442:"The rest of the band were tolerant and sympathetic of my position," Barratt commented, "and the Record Companies never tried to dissuade me. The Christian experience influenced all of my lyrics for Gravy Train. Not overtly, but certainly they were written from a Christian perspective. I did not think that I had a right to 'preach' to audiences who had just come to hear the band and have a good time – although a lot of people who had read interviews in the music press did come backstage almost every night to find out what it was all about. Some of them were saved and are still going strong today; most of them did not but seemed to respect my beliefs. None ever ridiculed me."
264:"Musically Gravy Train played melodic Progressive rock" — John O’Regan again — "with the accent on hard rock riffing alternating with quieter moments with the flute high in the mix topped with solid personable vocals from singer/guitarist/chief songwriter Norman Barratt. Gravy Train eventually foundered in 1975 through a combination of bad luck, poor business decisions and lack of success . . . However, with renewed interest in British and European Progressive Rock of the early 1970s, Gravy Train's output has garnered a considerable amount of interest from collectors and music fans alike. Their albums . . . have all been re-released on CD to positive feedback."
502:-designed gatefold sleeve depicting a winged-space monster descending onto a cosmic landscape. It kicked off with one of Gravy Train's best-known Dawn Cuts, "Starbright Starlight", anthologised in various progressive samplers and compilation albums. Marcel Coopman (again citing Vernon Johnson) described it as "a blistering piece of melodious hard-rock, that sets the standard for similarly inclined music (though not many may have heard it, of course)."
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others who were looking, as I was, to form an original songs band, and not the usual covers band that we had all been used to up until that time". J.D. Hughes said: "We began rehearsing at St. Helens
Cricket Club in the summer, I think, of 1969. I was still living at home in Liverpool, Les Williams and drummer Barry Davenport were from St. Helens and Norm from
354:"Barry 's influence was immense in the early days," J.D. Hughes explained. "It was mainly his idea to write in unusual time signatures and arrange unison/harmony atonal instrumental passages. We all enjoyed long 'freak-outs' where we freely improvised, feeding off each other's ideas". On his departure after
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The group next released a single coupling "Alone in
Georgia" and "Can Anybody Hear Me?" on Vertigo in the UK and by Phillips in (Germany). The second album followed, and Coopman on the Progressive Rock Archives website, in 2000, again cited "Tapestry of Delights" when he observed: "Much better is the
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at the end of 1969. John O'Regan quoted him as saying: "When we were making the first Gravy Train album, my old manager in The
Hunters, Norman Littler, had become a Christian while I had been away touring and recording with the band. We had both spent years talking about God and the world and trying
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at Orange
Studios , produced by Jonathan Peel . . . We tried to produce it ourselves, unsuccessfully, and eventually had to call in Jonathan Peel to complete the job. I always liked the episodic tracks, the ones, which passed through several contrasting moods e.g., the title track, 'Second Birth',
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Freelance journalist, broadcaster and lecturer John O’Regan wrote that, despite recording four albums, Gravy Train's "success rate did not befit their choice of name". The term, "Gravy Train", he commented, was northern slang for "an occupation or other source of income that requires little effort
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The single, "Starbright
Starlight"/"Good Time Girl" was issued in 1974, again unsuccessfully, as was the album. Gravy Train went through another line-up change with the departure of D. Hughes. Gravy Train released one final single for Dawn — "Climb Aboard the Gravy Train" backed by "Sanctuary" in
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The band was now a five-piece outfit with second guitarist George Lynon having joined before the sessions. Drummer Russ
Caldwell replaced Barry Davenport after he left due to ill health. However, music equipment stolen from their van now resulted in disillusionment — "a huge setback", in Hughes'
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Les had played in a St. Helens-based band called "The Incas", J.D. Hughes had been playing in
Spaghetti House, and Barry had been part of a jazz outfit called "The John Rotherham Trio". Les and Barry moved to join J.D. in Spaghetti House. Barratt commented: "A mutual friend introduced me to the
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In this era, rock musicians that practised
Christianity and worked within the secular progressive scene were a rarity. The contemporary Christian music scene in the UK was in its infancy and Cliff Richard would have been, apart from Terry Dene, the best-known example of a UK rocker embracing
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Les
Williams has been working at Ocean Entertainments, an agency for bands and acts, since the 1980s. J.D Hughes is currently the founding member of The New Soul Messengers, in which he plays keyboards, saxophone, and vocals. George Lynon died in his sleep in 2002.
