LEMONTREE

The Lemon Tree emerged in the mid- to late 1960s as part of the cluster of psychedelic pop bands that formed across Birmingham, England. Their sound echoed the Move’s buoyant, celebratory tone, much as the Idle Race, the Nocturnes, and other local acts did, evoking an upbeat vision of existence bathed in psychedelic hues. The lineup comprised Mike Hopkins on guitar, Mick Taylor on vocals, Gary Wortley on organ, Derek Arnold on bass, and Keith Smart on drums, each bringing notable prior experience. Hopkins had already performed in Denny & the Diplomats alongside Denny Laine before Laine joined the Moody Blues, while Smart had drummed for Danny King & the Mayfair Set, the same ensemble that launched Roy Wood and Trevor Burton toward the Move. Signed to Parlophone Records in 1968, the quintet issued its first single, “William Chaulker’s Time Machine” backed with “I Can Touch a Rainbow”; Ace Kefford, recently departed from the Move, wrote the A-side, and production was shared by Kefford, Trevor Burton, and Andy Fairweather-Low of the Amen Corner. The record did not reach the charts. Fairweather-Low alone returned to helm the band’s second and last single, “It’s So Nice to Come Home” coupled with “Come on Girl,” released in 1969. Following the group’s dissolution that year, Hopkins joined the Idle Race, whereas Smart moved into the Uglys’ final configuration; that act later became Balls and also supported Roy Wood’s Wizzard as well as the 1970s progressive rock band Mongrel. “William Chaulker’s Time Machine” later appeared on multiple 1960s psychedelic anthologies, among them See for Miles Records’ mid-1980s collection Sixties Backbeat.