Pete Brown & Piblokto!
Encyclopedia
Pete Brown & Piblokto! were a British
progressive rock
band
, active between 1969 and 1971, and formed by the former Cream
lyricist Pete Brown
, after he had been thrown out of his own band, Pete Brown and his Battered Ornaments, the day before they were due to support The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park
. The original Piblokto! members were; Brown on vocals, Laurie Allan
on drums, Jim Mullen
on guitar, Roger Bunn on bass and Dave Thompson on organ.
Allen left to join The Battered Ornaments and was replaced by their drummer Rob Tait.
They released their first single "Living Life Backwards" / "High Flying Electric Bird", (The A-side later covered by Jeff Beck
), followed by the album Things May Come and Things May Go but the Art School Dance Goes on Forever (1969).
Bunn was replaced by Steve Glover for their second single, "Can't Get Off The Planet" / "Broken Magic" and the LP, Thousands On A Raft (1970).
Mullen, Thompson and Tait left, so Brown and Glover were joined by Phil Ryan
on keyboards, John 'Pugwash' Weathers
on drums (both formerly from The Eyes of Blue) and Brian Breeze on guitar. This line-up only recorded one single, "Flying Hero Sandwich"/"My Last Band". Weathers and Breeze both departed, to be replaced by guitarist Taff Williams (also formerly in The Eyes of Blue) and drummer Ed Spevock, before finally disbanding in Autumn 1971.
Pete Brown went on to work with Graham Bond
.
Both albums, all three singles and several bonus tracks were reissued on a double album
CD BGOCD522 in 2001.
The band's name was taken from the Inuit word for "Arctic Hysteria", Piblokto
, with symptoms including hysteria (screaming, uncontrolled wild behavior), depression and echolalia (senseless repetition of words).
Albums
Compilation
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, active between 1969 and 1971, and formed by the former Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
lyricist Pete Brown
Pete Brown
Peter Ronald Brown is an English performance poet and lyricist.Best known for his collaborations with Jack Bruce, Brown also worked with The Battered Ornaments, formed his own group Pete Brown & Piblokto!, and worked with Graham Bond and Phil Ryan. Brown also writes film scores and formed a film...
, after he had been thrown out of his own band, Pete Brown and his Battered Ornaments, the day before they were due to support The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
. The original Piblokto! members were; Brown on vocals, Laurie Allan
Laurie Allan
Laurie Allan is an English drummer, best known for stints in Delivery and Gong. He has also played with Robert Wyatt, for example on his albums Rock Bottom and Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard....
on drums, Jim Mullen
Jim Mullen
Jim Mullen is a Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum.-Biography:...
on guitar, Roger Bunn on bass and Dave Thompson on organ.
Allen left to join The Battered Ornaments and was replaced by their drummer Rob Tait.
They released their first single "Living Life Backwards" / "High Flying Electric Bird", (The A-side later covered by Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
), followed by the album Things May Come and Things May Go but the Art School Dance Goes on Forever (1969).
Bunn was replaced by Steve Glover for their second single, "Can't Get Off The Planet" / "Broken Magic" and the LP, Thousands On A Raft (1970).
Mullen, Thompson and Tait left, so Brown and Glover were joined by Phil Ryan
Phil Ryan (musician)
Phil Ryan is a Welsh keyboardist and composer, best known for his work with Man and Pete Brown-Early career:...
on keyboards, John 'Pugwash' Weathers
John Weathers
John Patrick 'Pugwash' Weathers is a drummer, best known for playing with the innovative progressive rock band Gentle Giant.-Early life:...
on drums (both formerly from The Eyes of Blue) and Brian Breeze on guitar. This line-up only recorded one single, "Flying Hero Sandwich"/"My Last Band". Weathers and Breeze both departed, to be replaced by guitarist Taff Williams (also formerly in The Eyes of Blue) and drummer Ed Spevock, before finally disbanding in Autumn 1971.
Pete Brown went on to work with Graham Bond
Graham Bond
Graham John Clifton Bond was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s....
.
Both albums, all three singles and several bonus tracks were reissued on a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
CD BGOCD522 in 2001.
The band's name was taken from the Inuit word for "Arctic Hysteria", Piblokto
Piblokto
Piblokto, Pibloktoq or Arctic hysteria is a condition exclusively appearing in Inughuit societies living within the Arctic Circle. Appearing most prevalently in winter, it is considered to be a form of a culture-bound syndrome, although more recent studies question whether it exists at...
, with symptoms including hysteria (screaming, uncontrolled wild behavior), depression and echolalia (senseless repetition of words).
Discography
Singles- "Living Life Backwards"/"High Flying Electric Bird" (Harvest HAR 5008) 1969
- "Can't Get Off The Planet"/"Broken Magic" (Harvest HAR 5023) 1970
- "Flying Hero Sandwich"/"My Last Band" (Harvest HAR 5028) 1970
Albums
- Things May Come and Things May Go but the Art School Dance Goes on Forever (Harvest SHVL 768)(1970) : CD re-release - Repertoire (REP 4407-WY) 1994
- Thousands On A Raft (Harvest SHVL 782) 1970 : CD re-release - Repertoire (REP 4408-WY) 1994
Compilation
- My Last Band (Harvest SHSM 2017)(1977)
- Things May Come and Things May Go but the Art School Dance Goes on Forever and Thousands On A Raft CD BGOCD522 in 2001