Tomorrow

During the nascent era of British psychedelia, three ensembles stood out as leading representatives of the London underground: Pink Floyd, the Soft Machine, and Tomorrow. While Pink Floyd ascended to superstardom and the Soft Machine earned a lasting cult reputation, Tomorrow’s legacy rests largely on Steve Howe’s pre-Yes tenure as its lead guitarist. In reality the band stood nearly on par with its more renowned peers. Like the early Floyd and Soft Machine, Tomorrow embraced flower-power whimsy, yet its songwriting remained polished, marked by precise harmonies, psychedelic guitar lines, and bold shifts in structure and tempo. The group avoided aimless excess or extended jams; its pieces stayed concise and carefully constructed relative to most psychedelic acts. A handful of singles, above all “My White Bicycle,” became underground staples, though the band issued only one album before disbanding in 1968. Prior to the split, vocalist Keith West scored a number-two British hit with “Excerpt From a Teenage Opera,” an effort that influenced Pete Townshend’s Tommy. Drummer Twink later played with the Pretty Things and subsequently the Pink Fairies.