KALEIDOSCOPE – ’A Dream For Julie’ / ’Please Excuse My Face’ (Fontana TF 8955) January 1968

Kaleidoscope | A Dream For Julie | Fontana | 1968 | A very, very good group – just missed out with their last. This is rather more immediately commercial, with strong backing sounds and top class lyrics. Their inventiveness deserves full success. (Record Mirror, 27/01/68)

Spoken introduction that goes “Can you hear them smiling” from the Kaleidoscope on “A Dream For Julie” and then a very competent record. It’s been done before but this is catchy in a strange way. (Penny Valentine, Disc & Music Echo, 27/01/68)

This is another good one from the West London progressives, Kaleidoscope. Above a buoyant rhythm, lead singer Peter Daltry puts tons of feeling into the odd, but evocative, lyrics about Julie, strawberry monkeys and life. Also very nice is the guitar work from Eddie Pumer, the co-writer of the song. Perhaps even better than the “A” side is Please Excuse My Face, a track from their LP. Again, lyrics which say something, and some beautiful, classical-style guitar. This is a group busting out all over with talent and originality. (Intro, Rick Sanders 20/01/68)

“WE USED TO COPY OTHER SINGERS BUT IT NEVER CAME OFF”

KALEIDESCOPE, a “new” group commercially speaking, have taken shape as Peter Daltrey, vocalist, Eddie Pulmer, lead guitar, Danny Bridgman, drums and Stephen Clark who plays bass guitar and finger bells. The group have in fact been together for five years and are currently gaining recognition with their single “Jenny Artichoke”.

I asked Eddie how the group first met: “It first started when I met Danny about 16 years ago. He met Steve at college. At the time we were both messing about with instruments. Steve had been playing bass guitar for about a year. We got a trio going. We wanted a singer and couldn’t find one. All the time Pete was working in the office with me! He came along to sing with us.”

“I was scared stiff and I didn’t want to go” recalled Pete. “Then we started practising in this little school hall. We used to try and copy other singers exactly then, but it never sort of came off!”

At the end of last year Kaleidescope released an album which was based on a rather magical story idea “Tangerine Dream”.

“They were all separate songs, but they all fitted together really,” explained Pete. “I don’t like albums that are sort of throw out singles.

We have simplified a lot since that album as we’re anxious to get a hit single.”

“The main public” continued Eddie, • “these little ‘moddy’ people just don’t bother to listen properly. They like the simple sort of things of life, like ‘you love me’.”

“With ‘Jenny Artichoke’” said Pete, “It took me minutes to write the words and I thought I’ll forget it, I’ll scrub that! It’s been getting a lot of good plays and people like the simple stuff. It’s still us. Although it’s simple it’s still something we’ve created. If you take some songs apart they may be great or it’s just diabolical. Some people seem to try too hard and they lose the quiet. They turn out things which truly must be inferior. People ring us up after years now, and say ‘I heard you on the radio’ it’s nice.”

Kaleidoscope | A Dream For Julie | Fontana | 1968

Kaleidescope write all their material, Eddie Pumer composes the music and Peter Daltrey supplies the lyrics.

Pete says: “About a few years ago we had a few words and we put the music to it. It was a diabolical thing. We used to play it all day and all night. We thought it was lovely. It’s mostly your own experiences that influence your writing. ‘Jenny Artichoke’ is just an imaginary girl. ‘Room of Percussion’ from our first LP is a very personal thing though. You can’t be taught writing. You can’t start writing until you’ve had a hit of experience of things.”

“We want to get other people to record our songs” continued Pete. “Julie Felix is interested In 3 or 4. I’ve just written a song today, there’s nothing in it really. It’s just the way it turns out. We are lucky in that.”

“It’s awful if you go a week without writing a word” interrupted Pete, “And today I wrote something and it makes you feel very much better. I’d like to write a book on science fiction. I write very doomy things, they all seem to die at the end!”

“The only place I can write is in my living roam, anywhere else is completely different” Eddie told me.

“Yes” agreed Pete, “If I write something outside I get it home and look at it and think, where did I find that!!”

Jenny Artichoke

Kaleidoscope are currently planning a new LP.

Said Eddie: “We have a beautiful thing that lasts about 20 minutes. There’s rumour that John Cameron might do that for us in the end.”

“It’s like a musical play, about the end of the world,” explained Pete. “A sort of mini-opera” added Eddie.

Eddie and Peter also like folk music and have an ambition to record an LP.

Said Pete, “We write folk songs, just with Ed and I, guitar and voice. We both love Bob Dylan and Donovan.”

I asked them if they might break away from the group to do this, “Never in a million years,” was the, by no means uncertain, reply. The group obviously take their music very seriously and are hoping to gain commercial success with ‘Jenny Artichoke’ so that they can improve on their equipment.

Explained Pete, “Everybody’s going to 200-300 equipment, and we are using 50.” “Our stuff’s got ‘Jaffa’ on the side of it,” chipped in Eddie. “Danny’s drums and the PA are good though.”

Stolen instruments

“We’re always getting something stolen too, we’re very forgetful” added Peter.

To help with his composing Eddie is making valiant efforts to learn about many different instruments.

“Some instruments are tuned in B flat and others A flat and you’ve got to change all the key of the music,” he explained. “I’d love to produce records too. You never know who can do what. That’s why the Beatles are so lucky. They can sift all through and find the best.”

“Brian Wilson has a good scene going too’ said Pete. “He just writes all the time and does what he likes.”

Kaleidescope particularly like to play at colleges, despite one miserable experience in Bradford.

“They wanted Everly Brothers’ numbers,” said Pete. “They didn’t give us a chance.”

“There were still people who came backstage and said they liked it though,” added Eddie. “If one person like it then that’s OK. it’s worth it.” (Record Mirror, 05/10/68)