Deep Feeling -

Deep Feeling was an English studio band that released multiple singles of orchestral pop on Page One and DJM in 1970/71, followed by an eponymous art-rock album that has since achieved cult status.

(This Deep Feeling is not to be confused with a namesake earlier band that featured a pre-Traffic Jim Capaldi.)

Members: John Swail [aka Guy Darrell] (lead vocals, guitar), Martin Jenner (lead guitar, pedal steel, vocals), Dave Green (bass, flute, vocals), Derek Elson (Hammond organ, harpsichord, piano, vocals), Dave Clare (1969-?), Graham Jarvis (drums, percussion, vocals)

Background

They started out as the Guy Darrell Syndicate, an R&B/pop band from Gravesend, Kent, that released the single “How Are You?” (b/w “The Turtle Tortoise & the Hare”) on Page One in 1969. The band included singer/guitarist John Swail (aka Guy Darrell), bassist David Green, and guitarist Martin Jenner.

Swail (1944–2013) first sang for bandleader Ray McVay in the early 1960s. He then fronted Guy Darrell and the Midniters, which issued two 1964 beat singles on Oriole. As a solo singer, he released six 1965–67 singles on CBS (mostly American soul covers) and three 1967/68 singles on Piccadilly/Pye.

Green and Jenner first interacted in the 1964-era beat groups Count Downe & The Zero’s (one single, Ember Records) and Peter & The Headlines (two singles, Decca); the latter morphed into the psych-tinged Summer Set. The pair also played in the Irish bubblegum group The Real McCoy and recorded as a duo under multiple band monikers (The Daytrippers, The Red Sox).

Early Singles

In 1970, the lineup of Swail, Green, Jenner, keyboardist Derek Elson, and drummer Graham Jarvis changed its name to Deep Feeling and issued two further Page One singles:

A. “Skyline Pigeon” — Elton John/Bernie Taupin ballad, first done by Swail on a 1968 single and recorded by John himself on his 1969 debut album Empty Sky.
B. “We’ve Thrown It All Away” — Co-written by Swail with Jennifer De Devigne and Marie Cumiskey.

A. “Do You Love Me” — Slow, string-laden ballad interpretation of the Contours 1962 Motown doo-wop classic, written by Berry Gordy Jr.
B. “Move On” — Written by the production team behind both singles, Des Champ and Roger Easterby.

Deep Feeling signed with B W P (Bob Wheatley Productions), owners of the Essex pub chain Wheatley Taverns. Under this deal, they recorded a seasonal reggae-rock album as Green Man (Christmas Rock) and issued a nameless collection of covers (Tavern Top Pops Vol 1).

Later in 1970, Deep Feeling signed with Dick James Music. (DJM) and released another round of singles:

A. “Do You Wanna Dance” — Originally a 1958 rock ‘n’ roll hit for American R&B singer Bobby Freeman.
B. “The Day My Lady Cried” — Written by Devigne, Cumiskey, and Lynn Webster.

A. “Sweat, Dust and Red Wine” — Group-written uptempo harmony pop in G major. Occasional harmonica, twangy guitar. Handclap chorus. Beach Boys-style vocal trade-offs. Covered in 1972 by Chicory Tip.
B. “Turn Around” — Green/Jenner composition.

In 1971, Deep Feeling recorded an album with Champ/Easterby and engineer Clive Franks, a tech hand on titles by Nite People, Elton John, Kiki Dee, and Welsh singer Vaughan Thomas.

The Album

Deep Feeling released their singular self-titled album on DJM in September 1971. It features four Jenner/Green originals: “Welcome for a Soldier,” “Old Peoples Home,” “Country Heir,” and the nine-minute epic “Guillotine.” Each side ends with a cover: an elongated reinvention of Mason Williams’ instrumental hit “Classical Gas” and a fuzzy hard rock take on the Little Richard chestnut “Lucille.”

Elson plays piano, Hammond organ, and harpsichord. Jenner handles pedal steel in addition to electric and acoustic guitar. All four instrumentalists harmonize behind Swail.

Deep Feeling sports a black cover with a white upshot sketch of a guillotine (lower right). The back shows each member’s head at the tip of a tree branch.

DJM released “Country Heir” as a yellow label promo single, backed with the earlier b-side “We’ve Thrown It All Away.”

Later Singles

Deep Feeling moved to Philips and issued the October 1972 single “Sunday Morning Leaving” (b/w “Why, Lady Why?”), both Jenner/Green originals. Their last single was a cover of the Rolling Stones classic “Let’s Spend The Night Together,” backed with the Jenner/Green “Avalon,” released in March 1974 on Easterby’s label Santa Ponsa.

Swail, still using the Guy Darrell pseudonym, had a UK #12 hit in 1973 with a cover of Ray Whitley’s “I’ve Been Hurt,” which Swail first covered in 1966. He mimed the song on Top of the Pops (9/20/73) with Deep Feeling, despite their non-involvement in the recording. A titlesake album appeared that year on Santa Ponsa, comprised of the hit plus a ’50s rock ‘n’ roll medley and assorted soul covers.

Post-Split

Green and Jenner continued partnering on one-off singles under faux-band identities (National Shinguard Company, Posse). They formed the glam-rock trio Shelby with one Paul Bennett and issued three 1974/75 singles on Santa and Route Records. Green wrote and produced numerous pop singles for shortplayer acts (Splitz, Daffy Duck, Bob & Honey Bee) on Santa, Route, and other labels.

Jenner became a prolific session guitarist with credits on albums by Rab Noakes, Ralph McTell, Bonnie Tyler, Barbara Dickson, Chris Rea, Chris Rainbow, and Stephen Bishop.

Jarvis drummed in the Brit funk quartet Mankind, which issued a 1978 space-disco cover of the “Doctor Who” theme. Between 1981 and 1983, he recorded two albums in the AOR trio Zed. As a sessionist, Jarvis played on albums by the Real Thing, Paul Brett, Claudja Barry, Delegation, Sally Oldfield, Elkie Brooks, David Essex, Tina Turner, and Cliff Richard (Wired for Sound).

Both Jarvis and Jenner were part of Thunder, Richard’s ad hoc backing band during the early ’80s. They played on his 1983 release Silver, as well as albums by Johnny Bristol and John Miles (Play On). Jarvis died in December 1985.

Reissues

Deep Feeling was first reissued on CD in 1994 on DJM (Japan) as part of their Classics Super Price series, which also included select early ’70s titles by Elton John (incl. Honky Chateau) and the 1973 release A Little Taste by singer/songwriter and ubiquitous keyboardist Ann Odell. Another round of reissues appeared in the late 2000s on Bell Antique (Japan), Music Imported (South Korea), and Flawed Jems (Sweden).

In 2018, Deep Feeling was reissued by UK archivists Grapefruit Records with 13 additional tracks, which account for all their 1970–74 singles sides.

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