The End: Their Satanic Majesties Forget!
As was so often the case with many a band signed during the psychedelic heyday of the late 60s (Focal Point being a case in point), The End remain one of those enigmas lost to time amidst a swirl of colour and a cloud of hash smoke.
Image from: Marmalade Skies
In fact, mentioning Focal Point is no mere accident as two of the similarities between the misfortunes of the two bands sits firmly on the less desirable side of uncanny. Both had the sort of backing other bands could only dream of – Focal Point had The Beatles and The End had the Rolling Stones (more specifically Bill Wyman). Both were allowed to slip into obscurity through no fault of their own. The death of Beatles manager, Brian Epstein saw Focal Point’s priorities at Apple Records thrown onto the backburner, whilst Rolling Stones’ business manager Alan Klein sat on The End’s one and only album, Introspection, for eighteen months before it saw a release, at exactly the time when musical trends had moved on.
The End had started out as The Innocents, performing backing for singer Mike Berry, who ‘d later go on to appear in later series of British sit-com, Are You Being Served.
Now anybody whose heard The End’s Introspection will agree that they were far better than a session outfit for a future sub-holiday camp entertainer, a point not lost on Bill Wyman when their paths crossed in the first half of the 1960s, appearing further up the bill than the Stones, and he offered his assistance should the time come they wished to branch out on their own.
Which is what two members of The Innocents, Dave Brown and Colin Griffin, did, recruiting three more members, two of whom would later be replaced, and becoming The End.
Bill Wyman kept his word and prior to the band decamping to Spain to take a pop at the Spanish music circuit, he and the then Rolling Stones engineer, Glyn Johns, produced The End’s single ‘I Can’t Get Any Joy’ – a title that proved an unfortunate portent to the band’s future fortunes in the UK market. Success in Spain saw their sound drifting towards a more guitar-based psychedelic one and it was Wyman again who suggested the band begin working on an album to capitalise on the psychedelia buzz that casting its basket of flowers into the heart of the UK scene.
July 1967, and The End began work on Introspection – Their Bill Wyman produced, one and only album that down the years would become something of a psychedelic holy grail.
Recorded at around the same time as the Rolling Stones were recording Their Satanic Majesties Request, the album featured guest appearances from Charlie Watts and Nicky Hopkins (session keyboardist on many a classic Stones tune) and is unashamed psych-pop; a factor that would play a major part in Introspection’s lack of success, come its eventual release.
A single, ‘Shades of Orange’ backed with ‘Loving Sacred Loving’, was released to a good reception and these songs would later go on to cause quite a stir amongst bootleg afficianados ever-eager to unearth the next lost pièce de résistance, who mistakenly thought them to be unused Stones tracks – and if that wasn’t enough to get the juices flowing, ones that featured The Beatles(!)
Once completed, Introspection was placed in the ‘capable’ hands of the aforementioned business manager, Alan Klein, where it would remain for eighteen months before seeing the light of day in 1969. Decent reviews weren’t enough to counter a lack of interest from The End’s record company Decca, nor the fact that the market had shifted to favour heavier psychedelic and progressive rock, and the album sank without trace. Colin Griffin says: “I think if Introspection had been released a year earlier it may have made an impact…”
Such was the fickle nature of the ever-changing swirl of trends and fashions that spiraled through the latter half of the 60s. An album eighteen months out of time.
The End drifted apart following the disastrous release, with three of the members (including Dave Brown) leaving psychedelia well and truly behind to form hard rock act, Tucky Buzzard.
And that was it until 1999, thirty years on from the release of Introspection, when they reformed for a festival in Spain, the country in which they’d enjoyed the lion’s share of their success.
The End had their all-too-brief moment but were denied a shot at true greatness by the conspiracy of human ineptiitude, record company apathy and damned bad luck.
Introspection is released on the Decca label and available from Amazon.co.uk
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