The Onyx
Encyclopedia
Wadebridge
Wadebridge is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles upstream from Padstow....
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
in 1965. Out of the ashes of Rick & The Hayseeds the band came to be known as The Onyx Set, named after an Onyx ring owned by original band member Mike Black-Borow. After various changes in the line-up they shortened their name to The Onyx and the classic line-up was formed. The band members were: guitarist Alan Hodge
Al Hodge (rock musician)
For the actor Al Hodge of Captain Video and Green Hornet fame, see Al Hodge).Al Hodge was a guitarist and songwriter, who has had success with "Rock N Roll Mercenaries", a song that was recorded by Meat Loaf and John Parr in 1986...
, who had previously played with various local bands such as The Buccaneers and The Fabulous Jaguars, vocalist Tony Priest, bassist Dick Bland, keyboard player Steve Cotton and drummer Roger Dell.
The Onyx were and still remain, one of the biggest bands to come out of Cornwall. The band evolved from doing cover versions of popular contemporary Beat boom
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
bands in its early days to Psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt 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 the...
. It was well known for its intricate five part harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
. During the late 1960s they were a popular live attraction, focussing most of their gigging
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
activity in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, as well as touring throughout the UK and making trips to Germany. They also featured on numerous Radio One
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
sessions, resulting in the band being one of the most played bands on BBC Radio at the time. They also featured heavily on radio stations in Europe.
They released a total of seven singles, one of which was released under the pseudonym. Salamander. Oddly, it had been hoped that a change in the band's name would help distance them from their Radio One work and increase record sales. Most of the A sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of the singles were written by Guy Fletcher and Doug Flett with the B sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
credited to the members of the band. They are also credited as the writers on the single. "Climb That Tree", which was recorded by The She Trinity
The She Trinity
The She Trinity was a Canadian/British pop group of the 1960s, an all-girl group who played their instruments, quite unusual at the time. The original members, Robyn Yorke, Shelley Gillespie and Sue Kirby, were Canadians who came to England around 1965. They were joined by Pauline Moran on bass and...
in 1970, as well as writing "I'm Going Down" for Mike Raynor & Sky.
Hodge left the band in the late 1970 to get married and return to Cornwall, leaving just prior to the release of "Our House". The band continued as The Onyx with a new guitarist, Bernie Lee from Paper Blitz Tissue and Orange Bicycle, releasing one final single "The Next Stop Is Mine".
Under the guidance of Jerry Lordan
Jerry Lordan
Jerry Lordan , born Jeremiah Patrick Lordan in Paddington, west London, was an English songwriter, composer and singer.-Career:...
, the band emerge shortly afterwards as Vineyard releasing two singles on Decca and Deram. Original drummer Dell left the band to be replaced by Herman Rarebell
Herman Rarebell
Herman 'Ze German' Rarebell is a German drummer, best known for his time in the band Scorpions from 1977 to 1995, playing on 8 studio albums...
(later of The Scorpions). Vineyard recorded a number of tracks for a possible LP release, but with poor singles sales these tracks would remain unreleased. The band finally called it a day in 1975.
Bland went on to work with Joe Brown
Joe Brown (singer)
Joe Brown, MBE is an English entertainer.He has worked as a rock and roll singer and guitarist for more than five decades. He was a stage and television performer in the late 1950s and a UK recording star in the early 1960s...
, Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...
and Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
The band featured on the Bam Caruso's Rubble
Rubble series
Rubble is a 20-volume collection of compilation albums of mostly late-1960s British psychedelic rock compiled by Bam-Caruso Records, St Albans, Herts, England by Phil Lloyd-Smee....
collection in the early 1980s, as well as numerous other compilations. In 2009 Wooden Hill released a collection of previously unreleased studio demos recorded in late 1967 titled Kaleidoscope Of Colours - The Onyx Demo Sessions 1967.
Discography
- "You've Gotta Be With Me" / "It's All Put On" (Pye 7N 17477) 1968
- "My Son John" / "Step By Step" (Pye 7N 17622) 1968
- "Tamaris Khan" / "So Sad Inside" (Pye 7N 17668) 1968
- "Time Off" / "Movin' In" (CBS 4635) 1969
- "Crystal Ball" / "Billy" (CBS 5102) 1970 (as Salamander)
- "Our House" / "Air" (Parlophone R 5888) 1971
- "The Next Stop Is Mine" / "What's That You Say" (Parlophone R 5906) 1971
Previously unreleased demo sessions
- Kaleidoscope Of Colours - The Onyx Demo Sessions 1967 (Wooden Hill WH 027CD) 2009
As Vineyard
- "Ghost Train (Here It Come Again)" / "Unicorns And Minotaurs" (Decca F 13518) 1974
- "Charlemaine" / "Myla" (Deram DM 420) 1974