Biography
Emerging from the British rock scene of the 1960s, Davy O'List remains nearly as elusive a presence as Syd Barrett—an ironic parallel, given that he performed briefly with Pink Floyd precisely when Barrett's influence was waning. A multi-instrumentalist on guitar, vocals, and trumpet, O'List made his initial mark with the Attack, a psychedelic group that had evolved from Soul System. A chance encounter with Richard Shirman from that earlier ensemble brought him into the Attack as lead guitarist in 1966. Yet the band's personnel proved chronically unstable, prompting O'List's departure within a year when Andrew Oldham recruited him for the Nice, originally conceived as a Booker T. & the M.G.'s-style rhythm section behind P.P. Arnold. The Nice soon forged an independent identity and parted ways with Arnold, leaving O'List to supply lead guitar and vocals on their debut single. His approach and disposition, however, clashed with the expansive vision of keyboardist Keith Emerson, leading to O'List's exit after the first album and after contributing a track or two that later appeared on the follow-up release. He moved fleetingly through the Misunderstood before joining Pink Floyd at the moment the group sought a replacement for the drug-impaired Syd Barrett; that stint lasted only a handful of shows. O'List next appeared on a single Roxy Music tour and contributed to Bryan Ferry's 1974 album Another Time, Another Place, with one additional recording later surfacing on Let's Stick Together. By 1975 he had joined the glitter-rock cult outfit Jet for a brief period. In the decades since, his name has surfaced chiefly on reissues of the 1960s groups he once served, though he issued the solo album Flight of the Eagle in 1997. More than 35 years after his start, he continues to occupy an enigmatic niche in British rock.
Albums