Biography
The group showed up for their audition in a Rolls Royce yet headed back on the subway, having pushed to cut "Factory Grime" rather than EMI's choice, "Love Is All Around Me." That ill-starred 1970 session, as drummer Darryl Read later described it, neatly sums up Crushed Butler's membership in the "Bands That Time Forgot" ranks.
Well before the Sex Pistols dismantled what was left of the hippie era, Read, guitarist Jesse Hector, and bassist Alan Butler pursued those same dreams with a ferocity that made rival bands stop and take notice. Founded in 1969, the trio soon dropped their versions of then-current material such as Small Faces' "Song of a Baker" in favor of a combustible urgency that built a grassroots following while leaving the labels they approached completely nonplussed.
Uncrushed collects the six numbers polished at Regent Sound in 1969, EMI House, Decca Studios in 1970, and the Marquee Club in 1971, aided by a string of bassists that included Barry Wyles from the pre-Queen group Smile. A strong support slot for UFO even earned them a glowing notice in Sounds, yet no company signed them. Manager and ally Graham Breslau walked away in summer 1970 after nearly a year of dead ends, and former Pink Floyd guide Peter Jenner likewise passed on involvement.
By February 1971 the band had renamed itself Tiger, but still found no interest in the more measured boogie pop of "High School Dropout." Former Crusaders guitarist Neil Christian departed, and orders from Black Sabbath/ELO overseer Don Arden to line up shows came to nothing. Crushed Butler dissolved in spring 1971 after Read approached Track Records—the same label that had earlier rejected them—and was instead taken on as a staff songwriter.
Read went on to a busy solo career that included recordings with ex-Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and T. Rex mainstay Mickey Finn. His album Shaved arrived in 2002 with production help from former Sex Pistols sound engineer Dave Goodman. Hector finally landed a deal in 1974 for his own punk-edged project, the Hammersmith Gorillas. Listeners could at last hear Crushed Butler's unreleased work when Dig The Fuzz put out Uncrushed in 1998.
Well before the Sex Pistols dismantled what was left of the hippie era, Read, guitarist Jesse Hector, and bassist Alan Butler pursued those same dreams with a ferocity that made rival bands stop and take notice. Founded in 1969, the trio soon dropped their versions of then-current material such as Small Faces' "Song of a Baker" in favor of a combustible urgency that built a grassroots following while leaving the labels they approached completely nonplussed.
Uncrushed collects the six numbers polished at Regent Sound in 1969, EMI House, Decca Studios in 1970, and the Marquee Club in 1971, aided by a string of bassists that included Barry Wyles from the pre-Queen group Smile. A strong support slot for UFO even earned them a glowing notice in Sounds, yet no company signed them. Manager and ally Graham Breslau walked away in summer 1970 after nearly a year of dead ends, and former Pink Floyd guide Peter Jenner likewise passed on involvement.
By February 1971 the band had renamed itself Tiger, but still found no interest in the more measured boogie pop of "High School Dropout." Former Crusaders guitarist Neil Christian departed, and orders from Black Sabbath/ELO overseer Don Arden to line up shows came to nothing. Crushed Butler dissolved in spring 1971 after Read approached Track Records—the same label that had earlier rejected them—and was instead taken on as a staff songwriter.
Read went on to a busy solo career that included recordings with ex-Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and T. Rex mainstay Mickey Finn. His album Shaved arrived in 2002 with production help from former Sex Pistols sound engineer Dave Goodman. Hector finally landed a deal in 1974 for his own punk-edged project, the Hammersmith Gorillas. Listeners could at last hear Crushed Butler's unreleased work when Dig The Fuzz put out Uncrushed in 1998.
Albums
