Dantalian's Chariot
Encyclopedia
Dantalian's Chariot were a British psychedelic rock
band that formed in 1967. Led by keyboardist
and bandleader
Zoot Money
, and also featuring Andy Summers
(later of The Police
), they are best remembered for their single
"Madman Running Through the Fields", and for their live performances, which featured early psychedelic
light shows
. The band would all wear white robes and kaftan
s in concert, with all of their equipment painted white, to heighten the effect of these light shows. The group disbanded in April 1968, with Summers going on to join the Soft Machine
and Money joining Eric Burdon & The Animals.
formed the Big Roll Band
, playing a mixture of soul
, jazz
, and R&B
. Despite becoming a popular fixture on the London club circuit in the early to mid-1960s and releasing two albums on EMI
's Columbia
label, they had little commercial success. With the burgeoning psychedelic scene rendering the band's blend of jazz and R&B passé, Money split up the Big Roll Band in mid-1967 and formed a new band. This new group comprised Money on keyboards
and vocals
, Andy Somers
(who later changed his surname to Summers) on guitar
, Pat Donaldson
on bass
, and Colin Allen
on drums
. The new band's name, Dantalian's Chariot, was suggested by publicist Jim Ramble, and was derived from references to a devil
, Duke Dantalion
, in the mediaeval book on witchcraft
, The Lesser Key of Solomon
. The band made their first live appearance at the Windsor
National Blues Festival
in August 1967, which also featured the debut public performance of Peter Green
's Fleetwood Mac
, as well as performances by The Nice
, Arthur Brown
, and Ten Years After
. The band rapidly gained a strong live reputation and their light show, which had been brought over from San Francisco, was regarded as one of the best in London at that time. To heighten the effect of the spectacular light show being projected onto them, the musicians would all dress in white robes, with their instruments and equipment also painted white.
From the band's first recording sessions, EMI
released the single "Madman Running Through the Fields" in September 1967. Money commented, many years later:
. However, the song's reputation has grown over the years, prompting journalist Nick James to note in Record Collector
magazine that "nowadays, the record is rightly regarded as one of the essential works of the era."
EMI subsequently dropped the band, disapproving of Money's psychedelic direction. Dantalian's Chariot then appeared in the low-budget movie Popdown, directed by Fred Marshall and showcasing several groups from the "Swinging London
" scene, including Blossom Toes
and The Idle Race. The band subsequently signed to Direction Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records
, and began work on their debut LP
, which mostly consisted of new songs written by Money and Summers. However, the record label rejected these recordings, and instead put together an album of previously-recorded tracks, which they released in 1968 as Transition, crediting the album to Zoot Money and the Big Roll Band, rather than Dantalian's Chariot.
The band broke up in April 1968, with Money joining Eric Burdon & the Animals
and various other acts in the following years, and Summers joining the Soft Machine
, Eric Burdon & The Animals, the Kevin Ayers
Band, and subsequently The Police
. Drummer Colin Allen went on to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
, Stone The Crows
, and Focus
, while bassist Pat Donaldson later worked with Sandy Denny
, among others.
The song "Madman Running Through the Fields" was covered
by Eric Burdon & the Animals while both Zoot Money and Andy Summers were members of the band. The track appeared on the Love Is album which was released in December 1968 by the record company MGM
.
In 1996, the album Chariot Rising, featuring ten of the tracks recorded by Dantalian's Chariot in 1967, was released by the Wooden Hill label. Over the years, the song "Madman Running Through the Fields" has appeared on many compilation album
s, including Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969, the second box set of the Nuggets series.
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
band that formed in 1967. Led by keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
Zoot Money
Zoot Money
George Bruno Money, known as Zoot Money is a British vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band...
, and also featuring Andy Summers
Andy Summers
Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
(later of The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
), they are best remembered for their single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Madman Running Through the Fields", and for their live performances, which featured early psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
light shows
Liquid light shows
Liquid light shows or psychedelic light shows surfaced in the mid 1960s and early 1970s in America and Europe.Leading names were Glen McKay’s Headlights The Joshua Light Show/Joe's Lights/Sensefex located in NY), Tony Martin Liquid light shows or psychedelic light shows surfaced in the mid 1960s...
. The band would all wear white robes and kaftan
Kaftan
A kaftan is a man's coat usually reaching to the ankles with long sleeves, and which buttons down the front. It can be made of wool, cashmere, silk, or cotton. It is often worn with a sash....
s in concert, with all of their equipment painted white, to heighten the effect of these light shows. The group disbanded in April 1968, with Summers going on to join the Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
and Money joining Eric Burdon & The Animals.
History
In 1961, George Bruno "Zoot" MoneyZoot Money
George Bruno Money, known as Zoot Money is a British vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band...
formed the Big Roll Band
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band
Zoot Money's Big Roll Band was a British rhythm and blues, soul and jazz group formed in England in early autumn 1961.-History:An early line-up had Zoot Money as vocalist and Al Kirtley on piano but in the band's best-known form Money himself played Hammond organ. Bassist/vocalist Paul Williams...
