The Fox -

The Fox was an English pop-psych band from Brighton that made the 1970 Fontana album For Fox Sake.

Members: Steve Brayne (guitar), Alex Lane (keyboards), Tim Reeves (drums), David Windross (bass, 1968-70), Nick Apostilides (vocals, 1968), Winston Weatherill (guitar, 1968-70)

For the mid-70s dream-pop band with Kenny Young and Noosha Fox, click here.

Background

The roots of The Fox trace back to Brighton in the mid-1960s, where guitarist Steve Brayne, keyboardist Alex Lane, and drummer Tim Reeves attended the same primary school. They each cut their teeth in earlier local groups: Brayne with The Beatroute, and Lane and Reeves in the Alex Lane Group alongside early Fox vocalist Nick Apostilides. Bassist Dave Windross, a later addition, previously played Hammond in Omega Plus with Reeves, touring U.S. military bases in Germany and Sweden before switching to bass for The Fox.

After a year in Bristol, where he formed a psychedelic-blues project called The Magic Theatre, Brayne returned to Brighton in 1968 and reconnected with Reeves, who introduced him to a new outfit featuring Windross, Apostilides, and Lane (recently in The Urchins). Brayne brought in several originals—“Mr Blank,” “Butterfly,” “Glad I Could,” “Madame Magical”—and began writing with Lane. Rehearsals intensified under the guidance of manager Lenny Barker, a former bassist with the Alex Lane Group, leading to a demo at Regent Sound in London.

Brayne and Lane shared vocals after Apostilides’s departure. The lineup solidified with guitarist Winston Weatherill, recently of Eastbourne beatsters Shelley and a onetime member of Gary Farr & The T-Bones (circa 1964/65, before the tenures of Nice co-founders Lee Jackson and Keith Emerson).

The Fox gigged extensively across southern England, supporting acts like The Herd and Principal Edward’s Magic Theatre, and built a local following through self-booked shows and college gigs.

The band had no connection to The Fox (aka The Whip), a London 1968 CBS one-off with original Yardbirds guitarist Top Topham and subsequent Paladin bassist Pete Beckett.

For Fox Sake

For Fox Sake was released in June 1970 on Fontana, sourced from demos recorded months earlier for a proposed debut on Patrick Meehan and Adrian Miller’s M&M label. M&M leased UK rights to Philips–Fontana and sold U.S. rights to Bob Crewe, who repackaged it as For Fox Sake Vol. 1 for his Crewe label. The recordings feature lead guitarist Steve Brayne and keyboardist Alex Lane alternating on vocals and composition, with backing from bassist Dave Windross, drummer Tim Reeves, and second guitarist Winston Weatherill. Most tracks predate the album by over a year and reflect the group’s live set, with contributions from former vocalist Nick Apostilides on three lyrics.

The album spans soul-tinged Hammond rock, brief psych interludes, and extended studio compositions with tonal shifts and treated elements. Lane’s Hammond provides a sharp, swirling counterweight to Brayne’s clipped vocal phrasings and Weatherill’s taut leads. “Secondhand Love” and “Lovely Day” move with firm rhythmic footing, balancing baroque vocal inflections against curt instrumental breaks. “Butterfly” and “Madame Magical” take more elaborate paths, the former mixing sitar with light tremolo and the latter drifting into nine minutes of phased organ, layered percussion, and tempo pivots that veer into diffuse, quasi-jazz terrain.

A1. “Secondhand Love” (3:12) – Mid-tempo Hammond rocker with clipped organ figures and a brooding vocal by Lane; fades abruptly.
A2. “Lovely Day” (3:24) – Tense guitar-led track with tight backing harmonies, standout organ solo, and brisk vocal by Brayne.
A3. “As She Walks Away” (5:29) – Percussion-led acoustic intro segues into layered instrumentation and shifting tempos; lyrics by Apostilides.
A4. “Glad I Could” (2:58) – Brisk psych-pop number with winding guitar and sitar interplay; compact and vocal-forward.
A5. “Butterfly” (3:22) – Acoustic-sitar piece with phased vocals and a sharp harmonic turn mid-track; released as the B-side of their single.
A6. “Look in the Sky” (3:42) – Hammond-led composition with mild progressive leanings and brief tempo shifts.

B1. “Goodtime Music” (2:49) – Straightform soul-rock rave-up.
B2. “Mr. Blank” (3:20) – Martial-paced track with a blunt delivery and percussive breakdown; rhythm section-forward.
B3. “Man in a Fast Car” (2:58) – Energetic rocker with clipped guitar lines and a rhythmic vocal delivery.
B4. “Birthday Card” (4:15) – Mid-tempo ballad with tight group harmonies and a sharp-toned lead break; lyrics by Apostilides.
B5. “Madame Magical” (9:38) – Long-form psych cut blending carnival motifs, drone passages, and extended Hammond interludes.

The album was engineered by Richard Millard, Robin Sylvester, and Roy Thomas Baker, who captured the band’s demos in a single stretch. The raw mix reflects its origins—drums sit close to the surface, guitar leads are dry and up front, and Hammond parts often dominate the spectrum. While tracks like “Lovely Day” and “Mr. Blank” benefit from this immediacy, others, especially “Madame Magical,” hint at arrangements that might have been clarified in a full studio production.

Fontana copies (UK) depict a crouching golden fox. Crewe copies (US, Canada) appeared in a black gatefold with a long, walking patchwork fox (outer), multiplied into a star formation (inner-gate).

For Fox Sake remained obscure on release, unsupported by touring or promotion. Its off-cycle sound—neither aligned with late-’60s baroque pop nor early-’70s progressive rock—left it outside commercial categories. A second album was planned but aborted. Over time, reissues and collector interest have brought renewed attention to its sharper moments and atmospheric cohesion.

Dissolution and Aftermath

Despite a promising start, The Fox faltered under mismanagement. Their debut was released through a lease-tape deal arranged by Patrick Meehan and Adrian Miller, whose priorities soon shifted to Black Sabbath. Promised investments in equipment and tours never materialized, and a second album—partially recorded—was abandoned. Disillusioned, Windross and Weatherill left just weeks before a scheduled festival date, prompting the band’s quiet disbandment.

Post-Fox, members followed varied paths. Brayne withdrew from the industry but continued playing privately. Lane performed with soul singer J.J. Jackson and later moved to the U.S. to work in cabaret. Windross left music temporarily before returning to Hammond jazz and forming a duo with Weatherill, who remained active in the Brighton scene. Reeves played in the final lineup of fellow late-period psychsters Octopus (replacing later Split Enz drummer Malcolm Green), then Mungo Jerry, and eventually emigrated to Australia, where he continues to perform.

Discography: