secured a record deal with the short lived Direction Records subsidiary of CBS Records in the UK. Their first recording was the single "Flames" (November 1967) which also featured on the CBS sampler record "The Rock Machine Turns You On", and was later covered on stage by Led Zeppelin. Further singles and a self-titled album followed, including the track "Mary Jane" which was taken off the BBC playlist after they realised its drug connotations, although the band continued to make regular live appearances on John Peel's Radio 1 programme 'Top Gear', and other BBC radio shows.

However, the recording success of the band was limited, and Forster left when Hudson and Ford wanted to take the band in a different direction. Forster was replaced by Paul Brett. Elmer Gantry was the next to depart, along with Paul Brett, and the band reverted to the name "Velvet Opera". Gantry and Brett were replaced by John Joyce and a returning Colin Forster respectively, and the band released a second album, Ride a Hustler's Dream. This again failed to achieve success, and in 1970 Ford left (to be replaced by Colin Bass), subsequently followed by Richard Hudson; both of them joining The Strawbs shortly afterwards. At this point the band dissolved.

In 1971, Forster and Bass formed a new version of Velvet Opera with ex-Tintern Abbey vocalist, Dave MacTavish and drummer Mike Fincher. Short-lived, they recorded one single on the Spark Records label.

Meanwhile, Terry formed his own band with ex-members of the Downliners Sect (whose bass player was Paul Martinez, later to also be a member of "Fake Mac" and Stretch) and performed in Hair. In 1974 he went on to tour with the "Fake Mac" version of Fleetwood Mac, when manager Clifford Davis claimed he owned the name "Fleetwood Mac" and promoted a new version without any original members. After the tour collapsed in litigation with the original members of Fleetwood Mac, the band continued as Stretch. Later, Terry recorded with The Alan Parsons Project and sang lead vocals on the tracks "May Be a Price to Pay" on The Turn of a Friendly Card and "Psychobabble" on Eye in the Sky. He also worked with Cozy Powell and Jon Lord.

Members

Albums

Singles