Oct3

In 1971 OCTOPUS were gradually changing to a more "progressive" type of band. We had finished our album and began performing tracks from it live on stage along with covers by people like "YES" and "NEIL YOUNG" and some of the gigs we were playing at i.e. working mens clubs, became unsuitable for the material we were playing. There were three gigs in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire which became our stronghold, they were "THE GREY TOPPER" in Jacksdale, "THE GOLDEN DIAMOND" in Sutton in Ashfield and "STORTHFIELD COUNTRY CLUB" in South Normanton. We built up a huge following in these clubs and would regularly see the same faces at all three. STORTHFIELD COUNTRY CLUB became like a second home to OCTOPUS. It was run by a couple called Roy and Ina Haywood and we would stay there when we were playing in the area along with the likes of "SWEET" and "MUD" before either of them had chart success.

In April 1971 we had our final change in personel, Malcolm Green our drummer was replaced by Tim Reeves and in the same month our first album was released on "Penny Farthing Records". It sold well in the areas we performed in and Larry Page did a good job in the promotion of the record. Today the album is a collectors item and is currently listed in catalogues as being worth between 150 to 200 pounds for an original copy in reasonable condition. It was re - released on CD a few years ago by "See For Miles Records".

For the rest of 1971 we continued constant gigging but by November there was a general unrest in the group, we all felt stale, nothing was happening record wise and we were in a rut. We had a group meeting and in the end decided to call it a day, agreeing to fulfil our remaining bookings which meant we would split in a couple of months.

We did two final shows, the first one on January 8th 1972 at Storthfield Country Club,South Normanton, Derbyshire. It was quite emotional. The place was only supposed to hold 300 people but that night there were 600 people crammed in and the atmosphere was electric. A week later on Friday 14th January we performed at St. Albans college of Further Education, with guest appearances from various ex. members, and that was it. OCTOPUS were no more.

A couple of months later John and Tim both joined "MUNGO JERRY". Nigel and I joined up with ex. Octopus member Rick Williams in a short lived project called"KINCADE" (see separate page). Nigel then hooked up with an american flamenco rock band who went under the name of "CARMEN" and were based in Hollywood and and from there on to a band in France before finally ending up with New Zealand Band "SPLIT ENZ". A couple of years later I changed direction completely by joining "GUYS n' DOLLS".

FOOTNOTE July 2004

I have just heard from Air Mail Recordings in Tokyo that the OCTOPUS album that was first released in Great Britain in 1971 has just been released by them in Japan.

Click on photo to enlarge. plus more.

END.

Octopus 3.

OCTOPUS (EN) Restless Night
Review (Permanent link) by James Unger @ 8:10:14 PM EST, 5/19/2004
PROG REVIEWER

— Fantastic UK psychedelic pop progressive act who really took the "Sgt. Pepper"'s aura to another dimension. "Restless Night" was originally issued on the Penny Farthing label in 1970 and is a wonderful album full of 70's era - BEATLE'esque themes and musical feelings. OCTOPUS blend superb fuzz guitar and organ work all wrapped up with some great lead vocals. Someone once described this album as being "So dangerously post-Sgt. Pepper's that it approaches solo McCartneyism". This magical little album has been re-issued by "See for Miles" on CD with extra tracks off of their singles (also has been re-mastered). This album also does carry some very unique musical moments and is not in anyway a 100% carbon copy of the BEATLES, but realistically does come from the same genre... The parallels are there. The best tune IMHO on the album is the last one "Tide" which is also the longest (5:40) as it allows the instruments to really expand out a bit and gives a bit of symphonia to this psychedelic folk/prog masterpiece. IMHO this is an essential album and the extra tracks are worth the price alone... OCTOPUS's "Restless Night" is a masterpiece...

OCTOPUS (EN) Restless Night
Review (Permanent link) by Ben Blake Mitchner @ 8:58:16 PM EST, 12/9/2005

