Titus Groan

Formed around Stuart Cowell on keyboards, guitar and vocals, alongside John Lee on bass, Tony Priestland on saxophone, flute and oboe, and Jim Toomey on drums, the British progressive rock outfit adopted its name from the central figure in Mervyn Peake’s gothic novel, offering a modest departure from the Tolkien and Lord Of The Rings preoccupations common among like-minded ensembles of the era. Their two Dawn Records releases from 1970 displayed few immediately distinguishing traits. The single ‘Open The Door, Homer’ and the accompanying self-titled debut album both conveyed a comparable absence of assurance. Although the inclusion of wind instruments hinted at untapped directions, the absence of unified songwriting left those possibilities unexplored. The band dissolved soon after the album appeared, and See For Miles Records issued a CD reissue in 1989. Toomey subsequently joined the Tourists.