Tintern Abbey

In the closing years of the 1960s, the British psychedelic outfit Tintern Abbey enjoyed an extremely short-lived career that yielded merely a solitary single, "Beeside"/"Vacuum Cleaner," issued by Deram in 1967. Nevertheless, that lone 45 establishes them among the finest, albeit lesser-known, one-off acts from the era of British psychedelia. Having come together in 1966 and disbanded prior to the conclusion of 1968, the group nevertheless amassed numerous unreleased tracks that Grapefruit Records ultimately gathered for the 2021 collection Beeside (The Complete Recordings).

The ensemble originated in 1966 with founding personnel Don Smith, David MacTavish, Stuart MacKay, and John Dalton. Their only Deram release appeared in December 1967, showcasing a reflective melodic quality uncommon amid the era's aggressive psychedelic rock, alongside distinctive Mellotron and piano elements within the instrumentation. Following the single's issuance, Smith departed, prompting the addition of guitarist Paul Brett and keyboardist Terry Goldberg. Additional material was recorded with plans for another single slated in 1968, yet dissolution occurred beforehand. Subsequent years saw vocalist and songwriter MacTavish participate in Big Bertha alongside former Move member Ace Kefford as well as a later incarnation of the Velvet Opera, while Brett contributed to the Velvet Opera at a different juncture and also to Fire. The original Deram 45 attained significant rarity among collectors, with assorted Tintern Abbey tracks appearing across various anthologies and sporadic reissues. In 2021, Grapefruit Records compiled the definitive overview Beeside (The Complete Recordings), encompassing alternate takes of the issued single along with studio outtakes, demos, and essentially the entirety of the band's recorded output from their fleeting tenure.