July

In the early 1960s a skiffle group from Ealing called the Playboys served as the starting point for the ensemble that later took the name July. The unit gradually shifted into an R&B configuration first billed as the Thoughts and afterward as the Tomcats, a lineup that included a brief stint by drummer John “Speedy” Keen. The final Tomcats roster, which had grown out of an unrecorded predecessor known as the Second Thoughts, traveled to Madrid in 1966 for a run of engagements that brought them local notice in Spain. After returning to England in 1968 the musicians—guitarist Tony Duhig, flautist and keyboardist John Field, vocalist Tom Newman, bassist Alan James, and drummer Chris Jackson—adopted the name July. The band survived barely twelve months yet produced one of the most prized albums of the British psychedelic era, issued domestically on Major Minor and released in the United States and Canada by Epic Records. Their music blended drifting, somber psychedelic explorations with unsettling vignettes such as “Dandelion Seeds” and “My Clown,” brightly textured electric-acoustic pieces like “Friendly Man,” and incisive guitar showcases including “Crying Is for Writers,” all tinged by global-music inflections supplied by Duhig, who later viewed the July period as an awkward chapter in his career. The debut single, “My Clown” b/w “Dandelion Seeds,” is now regarded as a psychedelic classic, while the long-playing record itself remains a collector’s item despite its occasional flaws. Following the 1969 breakup, Duhig joined Jade Warrior, Newman established himself as a respected recording engineer whose credits include Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, and James went on to collaborate with Cat Stevens and Kevin Coyne among others. Among later editions, Bam-Caruso’s 1987 collection Dandelion Seeds offers the easiest entry point, whereas Essex’s The Second of July gathers previously unreleased 1967 sessions.