Biography
The psychedelic era of the 1960s contains numerous rediscovered acts whose talents scarcely warranted excavation beyond historical curiosity, often amounting to little more than derivative ensembles that merely adopted the visual trappings of the movement. Rainbow Ffolly stood apart from such outfits, representing instead a genuinely worthwhile find whose original LP commands substantial collector prices and whose reissue merits attention from enthusiasts of British psychedelia in particular.
Jonathan Dunsterville and his sibling Richard Dunsterville, both raised in Farnham Common, displayed an early affinity for performance and formed the Force Four in the first half of the 1960s, concentrating on Everly Brothers-style vocal harmonies. While attending college, Jon encountered drummer Stewart Osborn, who introduced bassist Roger Newell, leading to the creation of Rainbow Ffolly. The quartet cultivated an airy, playful approach typical of early 1967, anchored by tight ensemble vocals in which every member participated and with Jon Dunsterville handling songwriting duties. Securing manager John Sparrowhawk by the start of that year, they pursued a recording deal by laying down material at Jackson Recording Studio, operated by Malcolm and John Jackson, sons of disc jockey Jack Jackson.
The initial five tracks proved sufficiently strong that the Jackson brothers encouraged seven additional songs, ostensibly to complete a comprehensive audition reel. Although the band viewed the extra numbers less favorably, they compiled twelve selections that captured their core sound. EMI found the tape compelling enough to acquire it unchanged for release, an outcome that left Rainbow Ffolly dismayed; they had regarded the recordings merely as directional sketches rather than a finalized album. Reluctant to expose partially developed arrangements and light-hearted pieces derived from singalong and children’s melodies, the group nevertheless acquiesced, recognizing the rarity of Parlophone expressing interest in an untouched demo.
The Jacksons sequenced the material into a coherent whole that opened with a segment reminiscent of the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. Sallies Fforth drew favorable parallels not only to that Beatles release but also to the Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow, sharing melodic yet economical instrumentation and harmony vocals while suggesting how the latter album might have sounded had its roots lain nearer the Beatles than the Rolling Stones. Jon Dunsterville and his wife Jane devised elaborate cover artwork that played inventively on the band’s name, and the album appeared under the title Sallies Fforth. Though ultimately enjoyable, the members later regretted the absence of further refinement, particularly guitar overdubs left incomplete on songs such as “Come on Go.”
Live performances followed, including a month-long German tour highlighted by an engagement at Hamburg’s Star Club and appearances at London’s Playboy Club. Rainbow Ffolly successfully straddled the divide between refined harmony groups such as the Bystanders and the Montanas and the heavier approach later termed freakbeat, as exemplified by the Troggs, though Sallies Fforth revealed their comparative difficulty in matching the instrumental force of harder-rocking psychedelic contemporaries. Named Record of the Week on the BBC’s Saturday Club, the album promised commercial traction that failed to materialize; high-profile bookings yielded publicity without translating into sufficient sales or chart placement for their singles. A follow-up LP, properly completed, never materialized because live earnings proved inadequate, prompting all four members to abandon music for conventional employment by 1968.
See for Miles Records reissued Sallies Fforth on CD in 1998, appending the previously unreleased track “Go Girl.”
Jonathan Dunsterville and his sibling Richard Dunsterville, both raised in Farnham Common, displayed an early affinity for performance and formed the Force Four in the first half of the 1960s, concentrating on Everly Brothers-style vocal harmonies. While attending college, Jon encountered drummer Stewart Osborn, who introduced bassist Roger Newell, leading to the creation of Rainbow Ffolly. The quartet cultivated an airy, playful approach typical of early 1967, anchored by tight ensemble vocals in which every member participated and with Jon Dunsterville handling songwriting duties. Securing manager John Sparrowhawk by the start of that year, they pursued a recording deal by laying down material at Jackson Recording Studio, operated by Malcolm and John Jackson, sons of disc jockey Jack Jackson.
The initial five tracks proved sufficiently strong that the Jackson brothers encouraged seven additional songs, ostensibly to complete a comprehensive audition reel. Although the band viewed the extra numbers less favorably, they compiled twelve selections that captured their core sound. EMI found the tape compelling enough to acquire it unchanged for release, an outcome that left Rainbow Ffolly dismayed; they had regarded the recordings merely as directional sketches rather than a finalized album. Reluctant to expose partially developed arrangements and light-hearted pieces derived from singalong and children’s melodies, the group nevertheless acquiesced, recognizing the rarity of Parlophone expressing interest in an untouched demo.
The Jacksons sequenced the material into a coherent whole that opened with a segment reminiscent of the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. Sallies Fforth drew favorable parallels not only to that Beatles release but also to the Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow, sharing melodic yet economical instrumentation and harmony vocals while suggesting how the latter album might have sounded had its roots lain nearer the Beatles than the Rolling Stones. Jon Dunsterville and his wife Jane devised elaborate cover artwork that played inventively on the band’s name, and the album appeared under the title Sallies Fforth. Though ultimately enjoyable, the members later regretted the absence of further refinement, particularly guitar overdubs left incomplete on songs such as “Come on Go.”
Live performances followed, including a month-long German tour highlighted by an engagement at Hamburg’s Star Club and appearances at London’s Playboy Club. Rainbow Ffolly successfully straddled the divide between refined harmony groups such as the Bystanders and the Montanas and the heavier approach later termed freakbeat, as exemplified by the Troggs, though Sallies Fforth revealed their comparative difficulty in matching the instrumental force of harder-rocking psychedelic contemporaries. Named Record of the Week on the BBC’s Saturday Club, the album promised commercial traction that failed to materialize; high-profile bookings yielded publicity without translating into sufficient sales or chart placement for their singles. A follow-up LP, properly completed, never materialized because live earnings proved inadequate, prompting all four members to abandon music for conventional employment by 1968.
See for Miles Records reissued Sallies Fforth on CD in 1998, appending the previously unreleased track “Go Girl.”
Albums
