Strange Days -

Strange Days were an English art-rock band that released the 1975 album 9 Parts to the Wind on Retreat Records. Three-fourths of the band played in the earlier combo Travis, which issued the 1973 A&M album Shine on Me. Drummer Eddie McNeil joined members of the original Renaissance lineup when they reformed for two albums as Illusion. Guitarist/vocalist Graham Ward resurfaced in the mid-1980s pop trio the Ward Brothers.

Members: Graham Ward (guitar, vocals), Eddie McNeil (drums, percussion), Eddy Spence (keyboards), Phil Walman (bass, vocals)

Background

Strange Days evolved from Travis, assembled by guitarist/singer Paul Travis, a native of Bolton in Greater Manchester. Travis formed a namesake group with guitarist Graham Ward, bassist Philip Walman, and drummer John Hardie.

Shine On Me

Travis released their singular album, Shine On Me, in 1972 on A&M. The album contains six songs by Paul Travis, all (apart from “Goodbye”) co-written by Graham Ward, who lone-wrote “Found Myself In You.”

Cyprus soundman Christos Demetriou produced Shine On Me and played organ and mellotron on “Found Myself In You” and “Carry Me With You.” Industry mover Mike Moran played piano on “Carry Me” and “Goodbye.”

A1. “Shine On Me” (6:10)
A2. “Goodbye” (3:59)
A3. “Flagstone Path” (7:59) is a harmonized rocker (in Fm) with plucked acoustic ballad verses; intercut by revved electric passages with scaling leads and swelling vocables, ala Capability Brown.

B1. “Maybe I Wrote This Song for You” (2:28)
B2. “Found Myself In You” (4:14)
B3. “Time’s Running Out” (4:49)
B4. “Carry Me With You” (4:57)

Demetriou produced Shine On Me in sequence with Down at Rachel’s Place, the second solo album by former Manfred‘s singer Mike D’Abo. Moran interacted beforehand with Christos on the 1971 second solo by John Kongos, who scored a hit with the Demetriou co-write “He’s Gonna Step On You Again.”

Shine On Me was engineered by Anton Matthews, a soundman on 1971/72 albums by Brinsley Schwarz, Ernie Graham, Fair Weather, Family, Help Yourself, Juicy Lucy, Reg King, and Zakarrias.

Shine On Me shows a vintage tenement-strip photo of unattended band equipment with a lone dog. A&M art director Mike Doud designed the cover in tandem with 1972 sleeve visuals for Byzantium, Jericho, Humble Pie, and Stealers Wheel.

“Band of Heroes”

On August 30, 1973, Travis released a standalone single: “Band of Heroes,” a Ward/Travis co-write backed with “Out In the Country,” a Travis lone-write. The single retains the Shine On Me lineup (Travis, Ward, Walman, Hardie) with an added fifth member, keyboardist Eddie Spence.

A. “Band of Heroes” (3:05)
B. “Out In the Country” (3:23)

After this single, Ward, Walman, and Spence formed Strange Days with drummer Eddie McNeil, a sessionist on Supercharged!, the 1974 EMI release by BBC Radiophonic Workshop synthesist Paddy Kingsland. They linked with Retreat Records, the upstart venture of veteran guitarist Big Jim Sullivan and Deep Purple/Wishbone Ash manager Derek Lawrence.

Meanwhile, Paul Travis retained his A&M contract for a 1975 solo album, Return of the Native.

9 Parts to the Wind

Strange Days released their lone album, 9 Parts to the Wind, in 1975 on Retreat Records.

The album contains six originals by Graham Ward, who sings and plays lead guitar on a double-neck electric six- and 12-string model. Bassist Phil Walman harmonizes on the choruses.

A1. “9 Parts to the Wind” (4:28)
A2. “Be Nice to Joe Soap” (6:45)
A3. “The Journey”(10:02)

B1. “Monday Morning” (4:03)
B2. “A Unanimous Decision” (8:24)
B3. “18 Tons” (7:29)

Sessions occurred at De Lane Lea Studio, a Wembley facility used for 1974/75 albums by Electric Light Orchestra (Face the Music), Labi Siffre, Principal Edwards, and Renaissance (Turn of the Cards). Sullivan and Lawrence co-produced 9 Parts to the Wind in sequence with Siffre’s Remember My Song and the debut by American hard-rockers Angel.

De Lane soundman Dick Plant engineered 9 Parts, Remember, and Face the Music along with 1975 albums by Roy Wood (Mustard) and Renaissance (Scheherazade and Other Stories).

Photographer Bill Richmond took the 9 Parts to the Wind cover, which shows a formally attired boy (back to the cover) standing on a chair playing imaginary conductor to a symphony orchestra picture on his wall while Strange Days stand nearby, as seen on the backside. Richmond also photographed the snake-coiled poison jar image on Coming Right at You, the 1974 EMI International release by American funksters 100% Pure Poison.

Retreat lifted “Monday Morning” as a single (b/w “Joe Soap”).

Strange Days built a following on the Dutch and English club circuits. On May 18, 1976, they played London’s 100 Club, opened by newcomers The Sex Pistols.

After Strange Days

Eddie McNeil joined the reformed original Renaissance (minus the late Keith Relf) as Illusion, which made the 1977/78 Island albums Out of the Mist and Illusion — released in tandem with the mainstream lineup’s Novella and Song for All Seasons.

Eddie Spence surfaced in a later edition of Gordon Giltrap‘s backing band.

Graham Ward and Phil Walman regrouped in Legal Aid, a new wave trio with Graham’s younger brother, drummer Dave Ward. They cut a 1981 DIY single, “That’s Life” (b/w “Limbo”), on Earshot Records. Graham and Dave then teamed with their third of kin, keyboardist Derek Ward, in the Ward Brothers, a synthpop quartet with bassist Martin Bullard.

The Ward Brothers linked with erstwhile Gong bassist Mike Howlett, who produced their 1986 album Madness of It All on Virgin/Siren.

Discography: