Rockasteria: May 12, 2024

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Elegy - Elegy (1972 uk, rough underground fuzzy psych rock, 2021 limited edition 380 copy first pressing mini card gatefold sleeve)

Firstly I would like to say that this account is how I remember it, not necessarily how it was. The '70s were a fantastic time. Things happened that made Reality seem not quite how they were, if you get my drift! Of course the passing of time might have something to do with it as well. So if anybody wishes to correct me then please feel free.

I had been playing in a band in Brighton called Attic. It was there that I met Terry [ex-Hellmet]. When that was exactly I don't recall but sometime later Terry had hooked up with the rest of Elegy [ ex-Gin House] and invited me to join. They were looking for somebody who could sing and play another instrument. At that time I was heavily into Jethro Tull and so the natural instrument was flute. We rehearsed in Ian Lambert's (or Larry as he became known) parents' house in Crawley. He'd padded out a bedroom with egg boxes and mattresses. Worked a treat!

After some time rehearsing the agent they'd been working for came up with a 6 week residency in a club in Vienna. I gave up my job as a Customs & Excise clerk and we accepted the gig. It was a Saturday and we'd said our goodbyes, packed our bags and were waiting for a call from the agent to say the deal had finally been ok'd and off we would go. This never came, but being young and impetuous we thought we'd go anyway. So into the transit van and off we went.

We arrived in Vienna nearly 24 hours later around midnight, called on the agent, Hans Hausner, who luckily had a flat for us. Well, I say flat, but it was one large room with a kitchen area and the running water was outside in the hall, along with a shared toilet. Luxury! We stayed there for our time in Vienna but did rise to having a second flat sometime later on the floor above.

We played in a club outside Vienna in a place called Schwardorf. Payment was enough for either a packet of cigarettes or a frankfurter on the way home with the remainder promised at the end of our residency. We were playing covers - Yes, Badfinger, Hendrix, etc. Slightly off the pop side and were well received. At the end of the stint we went to collect our money. The manager was nowhere to be found. I do recall some sort of car chase and then cornering him in a car park somewhere but all to no avail. He had no money and couldn't pay us.

It was after this that we decided to do our own material. The flats we were in had a cellar where we could rehearse We together an original set and proceeded to take Austria by storm. I can remember one time there were a series of gigs run I think at the Stadthalle with a name band playing each night. We recorded the single 'No Direction'/'Pain' at the Studios of Peter Mueller, Vienna. The only other recording to my knowledge is the one done at Club Electronic, which was recorded by placing a single mike in front of a PA Hopefully you can get an idea of what our music was like. By then Steve Day had replaced George because of a family tragedy. I added keyboards to my gear and the music took on a different steer again. I would say we were going into prog rock territory. What caused the demise of the band, I'm not sure. Elegy was a band that could have gone places with the right management but sadly is only to remain a long distant memory.

by Chris Cox, 2021