Forever More -

Forever More was a Scottish post-psych band that released the 1970/71 albums Yours and Words on Black Plastic on RCA Victor. Bassist/vocalist Alan Gorrie became a mainstay of soul-funksters the Average White Band.

Members: Stuart Francis (drums), Alan Gorrie (bass, vocals), Onnie McIntyre (guitar), Mick Travis [Mick Strode] (lead guitar, vocals)

The Scots of St. James

Forever More evolved from a Glasgow-based beat group called The Berries, who adopted the name The Scots of St. James after relocating to London in mid-1966. The lineup soon settled around vocalist Jimmy Oakley, drummer Stuart Francis, bassist Alan Gorrie, guitarist Onnie McIntyre, and keyboardist Graham Maitland. Earlier iterations featured Hugh Nicholson, Ian Murray, James Mylchreest, and Norrie MacLean (ex-Poets). Gorrie replaced Murray on bass, while Maitland took over keys from Mylchreest.

The Scots of St. James played more than 60 documented gigs across the UK. Notable 1966–67 appearances include Eel Pie Island (10/23/66: with Champion Jack Dupree and Five Proud Walkers), Woolwich Arsenal Station (10/28/66: with The Artwoods), the Nottingham Beachcomber Club (3/11/67: backing Lee Dorsey with The Montanas), and the Hanley Place (7/6/67: with Neat Change). On September 19, 1967, they shared the stage with Deep Purple at the Gala Ballroom in Norwich.

The band released two singles: a December 1966 cover of Ben E. King’s “Gypsy” (b/w “Tic Toc” by Ian Murray) on the Go label, and “Timothy” (b/w “Eiderdown Clown,” credited to Gorrie and Maitland) in September 1967 on Spot. A third acetate-only demo titled “Through the Eyes of a Child” circulated briefly in 1967 through United Artists’ publishing arm, marking their transition toward a new identity. Around this same time, Oakley recorded a solo single for Philips—“Little Girl” backed with a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Kentucky Woman”—with instrumental backing by his Scots bandmates during the tail end of their run.

Hopscotch

Hopscotch formed in early 1968 from the final Scots of St. James lineup, with Alan Gorrie (bass, vocals), Graham Maitland (keys), Onnie McIntyre (guitar), and Stuart Francis (drums). They added guitarist Hamish Stuart, who shared vocals with Gorrie across the group’s short-lived but active run. Between mid-1968 and mid-1969, Hopscotch played more than 30 documented gigs across southern England, regularly appearing at venues in Bournemouth, London, and the South Coast circuit.

They shared stages with Georgie Fame and Doughnut Ring (3/22/69, Cliffs Pavilion, Southend), The Love Affair (5/17/69, also at the Cliffs Pavilion), The Equals (8/9/69, Boston Gliderdrome), and The Palmer James (5/25/68, Bournemouth Pavilion). Other venues included the Cromwellian (5/10/68), the Tower Ballroom in Yarmouth (7/8–9/68), and multiple dates at Bournemouth’s Linden Sports Club and Pavilion Ballroom.

Hopscotch released two singles on United Artists. Their debut, “Look At the Lights Go Up” (b/w “Same Old Fat Man”), appeared on June 28, 1968, arranged by John Cameron and produced by Kenny Young. Their second, a cover of “Long Black Veil” (b/w “Easy to Find”), followed in May 1969 with production by Noel Walker. Both featured original material by Gorrie and Maitland on the B-sides.

Shortly after the second single, Stuart exited to pursue session work. Hopscotch disbanded and regrouped that summer as Forever More, with Mick Strode (credited as Mick Travis) replacing Stuart on guitar and vocals, launching a new chapter with original material and a heavier touring presence.

In October 1969, Forever More appeared on RCA with their first single: “Back In The States Again” (b/w “Home Country Blues”).

Yours

Forever More released their debut album, Yours, in early 1970 on RCA Victor.

Yours moves between restrained ensemble pieces, staged interludes, and sharply arranged pop songs. “We Sing” unfolds slowly with shifting harmonic shapes and a layered vocal coda, followed later by the compressed urgency of “You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine,” where repeated guitar stabs drive the rhythm. “

8 O’Clock & All’s Well” drops into a loose, spoken interjection over clipped piano and brassy stabs, while “Good to Me” sustains its eight-minute span with alternating sections of suspended piano phrasing and staccato guitar patterns. Closing number “Sylvester’s Last Voyage” stretches into subdued chamber textures with orchestration that drifts upward behind Gorrie’s lead.