— Ahh, Octopus, one of the most underrated records of the transitional era between psychedelic pop and progressive rock, leaning much more towards the former than the latter. This album as an original is extremely rare and unaffordably expensive, in fact I only have the Essex reissue of it, but I can tell you that this blows away a lot of bands who did better commercially and this is a commercial album. Octopus sound somewhere between The Beatles, Sweet, Badfinger, 10cc, and if you know their music both The Gods (pre Uriah Heep Ken Hensley group) and The Koobas. The tracks are mainly short, not focused on solos, but with gorgeous melodies and a great lead voice reminding me of a cross between the late Brian Connolly in Sweet and Paul McCartney. If that sounds like a strange cross, then you can see that this album's going to effortlessly slide from heavy to pop and beyond often in the same track! Opening cut "The River" features a great driving fuzz guitar, strong vocals, and some really great upfront drumming. "Summer" is similarly a rocking track with great harmonies and an obvious Beatles/Badfinger influence. I would have to say that this album blows many Beatle rip off groups of the early 70s out of the water, even though I have a strong liking for anything inspired by the Fab Four. Why is it so good? Because Octopus are original. They think about a riff, a melody, a lyric, and build the song around that without being derivative. "Council Plans" is a song that could be said to be Octopus's "Eleanor Rigby," but it sounds nothing like that. "Thief" is the hardest rocking track on the album with fast driving rhythms, dynamic vocals, and again some great drumming. So little is known about Octopus that they may have been a studio only project and not really a band, but that doesn't work against them. The 'tinkering around in the studio' vibe adds to the greatness of this record mainly because there is so much variety. For space rock into late 60s Beatles melodic pop check out the stunning last track "Tide," while one of my personal favourites is "I Say" which has a great melody and super vocal. For reasons unbeknownst to me, Octopus is almost always put down rather than praised while horrible groups like the Aerovons (shelved album for obvious reason, should have remained unreleased!) get all the praise. Even Rockin' Horse on Phillips isn't as good as Octopus, making Octopus one of the only post Beatles Beatle tribute bands worthy of the kind of praise attributed to the band that influenced them. And this isn't really a tribute album, it's far too imaginative and diverse for that. I haven't been able to find the original, hopefully I will someday, but if you can find this masterpiece either as a vinyl or CD reissue you should treat yourself to a true work of brilliant musical artistry.

ANOTHER FOOTNOTE NOVEMBER 2006

Revola Records have just released OCTOPUS the complete sych sessions which is the Original "Restless Night" album with ten extra tracks including two unreleased from the original album. Click Revola logo below for details

RECORD COLLECTOR
December 2006

OCTOPUS
Restless Night: the complete pop-psych sessions 1967-71 (Rev-Ola; CD)
     Something of an old friend, yet even now a relative obscurity. Octopus's lone 1971 album Restless Night has been reissued on both vinyl (by Essex / Acme in an exact replica of its original garish gatefold sleeve) and on CD by See For miles. Both editions have long been out of print. Rev-Ola have done well to get this delightful album back into the public domain. Not only that, but they have also extended it with two tracks originally excised by Larry Page on the Penny Farthing original (which only ever shifted 500 copies hence it's rarity value today). Additionally, all the other related and non- album (and two live) tracks are grouped together in one place making this probably the final word on the band. Beginning as The Cortinas, the group issued a 45 in 1966 'Phoebe's Flower Shop' / 'Too Much In Love' for Polydor. The top side especially, is a gentle piece of British pop whimsy. They had also previously recorded two other worthwhile songs 'In The Park' / 'Sagittarius' but had no takers for the masters, they are included here for the first time. Once turning pro and changing their name they got signed by Larry Page for his Penny Farthing label. A first 45 'Girlfriend' / 'Laugh At The Poor Man', the flip being a a good piece of Brit popsike, failed to sell. Page, to his credit, risked an album on them knowing that the new market was based on this rather than singles. Unfortunately, the group seemed not to have had much say in the final production as the sleeve was presented to them as a finished product with which they were dismayed – the octopus / glamour girl hybrid picture did not go down well. Also, two good tracks, 'I Was So Young' and especially the very popsike friendly 'Orchard Bloom' were dropped from the album.
     Personally, the only duffer on the album in either version I think is the awful 'John's Rock', a ghastly knees-up sort of number about the desires of a roadie for getting groupies in his van. This is odd as the author (and rather dodgy singer by the sound of it on this particular track) is keyboardist John Cook, who was also responsible for the beautifully sensitive 'Council Plans' on the album. This anomaly aside, the album, now completed by its two missing tracks, is a thing of beauty and excellence. Delicious tunes abound. 'The River' of course is a Rubble staple, the fast excited rumbling plectrum strummed bass of 'The Thief'', and the languid delicacies of 'Rainchild' and 'Tide' amongst others make for an album that deserved commercial success. Singer / guitarist Paul Griggs and his brother Nigel, who was also the bassist and a prolific songwriter, with their bandmates make an album that has in the past often been unfathomably written off. The rather terse dismissal of it in Tapestry of Delights might have been responsible for this originally, amongst those who never heard it (or didn't listen closely), but hopefully all that will now be righted by this excellent new edition.
     There're even two live cuts consisting of a very robust 'I Am The Walrus', which must have been a fave as The Fabs were never gonna play it live, and an impressive rock treatment of Greig's 'Peer Gynt Suite', which is about the best version of 'In The Hall of the Mountain King' you're likely to hear in a non-classical setting! Oh, by the way, the 1973 45 'Hey Nah-Nah' / 'Future Feelings' listed in Tapestry of Delights is by a different Octopus entirely, of Belgian / Dutch origin hence its omission on this set. Overall, this is a great piece of musical public history and a joy to listen to. The liners give the full story of the band's rise and fall as related to Stefan Grenados by Paul Griggs and there's plenty of period pics as well. This is definitive statement on the band and most definitely worth the upgrade if you have any of the earlier editions. If you don't, then just get it anyway!