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<\/p>\nEarly demo tapes from Unicorn, a country-rock group and prot\u00e9g\u00e9s of Pink Floyd\u2019s David Gilmour, show that the underappreciated British group had an authentic yet radio-ready sound that should have caught on. Despite a number of lucky breaks, the well-deserving band never lit commercial fire. But now there\u2019s a new archival release from Omnivore Recordings, curated by Executive Producer David DiSanzo. Laughing Up Your Sleeve<\/i>, a new 20-track collection of home-studio recordings from the early \u201870s hints at what could have been.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a long a fruitful tradition of cultural cross-pollination between England and the United States; the history of rock and pop music is filled with examples of artists from one country absorbing the influences of the other, creating something new in the process, and then serving it back to listeners across the Atlantic.<\/p>\n
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And with all of that transatlantic activity, some groups were bound to get lost in the shuffle, even if they were very good. One such band was Unicorn. First coming together (with an embryonic beat group lineup) in Southwest London in 1963, by the early \u201870s the band had developed its own original style, based around the songwriting of Ken Baker. Unicorn\u2019s songs drew from both rock and country, with a sound not miles away from what another British group, Brinsley Schwarz, was making.<\/p>\n
But Pat Martin, Unicorn\u2019s bassist, says that his group developed its signature sound completely separately from the band featuring a young Nick Lowe. \u201cProbably, there were several things that we were both influenced by,\u201d he says. \u201cI know they loved The Band, and that was one of our favorite groups in the States.\u201d Martin gets to the heart of what set Unicorn apart from other bands. \u201cObviously we were very American-influenced, but Ken Baker\u2019s words are very, very English.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the 1970s, Unicorn’s stable lineup included Martin on bass, Kevin Smith on guitars and mandolin, lead vocalist and drummer Pete Perryer, and songwriter Ken Baker on guitars and keyboards. All four musicians sang.<\/p>\n
The eight years between forming and inking a deal with Transatlantic Records would be succinctly summed up in the brief liner notes printed inside the gatefold jacket of the group’s long-playing debut, Uphill All the Way<\/i>. That potted history hits the high points: \u201cThey were all 13 years old \u2026 youth clubs were their circuit \u2026 at 17, they left school and turned pro \u2026 Billy J. Kramer signed them as his backing group \u2026 they did 10 radio and TV spots \u2026 small gigs and national tours.\u201d The short essay ends with this: \u201cThey tightened up their harmony and wrote new material, influenced by groups like Traffic, and writers like Neil Young. They learnt from them. But they never copied.\u201d<\/p>\n
The album was produced by Hugo Murphy, \u201cthe guy who went on to produce Baker Street <\/i>for Gerry Rafferty,\u201d Martin says. \u201cWhen he produced us, he was an apprentice to the famous producer Shel Talmy. He was the bees\u2019 knees in England.\u201d Uphill All the Way<\/i> didn\u2019t sell in great numbers, but the quality songwriting, singing and playing on the record would eventually lead Unicorn to future opportunities.<\/p>\n
Ricky Hopper, a \u201crecord plugger\u201d at Transatlantic had taking a strong liking to the album track \u201cP.F. Sloan,\u201d a cover of the Jimmy Webb tune. \u201cHe got us some really good plays on the radio,\u201d Martin says. But the promotions man soon left the label, and the members of the group thought that meant the end of their association with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut one day he phoned me up out of the blue,\u201d Martin recalls. \u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019m getting married. Can the band play at my wedding? I can\u2019t afford to pay you, but there will be a lot of famous people there.\u201d Martin chuckles at the memory. \u201cWe all thought, \u201cOh, yeah, yeah. We\u2019ve heard that<\/i> before.\u2019 But he had done us a really big favor, so we agreed to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The famous guests at the early 1973 wedding included David Gilmour. His band was in ascendancy; Pink Floyd\u2019s The Dark Side of the Moon<\/i> was storming the charts and earning critical accolades. \u201cDavid came up to us during the break and said he really liked our original numbers,\u201d Martin says. The famed guitarist especially liked \u201cSleep Song,\u201d a tune Martin describes as \u201cpartly about going to the dentist.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid thought it was amazing,\u201d Martin says with a laugh. \u201cHe\u2019d never heard anyone write a song about going to the dentist! And so he asked for my number.\u201d Gilmour had recently received the first money from sales of The Dark Side of the Moon<\/i>, and he had built a brand-new recording studio in his new home. One of the first things he did was call Pat Martin.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook,\u201d Martin recalls Gilmour saying, \u201cI\u2019ve just got this studio, and I\u2019m testing it out. Would you guys like to come up and demo your original songs? I\u2019ll be experimenting, so I don\u2019t know how good it\u2019s going to be.\u201d On behalf of the band, Martin immediately said yes.<\/p>\n
At the appointed day and time, the four members of Unicorn arrived at Gilmour\u2019s home studio, bringing along all of their own gear. Their host greeted them, saying, \u201cIf you want, you can use any of my stuff.\u201d Martin recalls looking admiringly upon Gilmour\u2019s wall of guitars. But then they got a look at the studio. \u201cIt didn\u2019t have a control room,\u201d Martin laughs. \u201cIt hadn\u2019t been built yet! He just had the equipment in one room without sound separation.\u201d Gilmour recorded Unicorn\u2019s demo session using headphones instead of the customary studio reference monitors.<\/p>\n
Martin says that he, his band mates and the post-production mixing engineer were united in their amazement at the results. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t believe the quality,\u201d he says. \u201cYou do have things like guitar coming out on the snare drum mic, but he did such a good job. It sounds so<\/i> good!\u201d<\/p>\n