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in
Lancashire, England in 1969. The original line-up had a considerable pool of talent from which to draw. Liverpool-born John Hughes had been a classically trained pianist. As a teenager, he played saxophone, self-taught, with various
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and it turned his life around. He told me about it months later when I was home visiting. When I read the family bible, a thing I'd never done before, I was deeply affected by what I read about who Jesus is and what he has done for
300:, in 1949. After leaving school, he honed his guitar skills in local bands The Hunters (with whom he sometimes later still performed) and Newton's Theory, whilst holding down a day-job as a trainee accountant. After passing his
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1975. But lack of commercial success, internal frustration, and financial losses meant the end for the band. Instead of being part of a revival of fortunes, "Climb Aboard the Gravy Train" had signalled a death-knell.
413:. The solos are tighter and more controlled and the compositions are better. It is also less bluesy, very crisply produced and features good multi-part singing, greatly enriching their textures".
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as follows: "Starting like your typical Vertigo act, Gravy Train's first album sounds faintly like early Jethro Tull mainly due to similar flute lines, but without a dominating personality like
212:, England, formed by vocalist and guitarist Norman Barratt in 1969. Also featuring J.D. Hughes (keyboards, vocals, wind), Les Williams (bass, vocals) and Barry Davenport (drums), the band would
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and would later work with The Jam. Under his control, the band was a happier unit and felt their potential was at last being realised. Dawn records released it in the late summer of 1974.
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The band had been unhappy with producer Jonathan Peel's work on the first three albums – specifically the records' sound. Now they found Vic Smith, who had produced
514:, we were all playing in other bands. However, we never 'fell out' with each other and still enjoy each other's company on the rare occasions we get in touch."
464:"Les mostly composed the second, George Harrison-sounding single, 'Strength of a Dream'," Hughes explained. "We recorded it at about the same time as
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and the instrumental arrangements in 'Motorway', plus the catchy tune and my alliterative lyrics make me think of that track with affection !"
362:), the writing became more melodic, much of the repertoire coming from Norman Barratt. However, the band still indulged in occasional "freak-outs".
461:— eight tracks, two of which ("Strength of a Dream" and "Tolpuddle Episode") were released as a single. Again it failed to set the charts alight.
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band, Spaghetti House, I met bassist Les . We formed a progressive rock band, where I played mainly flute and recruited Norm whom Les knew."
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Citing Vernon Johnson's inestimable "Tapestry of Delights" on the Progressive Rock Archives website, Marcel Coopman described
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groups in the 1960s. O'Regan quotes him from an e-mail interview in March 2006 as saying: "Playing with a big
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and The Beatles (Norman Barratt), and The Beatles again (Les). For Barry Davenport it was jazz drummers
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Gravy Train signed a contract with Vertigo Records, the in-house progressive label run by
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exams, he turned professional, moving to London in the late Sixties with Newton's Theory.
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bands, only occasionally meeting the others for Gravy Train gigs. By the time we did
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In 1973, Gravy Train moved from Vertigo to Dawn Records, the progressive offshoot of
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Little is known about the subsequent lives of the band members. Barratt appeared in
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This article is about the 1970s British group. For the American electro band, see
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words. At this stage, he explained, "I became more involved in
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The group gathered a considerable following among British
546:(1988). He died in 2011 from post-surgery complications.
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Singer/guitarist/songwriter Norman Barratt was born in
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four studio albums. The first two were released on the
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The band's influences mined a richly varied canvas:
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648:Strength of a Dream: The Gravy Train Anthology
494:was recorded at the Manor Studios, Kinnerton,
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409:surprisingly rare second album for Vertigo,
66:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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130:Learn how and when to remove this message
694:Norman Barratt obituary at Cross Rhythms
684:http://starling.rinet.ru/music/gravy.htm
435:of us and committed my life to Him."
238:while yielding considerable profit".
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670:Detailed history at davalmusic.co.uk
486:Everything You Say (Is Written Down)
449:at Dawn (but still no chart success)
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709:English progressive rock groups
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604:Staircase to the Day
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321:Jethro Tull
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598:BELL 1121)
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500:Roger Dean
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341:Art Blakey
312:, Lancs."
310:Earlestown
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