Space Farm -

Space Farm was a New Zealander psych-rock quartet behind the 1972 Zodiac album Going Home to Eternity.

Members: Glen Absolum (drums), Harvey Mann (guitar), Billy Williams (bass), Bob Gillette (saxophone)

Background

Space Farm formed in Auckland in 1971 when guitarist–singer Harvey Mann and drummer Glen Absolum teamed with bassist Billy Williams.

Mann came from Mount Maunganui, where he played with the Krazy Kats. He later co-founded the Underdogs in Auckland with singer Archie Bowie. Absolum played with Le Frame and Mantra alongside bassist Neil Edwards. Williams played with Omnibus in 1969, then joined the Classic Affair, a Whangārei group based in Auckland.

In late 1970, Mann, Absolum, and Edwards recorded the Underdogs album Wasting Our Time, produced by saxophonist Bob Gillet at Auckland’s Mascot Studios and released in February 1971 on Pye. Edwards moved to Human Instinct, replaced for a time by bassist Larry Waide.

Mann and Absolum then formed a new quartet with Williams and Gillet. After a spell as the Australasian Rock Squad, Gillet resigned to an auxiliary role. By late 1971, the remaining trio renamed as Space Farm and held a residency at Auckland’s Tabla nightclub. Eldred Stebbing brought the group into his Auckland studio for the sessions behind the self-titled Zodiac debut.

Discography:

Going Home to Eternity (1972)

Sources

AudioCulture — Space Farm: lineup, Tabla residency, Stebbing sessions, and original album title. (AudioCulture)
AudioCulture — Neil Edwards: Le Frame and Mantra, Wasting Our Time sessions, and Waide’s brief stint. (AudioCulture)
AudioCulture — The Underdogs: Mann’s early band and the Mann–Absolum–Edwards lineup. (AudioCulture)
AudioCulture — Larry Killip; New Zealand Music — Classic Affair: Williams’s route through Omnibus and the Classic Affair. (AudioCulture; New Zealand Music)
New Zealand Music — Space Farm: the Australasian Rock Squad name and Gillett’s change to part-time membership. This account dates the name change to September 1971; the month lacks independent confirmation. (New Zealand Music)