Daddy Longlegs

Formed in the United States, the group started out with Steve Hayton on guitar and vocals, Cliff Carrison on drums, and Kurt Palomaki handling bass, clarinet, and vocals. Its first months unfolded on a New York state farm before the musicians relocated to New Mexico. The prospect of film work drew them across to Europe in 1969; when those opportunities fell through they opted to remain in England. There Daddy Longlegs presented its energetic, country-tinged rock, soon enlarging the lineup with the addition of vocalist Mo Armstrong. Both Armstrong and Hayton subsequently departed, leaving the drummer and bassist to recruit Peter Arneson on piano and Gary ‘Norton’ Holderman on guitar—the latter an alumnus of Slim’s Blues Band alongside Carrison. Oakdown Farm appeared on the Vertigo imprint, yet repeated personnel shifts slowed momentum. The band dissolved in 1972, after which Arneson joined ex-members of Gracious and the Greatest Show On Earth to form the pop outfit Taggett.