Guitarist Mick Travis and multi-instrumentalist Alan Gorrie trade lead lines, with Travis favoring clipped figures and jagged phrasing while Gorrie shifts between piano, bass, and atmospheric counterpoint. Gorrie sings backup with guitarist Onnie McIntyre, whose clean rhythm figures and harmonized passages rein drummer Stuart Francis and percussionist Ray Singer. Travis wrote nine of the eleven songs, credited on five under his alias Sam Hedd.

A1. “Back in the States Again” (2:47)
A2. “We Sing” (4:10)
A3. “It’s Home” (1:36)
A4. “Home Country Blues” (2:55)
A5. “Good to Me” (8:00)

B1. “Yours” (2:10) – Gorrie
B2. “Beautiful Afternoon” (2:19)
B3. “8 O’Clock & All’s Well” (3:20)
B4. “Mean Pappie Blues” (1:36)
B5. “You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine” (2:42)
B6. “Sylvester’s Last Voyage” (3:39) – Gorrie

Sessions took place at Olympic Sound Studios in London under the supervision of Simon Napier-Bell and Ray Singer, who also contributed brass, string, and percussion arrangements. Engineer Vic Smith captured a full ensemble sound with layered instrumentation and tonal shifts across the record.

Yours first appeared in the UK in a stark white “Paint It Yourself” sleeve with rainbow-block graphics and a speech bubble inviting user customization. International copies appeared in a gatefold with a satin-red collage of cherubs, lace, and valentines with a surreal black-and-white inner spread that frames the band in stylized photo panels bordered by medical symbols, burlesque imagery, and theatrical typography. Designer Horoscope overlays the RCA and Rocking Horse logos onto a cut-and-paste visual reminiscent of vintage valentine cards and toy catalogues.

The single “8 O’Clock & All’s Well” backed with “Beautiful Afternoon” appeared on RCA Victor in 1970.

Words on Black Plastic

Forever More released their second album, Words on Black Plastic, in January 1971 on RCA Victor.

The album expands on the debut’s tonal range with greater use of acoustic instrumentation and layered vocal arrangements. Alan Gorrie and Roger Ball arranged the orchestration on “Promises of Spring,” adding strings to its shifting tempo and harmonic sweep.

Guitarist Mick Travis alternates between electric, acoustic, banjo, mandolin, and slide guitar, often in tandem with Owen McIntyre, whose phrasing adds rhythmic lift and melodic contrast. Gorrie underpins the shifting textures with piano, bass, and string arrangements, while the ensemble navigates between compact scenes and expansive transitions.

A1. “Promises of Spring” (4:56)
A2. “The Wrong Person” (3:30)
A3. “Last Breakfast” (3:11)
A4. “Get Behind Me Satan” (5:57)

B1. “Put Your Money on a Pony” (4:00)
B2. “Lookin’ Through the Water” (3:05)
B3. “O’Brien’s Last Stand” (3:00)
B4. “Angel of the Lord” (3:25)
B5. “What a Lovely Day” (6:02)

Sessions took place in spring 1970 at Olympic Studios, London, with production credited jointly to the band and their management team of Ray Singer and Simon Napier-Bell.

“Put Your Money on a Pony” appeared on Halloween 1970 as an advance single backed with the earlier “Yours.”

Postlude

Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre joined Rock Workshop guitarist Ray Russell and Piblokto!/ARC drummer Rob Tait on A Passing Stranger, the 1971 solo album by ex-Dada singer Paul Korda. McIntyre also played alongside Satisfaction guitarist Derek Griffiths, Oblivion Express drummer Robbie McIntosh, original VDGG bassist Nic Potter, and Faces Ian McLagen and Kenney Jones on The London Chuck Berry Sessions, the rock ‘n’ roll founder’s 1972 release with the No. 1 hit “My Ding-a-Ling.”

Gorrie and McIntyre retained McIntosh and relinked with Hopscotch guitarist Hamish Stuart in the Average White Band, a soul-funk septet with Mogul Thrash saxophonists Malcolm Duncan and Roger Ball.

Mick Travis and Stuart Francis formed Glencoe, a rustic-rock band with Scots/Hopscotch keyboardist Graham Maitland and Greatest Show On Earth bassist Norman Watt-Roy. Travis soon cleared for Skip Bifferty/ARC bassist John Turnball. Glencoe made two albums in 1972/73 on Epic, the second produced by Ben Sidran.

Francis played on the 1975 Roger Daltrey solo album Ride a Rock Horse while Turnball and Watt-Roy linked with Chili Charles and Bifferty keyboardist Mickey Gallagher in Loving Awareness, which issued a 1976 album for Radio Caroline and merged (sans Charles) with ex-Byzantium musician Chaz Jankel in the Blockheads, the backing band of ex-Kilburn & the High Roads singer Ian Dury.

Discography: