The Incredible String Band
The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a British psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966.[1] The band built a considerable following, especially in the British counterculture, notably with their albums The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion (1967), The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (1968), and Wee Tam and the Big Huge (1968). They became pioneers in psychedelic folk and, through integrating a wide variety of traditional music forms and instruments, in the development of world music.
This article is about the band. For their eponymous debut album, see The Incredible String Band (album).
The Incredible String Band
Edinburgh, Scotland
1966–1974, 1999–2006
- Mike Heron
- Robin Williamson
- Clive Palmer
- Licorice McKechnie
- Rose Simpson
- Malcolm Le Maistre
- Stan Schnier
- Jack Ingram
- Gerard Dott
- Graham Forbes
- John Gilston
- Lawson Dando
- Bina Williamson
- Claire Smith
Following Palmer's early departure, Williamson and Heron performed as a duo, but were eventually augmented by other musicians such as Licorice McKechnie, Rose Simpson, and Malcolm Le Maistre. The band split up in 1974. They reformed in 1999 and continued to perform with changing lineups until 2006.
History[edit]
Formation as a trio: 1965–66[edit]
In 1963, acoustic musicians Robin Williamson and Clive Palmer began performing together as a traditional folk duo in Edinburgh, particularly at a weekly club run by Archie Fisher in the Crown Bar which also regularly featured Bert Jansch. There they were seen in August 1965 by Joe Boyd, then working as a talent scout for the influential folk-based label Elektra Records. Later in the year, the duo decided to fill out their sound by adding a third member, initially to play rhythm guitar.[2] After an audition, local rock musician Mike Heron won the slot. The trio took the name "the Incredible String Band". Early in 1966, Palmer began running an all-night folk club, Clive's Incredible Folk Club, on the fourth floor of a building in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, where they became the house band.[3] When Boyd returned in his new role as head of Elektra's London office, he signed them up for an album, beating off a rival bid from Transatlantic Records.[4]
They recorded their first album, entitled The Incredible String Band, at the Sound Techniques studio in London in May 1966. It was released in Britain and the United States and consisted mostly of self-penned material in solo, duo and trio formats, showcasing their playing on a variety of instruments. It won the title of "Folk Album of the Year" in Melody Maker's annual poll, and in a 1968 Sing Out! magazine interview Bob Dylan praised the album's "October Song" as one of his favourite songs of that period, stating it was "quite good".[5]
The trio broke up after recording the album. Palmer left via the hippie trail for Afghanistan and India, and Williamson and his girlfriend Licorice McKechnie went to Morocco with no firm plans to return. Heron stayed in Edinburgh, playing with a band called Rock Bottom and the Deadbeats. However, when Williamson returned after running out of money, laden with Moroccan instruments (including a gimbri, which was much later eaten by rats), he and Heron reformed the band as a duo.[3]
Musical style[edit]
Stylistically the ISB were centred around the idioms of conventional folk and pop, but their notable experimentation with musical form, instrumentation and styles (e.g. Indian and Moroccan) led them to innovative, often eclectic, compositions. In 1967–68 they were described as part of pop music's "underground".[13] Williamson claimed that, as both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones saw them play before Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Their Satanic Majesties Request were recorded, the ISB were an influence on those albums.[2] Chris Cutler commented that "They were one of the most important bands of that era ... Instead of AABABA etc., their developments would go linearly, A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M and beyond; no one else thought that way ever ..." [emphasis in original][13] One of Bob Dylan's favourite songs was "October Song"from ISB's debut album. Robert Plant claimed that Led Zeppelin found their way by playing "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" (see above). Following in the footsteps of ISB, Led Zeppelin later successfully incorporated Moroccan rhythms (e.g. on "Dancing Days").
Both Mike Heron and Robin Williamson would insert seemingly unrelated sections in their songs in a way that has been described as "always surprising, laughably inventive, lyrically prodigious".[14]
Legacy[edit]
In 1994, Rose Simpson, a former member of the band, became Mayoress of Aberystwyth.[15] In 2003, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, who had previously chosen "The Hedgehog's Song" when he appeared on Desert Island Discs, wrote a foreword for a full-length book about the band, describing them as "holy".[3] Licorice McKechnie was last seen in 1987, and may be deceased.[16]