, playing a mixture of soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. Despite becoming a popular fixture on the London club circuit in the early to mid-1960s and releasing two albums on EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's Columbia
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
label, they had little commercial success. With the burgeoning psychedelic scene rendering the band's blend of jazz and R&B passé, Money split up the Big Roll Band in mid-1967 and formed a new band. This new group comprised Money on keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, Andy Somers
Andy Summers
Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
(who later changed his surname to Summers) on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Pat Donaldson
Pat Donaldson
Pat Donaldson is a bass guitarist.The 2i's Coffee Bar in Old Compton Street, Soho was a legendary hang-out for early rock artists of Britain. It was here that Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and Terry Dean played. Albert Lee and Pat Donaldson played here while they were members of Bob Xavier and the...
on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and Colin Allen
Colin Allen
Colin Allen is an English blues drummer and songwriter.-Career:Allen took up drums at the age of 18, playing initially with local jazz musician in Dorset...
on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. The new band's name, Dantalian's Chariot, was suggested by publicist Jim Ramble, and was derived from references to a devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, Duke Dantalion
Dantalion
In demonology, Dantalion is a powerful Great Duke of Hell, with thirty-six legions of demons under his command; a Jinn, he is the 71st of 72 spirits of Solomon. He teaches all arts and sciences, and also declares the secret counsel of anyone, given that he knows the thoughts of all people and can...
, in the mediaeval book on witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
, The Lesser Key of Solomon
The Lesser Key of Solomon
The Lesser Key of Solomon or Clavicula Salomonis , is an anonymous 17th-century grimoire, and one of the most popular books of demonology...
. The band made their first live appearance at the Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
National Blues Festival
National Jazz and Blues Festival
The National Jazz and Blues Festival was the precursor to the Reading Rock Festival and was the brainchild of Harold Pendleton, the manager of the prestigious Marquee Club in Soho....
in August 1967, which also featured the debut public performance of Peter Green
Peter Green (musician)
Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
's Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
, as well as performances by The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
, Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
, and Ten Years After
Ten Years After
Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
. The band rapidly gained a strong live reputation and their light show, which had been brought over from San Francisco, was regarded as one of the best in London at that time. To heighten the effect of the spectacular light show being projected onto them, the musicians would all dress in white robes, with their instruments and equipment also painted white.
From the band's first recording sessions, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
released the single "Madman Running Through the Fields" in September 1967. Money commented, many years later:
"Madman was a description of our personal experiences, and the subsequent self-revelations brought about by hallucinogenics... The verse is the voice of the taker, the one who's dropped the acid, and the chorus is him being observed by a second party - "Isn't that the madman running through the fields?" A puzzled onlooker - much like the audiences at the time."Despite some critical support, the record failed to reach the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. However, the song's reputation has grown over the years, prompting journalist Nick James to note in Record Collector
Record Collector
Record Collector is the United Kingdom's longest-running monthly music magazine. It distributes both within the UK and worldwide. It started in 1979.-The early years:...
magazine that "nowadays, the record is rightly regarded as one of the essential works of the era."
EMI subsequently dropped the band, disapproving of Money's psychedelic direction. Dantalian's Chariot then appeared in the low-budget movie Popdown, directed by Fred Marshall and showcasing several groups from the "Swinging London
Swinging London
Swinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasised the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the...
" scene, including Blossom Toes
Blossom Toes
Blossom Toes were an English psychedelic pop band active between 1967 and 1969. Initially known as The Ingoes, they were renamed and signed to manager Giorgio Gomelsky's Marmalade label...
and The Idle Race. The band subsequently signed to Direction Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, and began work on their debut LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, which mostly consisted of new songs written by Money and Summers. However, the record label rejected these recordings, and instead put together an album of previously-recorded tracks, which they released in 1968 as Transition, crediting the album to Zoot Money and the Big Roll Band, rather than Dantalian's Chariot.
The band broke up in April 1968, with Money joining Eric Burdon & the Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
and various other acts in the following years, and Summers joining the Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, Eric Burdon & The Animals, the Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
Band, and subsequently The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
. Drummer Colin Allen went on to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1967, but then dropped it for some fifteen years. However, in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and...
, Stone The Crows
Stone the Crows
Stone the Crows were a blues band formed in Glasgow in late 1969.-History:The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to Les Harvey by his elder brother, Alex Harvey...
, and Focus
Focus (band)
Focus is a Dutch rock band which was founded by classically trained organist/flautist Thijs van Leer in 1969, and is most famous for the instrumental pieces "Hocus Pocus" and "Sylvia"...
, while bassist Pat Donaldson later worked with Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny , born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny, was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention...
, among others.
The song "Madman Running Through the Fields" was covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Eric Burdon & the Animals while both Zoot Money and Andy Summers were members of the band. The track appeared on the Love Is album which was released in December 1968 by the record company MGM
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
.
In 1996, the album Chariot Rising, featuring ten of the tracks recorded by Dantalian's Chariot in 1967, was released by the Wooden Hill label. Over the years, the song "Madman Running Through the Fields" has appeared on many compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s, including Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969, the second box set of the Nuggets series.
Band members
- Zoot MoneyZoot MoneyGeorge Bruno Money, known as Zoot Money is a British vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band...
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Andy SummersAndy SummersAndy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, sitarSitarThe 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages... - Pat DonaldsonPat DonaldsonPat Donaldson is a bass guitarist.The 2i's Coffee Bar in Old Compton Street, Soho was a legendary hang-out for early rock artists of Britain. It was here that Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and Terry Dean played. Albert Lee and Pat Donaldson played here while they were members of Bob Xavier and the...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Colin AllenColin AllenColin Allen is an English blues drummer and songwriter.-Career:Allen took up drums at the age of 18, playing initially with local jazz musician in Dorset...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Singles
- "Madman Running Through the Fields"/"Sun Came Bursting Through My Cloud" (Columbia (EMI) DB 8260) 1967
- "Madman Running Through the Fields"/"Sun Came Bursting Through My Cloud" [Reissue] (Columbia (EMI) CF 123) 1967
External links
- [ Dantalian's Chariot] at Allmusic