Northwind -

Northwind was a Scottish folk-rock band from Glasgow that released the album Sister, Brother, Lover… in 1971 on Regal Zonophone. Two Apple Corps acetates cut in 1970 and studio tapes from 1973 later supplied Peaceful, an archival LP issued in 2024 by Bright Carvings.

Members: Brian Young (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals), Tommy Ewing (vocals), Dave Scott (drums), Nello (drums), Ron Leckie (drums), Hugh “Shug” Barr (electric guitar), Tom “Tam” Brannan (bass, vocals), Colin Somerville (keyboards), Kim Beacon (vocals), Tommy Ewing (vocals)

Background

Northwind evolved from Power of Music, a school group fromed by guitarist-singer Brian Young and keyboardist Colin Somerville. Young was born in Glasgow but moved in 1964 to Australia, where he entered the Melbourne beat circuit with The Creatures, then returned to Scotland and played with The Level.

Carntyne bassist-vocalist Tam Brannan joined Power of Music after time on the London scene. Guitarist Hugh “Shug” Barr arrived from Crusade, a Glasgow blues band associated with the Maryland club. Somerville supplied the Northwind name from an idea he formed at school. Drummer Ron Leckie completed the first lineup.

Leckie took Northwind to Germany for six months of residencies around Bad Kreuznach and Frankfurt. While there, Leckie cleared out for Dave Scott, an Edinburgh drummer who returned with the group to Glasgow.

Manager Ronnie Simpson of Music & Cabaret arranged an audition with Tony Calder, who signed Northwind and Tear Gas to Realization 7, which secured Regal Zonophone contracts for both Scottish groups.

Sister, Brother, Lover…

Northwind released their singular album, Sister, Brother, Lover…, in August 1971 on Regal Zonophone.

The album captures the lineup of Young, Barr, Somerville, Brannan, and Scott. Young supplied five songs and co-wrote two with Barr, who submitted “Bystandin’” while Brannan contributed “Quill.”

“A Home for Frozen Roses” jaunts on acoustic strumming with slide embellishments. “Acimon and Noiram” pivots through three recurring tempo sections and ends with a liquid wah-wah lead while Somerville carries a high-register interlude. “Castanettes” barrels through insistent guitar lines, drops speed, then rebuilds around collective singing. “Sweet Dope” settles into acoustic accompaniment and keyboard figures. “Bystandin’” eases through reflective lines under light picking.

“Guten Abend” veers through changing meters, passes a brief volume-pedal swell, and reaches an electric break near its finish. “Peaceful” unfurls through contoured passages punctuated by descending piano phrases, then trails into brief blues-tinged calls. “The Many Tribesmen” shifts among sections at changing speeds. “Quill” rolls through a Latin-leaning pattern under a dominant organ vamp.

A1. “Home for Frozen Roses” (3:52) – Young
A2. “Acimon and Noiram” (6:20) – Young
A3. “Castanettes” (4:56) – Young, Barr
A4. “Sweet Dope” (3:26) – Young
A5. “Bystandin’” (3:05) – Barr

B1. “Guten Abend” (5:52) – Young
B2. “Peaceful” (5:05) – Young, Barr
B3. “Many Tribesmen” (5:55) – Young
B4. “Quill” (3:57) – Brannan

Sessions for Sister, Brother, Lover… spanned 1970 and 1971 at Regent Sound and Sound Techniques in London with producer Tony Chapman and engineer Tom Allom. Chapman, an early Rolling Stones drummer, also produced Regal Zonophone albums by Tear Gas across 1970 and 1971 for the label. Allom engineered Sister between the Black Sabbath albums Paranoid and Master of Reality.

Grafisit designed and photographed the textured sleeve. The front shows a shoreline near the band cottage at Ardentinny. Back-cover panels show Northwind and the road crew. Further images depict the cottage and a Highland cow.

Audio Archives issued an unauthorized CD in 2001 with two acetate outtakes under titles derived from lyric lines. Beatball released authorized remastered CD and LP editions in 2015 with the correct titles “Worlds Apart” and “The Candle Tree.” The reissue also added an early version of “Peaceful.” The expanded program included the 1973 recordings “Et Ca Va” and “Sinking.”

Brian Young and Geoff Allan remastered the tapes at Ca Va Sound in Glasgow. Beatball assigned reissue production to Lee Bong-soo and package design to Baek Ji-hoon.

Postlude

Northwind added drummer-singer Kim Beacon as a second vocalist for approximately six months. Tommy Ewing succeeded Beacon and joined Young for a two-month German tour. The group split after a trip to Zurich around 1972, which came after a month of performances for American military audiences in Fulda.

Young formed Ca Va with singer-drummer Beacon and bassist Brian Michie. Guitarist Alan Sweeney and keyboardist John O’Hagan completed the lineup. Beacon joined String Driven Thing for their 1974/75 albums Please Mind Your Head and Keep Yer ‘And on It. Young moved to London for a six-month stint with Brannan in A Million People. Barr and Somerville formed Shug Barr’s All Stars. Scott surfaced in Dekka Danse, which cut the 1984 CBS album Waltz in the Wilderness.

Peaceful

In 2024, archivists Bright Carvings released the Peaceful, a collection of Northwind material from before and after their 1971 album

The album combines the 1970 Apple Corps acetates “Peaceful” and “The Candle Tree (Version 2)” with four Scott-era demos and the two 1973 tracks, “Et Ca Va” and “Sinking,” both with Kim Beacon and Brian Michie.

A1. “Introduction” (1:00)
A2. “The Candle Tree” (4:29)
A3. “Peaceful” (5:01)
A4. “Worlds Apart” (4:06)
A5. “Quill” (3:57)

B1. “Et Ca Va” (6:09)
B2. “Sinking” (5:56)
B3. “The Candle Tree (Version 2)” (4:53)

Young prepared the surviving source material at Ca Va Sound, and Bright Carvings mastered the album. Bright Carvings pressed 227 copies in a laminated sleeve designed by Bobby Blisters. Packaging includes a lyric inner with replica acetate labels and a separate insert containing an interview with Young.

Discography: