Deram Record Story (Singles) Eyes Of Blue "Supermarket Full Of Cans" 1967

 Germany Cover Sleeve

Active1960s

Formed1966

Disbanded1971

The Eyes Of Blue evolved during the mid-sixties from covers and R&B band The Mustangs, based in Neath, Wales, UK.

The early line-up consisted of Wyndham Rees (Vocals), Ray Williams (Guitar), Ritchie Francis (Bass), Melvyn Davies (Guitar) and David Thomas (Drums). Thomas had replaced Byron Phillips in October 1964 a month before the change of name, and before too long Melvyn Davies also decided to leave, reducing the Eyes to a four-piece. Starting out as a soul-based R&B band the Eyes quickly established a strong reputation in the South Wales music scene. In Early in 1966 drummer Thomas was off and away, and John Weathers was drafted in as a temporary replacement. From another Neath based band - the Smokestacks - came keyboard player Phil Ryan, and vocalist Gary Pickford-Hopkins.

L. Glas, short for Lygaid Glas, Eyes of Blue in Welsh, was used as writing credits on Apache '69.

By rights, the Eyes of Blue should have an exalted place in the pantheon of art rock and progressive rock bands. They were around before almost all of them, and doing film work and making music in a jazz-rock fusion idiom before the latter had been understood, and they were signed to two major labels in succession, Deram and Mercury. Instead, except for drummer John Weathers, who later joined Gentle Giant, the Eyes of Blue are scarcely remembered at all. The Eyes of Blue started out as a jazz and rhythm & blues-oriented outfit (Graham Bond wrote the notes for their first album), doing songs in that vein as well as less well-suited material such as "Yesterday." They were initially signed to Decca's progressive rock imprint Deram Records, and cut a series of excellent but neglected singles, and then moved to Mercury, where they concentrated on albums, enjoying their greatest musical if not commercial success. They were taken seriously enough to collaborate with Quincy Jones on the score of the movie Toy Grabbers, and the group actually managed to appear in the movie Connecting Rooms. Their early strength lay in R&B-based material, including Bond's "Love Is the Law," "Crossroads of Time," and "7 and 7 Is," but even on their first album, the Eyes of Blue showed some Eastern influences. Their second album had some tracks from the first film score as well as one Graham Bond song, but is more experimental, with extended instrumental passages and some classical music influences. In late 1968, the Eyes of Blue backed Buzzy Linhart on a self-titled album, and they rated a supporting act spot at the Marquee Club in London in 1969, but their days were numbered given their lack of success as a recording outfit. Phil Ryan later played in Man, and John Weathers joined Pete Brown and Piblokto! on the Harvest label, before jumping to Gentle Giant.

The Eyes Of Blue* – Supermarket Full Of Cans

Label:

Deram – DM.114

Format:

Vinyl, 7"

Country:

UK

Released:

24 Feb 1967

Genre:

Rock

Style:

Beat

Tracklist

A Supermarket Full Of Cans

Written-By – Martin, Coulter*

2:35

B Don't Ask Me To Mend A Broken Heart

Written-By – Raymonde*, Walker*

2:25

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