Tea & Symphony

Tea & Symphony Was A British Psychedelic Folk Band Formed In 1968 In Birmingham That Recorded Two Albums And Split In 1971. The Core Line-Up Consisted Of Jeff Daw James Langston And Nigel Phillips. They Are Most Remembered For Their Strange Stage-Shows And Presentation Which Included As Much Theatrical As Musical Content. In 1969 Tea & Symphony Toured With Progressive Blues Outfit Bakerloo Who Were From Nearby Tamworth In Staffordshire. Both Groups Were Signed To The Harvest Records Label In 1969 And Tea & Symphony Were Able To Record Under The Direction Of Producer Gus Dudgeon Who Had Previously Worked With The Famous Nottingham Group Ten Years After. To Supplement The Recordings Mick Hinks Bass Guitar And Bob Lamb Drums From Locomotive Were Used To Play On Two Of The Album's Tracks. The Resulting Tea & Symphony Album Titled "An Asylum For The Musically Insane" Was Made Up Of Nine Original Songs All Composed By The Group Themselves. The Recording Was Described As Eccentric And Reviews In The Music Press Ranged From "brilliant" To "self-Indulgent". The Album Cast Aside All Commercial Considerations With Most Of The Tracks Featuring Weird Vocal Arrangements And A Largely Acoustic Backing. The Only Almost "conventional" Song On The Album Was The Come On Which Displayed A Strong Blues Influence As Well As Some Brilliant Lead Guitar. After The Album's Release Nigel Phillips Possibly Because Of A Reluctance To "go Electric" With A Bass And Drums Line-Up Decided To Leave The Group. He Asked A Friend Bob Wilson To Take His Place In Tea & Symphony As Bob Was Proficient In Both Guitar And Piano. The Group Then Went Down To London To Record Their Next Album. Session Musicians Pat Donaldson Bass And Gerry Conway Drums Were Hired To Play On The Album As They Had A History Of Playing With Similar Kinds Of Bands. With The Recording Completed James Langston Approached Birmingham Drummer Peter Chatfield At The Famous Musician's Hang-Out Bull's Head Pub On 'The Green' In Moseley. Pete Agreed To Join The Group As A Full-Time Member And Was Present At The Final Mixing Of The Second Album. The New Tea And Symphony Album Entitled Jo Sago Produced By Tony Hall And Tony Cox Was Released In 1970 And According To Available Accounts Was Little More Accessible Musically Than The Previous Release. For The Live Line-Up Tom Bennison From Bellbroughton Worcestershire Who Played Bass Guitar And French Horn Was Then Recruited To The Ranks Of Tea & Symphony. He Stayed For Only A Short Time Before He Left And Was Replaced By Dave Carroll Who Played Bass Electric/acoustic Guitars Violin And Helped Out On The Vocals. The Band Disbanded Shortly Thereafter. read less