PsychepediA

From: Harrow, England

Most known for including both Roger Glover (bass) and Ian Gillan (vocals) before joining Deep Purple, the London area Episode Six formed in 1965 and managed to release 10 British singles throughout the late 60s with three of them becoming Radio London Top 10 hits, but still found it difficult to establish a solid identity. The original six members included Glover, siblings Graham (guitar, vocals) and Sheila Carter-Dimmock (organ, vocals), Harvey Shield (drums) and Andy Ross (vocals). It wasn't long before Gillan replaced Ross however, who had split the group to get married before the release of their first early 1966 record after signing to the Pye label.

The outfit's 1966 and 1967 singles are rather light pop-rock harmony numbers, with an occasional ballad and a bit of soul influence. Light years removed from Deep Purple, Episode Six was extremely eclectic in their choice of material, trying their hands at numbers by The Beatles ('Here, There And Everywhere') and the Tokens ('I Hear Trumpets Blow'), as well as a U.S. Hod Rod song craze influenced B-side written by Glover ('Mighty Morris Ten'). While their repertoire lacks focus and consistency, a number of their singles are actually quite good, including an outstanding cover of Tim Rose's 'Morning Dew', which became a well deserved hit, peaking at #6 on the Radio London Fab 40 list. By the latter half of '67, the band had begun fusing pop and psychedelia with reasonably impressive results, especially on the singles 'I Can See Through You' (written by Glover and considered one of the finest British psychedelic obscurities), 'I Won't Hurt You' (an outstanding West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band cover released under the Graham Carter-Dimmock solo pseudonym Neo Maya) and the surprisingly unreleased 'Time And Motion Man'. It should also be noted that around this time, Shield was replaced by John Kerrison (drums).

In 1968, the group left Pye and released one MGM single ('Little One' b/w 'Wide Smiles') under the shortened moniker Episode during the spring of that year, but it failed to make any significant impact. Also at around this time, Kerrison was replaced by Herd alumnus Mick Underwood (drums). Their final two 45s were released on the Chapter One label and show the band moving in a much more progressive, art-rock direction, especially on 'Mozart Versus The Rest', which confronts one of the composer's most famous arrangements with manic electric guitars. The spring of 1969 saw the band enter the studio to begin work on a long awaited LP to be titled "The Story So Far", but it never came to fruition due to significant personnel changes that began when John Gustafson (bass, vocals) and Pete Robinson (keyboards) had to be brought in to replace cornerstone members Glover and Gillan who both suddenly left the fold to join Deep Purple. This lineup didn't last that long however when Gustafson, Robinson and Underwood all then bailed to form Quartermass and were replaced by Rupert's People alumni Tony Dangerfield (vocals, bass) and John Banks (drums). Banks didn't stick around long however and was replaced by Alan Coulter (drums). The group forged on into the early 70s without a record contract and experienced another personnel change when Coulter was replaced by Dave Lawson (drums) in 1972. After then relocating to Beirut, Labanon for a residency, the ensemble finally decided to call it quits in 1974.

Artist information sources include: Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide and the book, 'Tapestry of Delights Revisited' by Vernon Joynson.