Ozric Tentacles -

Ozric Tentacles is an English space-rock band that self-released six cassette-albums (numbered OT 1–6) between 1985 and 1989, including the titles There Is Nothing and Sliding Gliding Worlds. In 1990 they founded Dovetail Records, used for six new studio albums and reissues of their back catalogue. The Ozrics released thirteen further titles between 1997 and 2015, mostly on the Snapper and Magna Carta labels. Their 2020 digital release Space for the Earth commenced a three-album run on Kscope.

Members: Ed Wynne (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, samples, koto, fretless bass), Joie Hinton [aka Ozrooniculator] (keyboards, samples, synthesizer, 1983-94), Roly Wynne (bass, 1983-92), Nick van Gelder [aka Tig] (drums, 1983-87), Tom Brooks [aka Zorch] (keyboards, 1983-86), Gavin Griffiths (guitar, 1983-84), Paul Hankin (percussion, congas, 1985-91), Merv Pepler (drums, percussion, tambourine, 1987-94, 2004-09), Steve Everett (keyboards, 1987-2004), Marcus Ethnic [Marcus Carcus] (percussion, 1988-90, 1993), Generator John (drums, percussion, tambourine, 1989-90, 1993), John Egan [aka Jack Egan, Jumping John, Eoin Eogan] (flute, vocals, 1989-2009), Zia Geelani (bass, percussion, castanets, 1992-2004)

Background

Ozric Tentacles formed at the June 1983 Stonehenge Free Festival in Wiltshire when the London group Bolshem People joined synthesist Joie Hinton for an improvised set.

Bolshem People comprised bassist Roly Wynne, drummer Nick “Tig” van Gelder, and guitarists Ed Wynne and Gavin Griffiths. Hinton had returned from India with recordings of local music. The musicians played for six hours with equipment powered by a hired generator. Ed named the group after imaginary breakfast cereals discussed around a campfire.

Ed was born in 1961 in Wandsworth, London, and grew up in Wimbledon, where his father, sculptor David Wynne, entertained musicians including George Harrison. Singer Donovan lived next door and welcomed Ed after school. Wynne took piano lessons and taught himself guitar on an instrument owned by Roly. He left school at sixteen and spent two weeks in Palm Springs circa 1978/79, helping Donovan work on songs. Wynne also followed Gong, Steve Hillage, and Here & Now, whose live performances introduced him to reggae rhythms.

Wynne established a four-track studio in the family attic, where he taped instrumentals and improvised sessions with visiting musicians. Ozric Tentacles gigged throughout the British free-festival circuit and London clubs, with personnel varying between performances. Synthesist Tom “Zorch” Brooks joined at the 1984 Stonehenge event, followed in 1985 by percussionist Paul Hankin. Festival audiences requested copies of the music, prompting Wynne to duplicate tapes for sale at concerts. He assembled recordings from 1984–85 for the first Ozric Tentacles cassette, Erpsongs, issued independently in 1985 with photocopied inserts.

Discography:

Erpsongs (1985)
Tantric Obstacles (1985)
There Is Nothing (1986)
Live Ethereal Cereal (1986)
Sliding Gliding Worlds (1988)
The Bits Between the Bits (1989)
Pungent Effulgent (1989)
Erpland (1990)
Strangeitude (1991)
Live Underslunky (1992)
Jurassic Shift (1993)
Arborescence (1994)
Become the Other (1995)
Curious Corn (1997)
Floating Seeds Remixed (remixes, 1998)
Spice Doubt (live, 1998)
Waterfall Cities (1999)
Swirly Termination (2000)
The Hidden Step (2000)
Live at the Pongmaster’s Ball (live, 2002)
Spirals in Hyperspace (2004)
The Floor’s Too Far Away (2006)
Sunrise Festival (live, 2008)
The YumYum Tree (2009)
Paper Monkeys (2011)
Technicians of the Sacred (2015)

References and notes

Gavin Griffiths — Share a Clam With the Ullulators, 2017 reissue notes. Firsthand account of Bolshem People home tapes, the 1983 Stonehenge meeting with Hinton, Wimbledon rehearsals, and Blim artwork. (Ullulators)
Ed Wynne interview — Guitar World, May 13, 2020. Family background, early instruments, George Harrison and Donovan associations, and Ibanez guitar. (Guitar World)
Ed Wynne interview — Prog, October 20, 2026. Wimbledon attic sessions, four-track recording, early collaborations, and independent cassette duplication. (Prog)
Ozric Tentacles — official band history. Stonehenge formation, name origin, Tom Brooks recruitment, free-festival activity, and early recordings. (Ozrics)
Kscope — Erpsongs, 2020 remaster notes. Original lineup, 1984–85 tapes, 1985 cassette release, artwork, and distribution through festivals and independent outlets. (Kscope)
Ozric Tentacles — Erpsongs, original OT1 cassette. Official issue details and fourteen-track program. (OT1)
Musicbase — Erpsongs. Original black cassette, subsequent pressing variants, blank-tape invitation, and unprinted track sequence. (Musicbase)