The Neutrons -

The Neutrons were a Welsh rock band formed in 1973 by keyboardist Phil Ryan and bassist Will Youatt after both left Man. On United Artists, they made the 1974/75 albums Black Hole Star and Tales From the Blue Cocoons.

Members: Phil Ryan (keyboards, vocals), Will Youatt (bass, guitar, vocals), John “Pugwash” Weathers (drums), Martin Wallace (guitar, vocals), Raymond “Taff” Williams (guitar, bass), Stuart Gordon (violin), Caromay Dixon (vocals), Stuart Halliday (drums), Dave Charles (drums)

Background

Ryan formed the Smokestacks in Port Talbot in 1964 and later joined the Eyes of Blue. He entered Pete Brown’s Piblokto! with Youatt, formerly of the King Bees and Quicksand. Both musicians joined Man in 1972 and appeared on the albums Be Good to Yourself at Least Once a Day and Back into the Future.

The band name revived Iorwerth Pritchard and the Neutrons, an early 1972 project involving Ryan, Youatt and keyboardist Clive John. Ryan and Youatt left Man in November 1973 and recorded “Living in the World Today” and “Snow Covered Eyes” at Rockfield Studios with Gentle Giant drummer John “Pugwash” Weathers. United Artists executive Andrew Lauder heard the recordings and encouraged further sessions.

Ryan and Youatt expanded the lineup with guitarists Raymond “Taff” Williams and Martin Wallace, violinist Stuart Gordon and singer Caromay Dixon. Williams and Weathers previously worked with Ryan in the Eyes of Blue and Piblokto!; Gordon appeared on the Incredible String Band album Earthspan. The musicians entered Chipping Norton Recording Studios in April 1974 to complete the first Neutrons album.

Black Hole Star

The Neutrons released their debut album, Black Hole Star, in September 1974 on United Artists.

Keyboardist Ryan and bassist Youatt worked with guitarists Williams and Wallace, drummer Weathers, violinist Gordon and singer Dixon. Pick Withers (ex-Spring) adds hand drums to “Feel,” while members of the Quickies supply backing parts on “Going to India.” Original composition credits list Youatt as Y. Willis.

“Living in the World Today” rolls through shifting passages before an organ solo takes over near the close. “Feel” settles into sparse acoustic sway as Wallace sings with an open, late-sixties delivery. “Mermaid and Chips” drifts through a delicate duet, then quickens as harmonies gather near the close. “Dangerous Decisions” rises from a measured prelude into a brisk instrumental run, breaks for a wailing solo, then returns to electronic figures.

“Doom City (Scrino’s Revenge)” lumbers through a slow blues figure with a loose jam structure. “Dance of the Psychedelic Lounge Lizards” trundles on a jaunty pattern, then jolts through a quick meter change into a rougher dissonant passage. “Going to India” opens with stately flourishes, drops into an acoustic section, then veers toward sitar figures near the close. “Snow Covered Eyes” barrels through a firmer rock figure and extends the final section into a long solo.

A1. “Living in the World Today” (6:11) – Ryan, Youatt
A2. “Feel” (3:10) – Wallace
A3. “Mermaid and Chips” (4:50) – Ryan, Youatt, Brown
A4. “Dangerous Decisions” (6:05) – Ryan, Youatt, Weathers

B1. “Doom City (Scrinos’ Revenge)” (4:00) – Ryan, Youatt, Williams, Weathers, Wallace
B2. “Dance of the Psychedelic Lounge Lizards” (3:20) – Ryan, Youatt
B3. “Going to India” (5:03) – Ryan, Youatt
B4. “Snow Covered Eyes” (4:31) – Ryan, Youatt

Ryan, Youatt and Weathers recorded “Living in the World Today” and “Snow Covered Eyes” in November 1973 at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire with engineers Kingsley Ward and Dave Charles. The expanded group completed the remaining tracks across two weeks in April 1974 at Chipping Norton Recording Studios with engineer Barry Hammond, then mixed the album at Olympic Studios in Barnes. Anton Matthews produced the sessions with Ryan and Youatt.

Matthews recently engineered Man’s Back into the Future and Deke Leonard’s Iceberg. He also co-produced the concurrent Man album Slow Motion. Hammond engineered the 1974 Nektar 1974 album Down to Earth at Chipping Norton.

Rick Griffin designed the Neutrons logo; Kevin Doyle supplied the inner-bag artwork. United Artists abandoned a proposed gatefold with paintings by Paul Whitehead and issued the album in a silver-card sleeve. Griffin also designed the sleeve for Man’s concurrent Slow Motion.

United Artists issued “Dance of the Psychedelic Lounge Lizards” on August 2, 1974, backed with “Suzy and the Wonder Boy,” a non-album Ryan–Sargent exclusive featuring Dave Edmunds on slide guitar.

A. “Dance of the Psychedelic Lounge Lizards” (3:20)
B. “Suzy and the Wonder Boy” (4:10)

Tales From the Blue Cocoons

The Neutrons released their second album, Tales From the Blue Cocoons, in April 1975 on United Artists.

Guitarists Williams and Wallace and singer Dixon returned alongside Ryan and Youatt. Drummers Dave Charles and Stuart Halliday replaced Weathers, while Gordon did not participate. Ryan and Youatt no longer shared a composition credit; Wallace joined Ryan on “Take You Further” and contributed “Northern Midnight,” while Williams supplied “Live Your Lie.”

“No More Straights” drives on clean guitar figures, passes through a brief sung section, then opens into a long instrumental run. “Northern Midnight” settles into an acoustic sway as Wallace and Dixon trade lead lines. “Come Into My Cave” coils around a blues figure before one long solo yields to a spacier keyboard passage. “Live Your Lie” rests on sparse strumming as Dixon sings in a clear, solitary register.

“L’Hippie Nationale” starts softly, quickens midway as a firmer beat arrives, and shifts the lead part from Dixon to Youatt. “Take You Further” wanders through an exploratory passage before a long solo takes over. “The Jam Eaters” erupts from a broad opening flourish, then settles into an upbeat ensemble passage.

A1. “No More Straights” (5:16) – Youatt
A2. “Northern Midnight” (5:55) – Wallace
A3. “Come Into My Cave” (4:47) – Youatt
A4. “Live Your Lie” (1:54) – Williams

B1. “L’Hippie Nationale” (3:25) – Youatt
B2. “Take You Further” (5:55) – Ryan, Wallace
B3. “Welsh R’Blunt (Or the Dexedrine Doormouse)” (3:39) – Ryan
B4. “The Jam Eaters” (4:09) – Ryan

Sessions took place in June and November 1974 at Rockfield Studios, where Charles and Ward engineered the recordings. The Neutrons produced the album with Charles, a former Help Yourself drummer who later became a resident Rockfield engineer. Charles worked on Hawkwind’s 1975 album Warrior on the Edge of Time in the same role.

Doug Bennett and Nigel Brooke-Harte mixed portions of the album at Olympic Studios, while Dec O’Doherty handled additional mixes at Advision Studios. Bennett recently co-produced and engineered Hawkwind’s Hall of the Mountain Grill and next worked on Dr. Feelgood’s Malpractice.

Pierre Tubbs directed and designed the sleeve around an underwater model by Pasquale D’Italia. David Bamford supplied the seascape; Derek Richards handled photography beneath Griffin’s returning logo. Tubbs recently directed the sleeve for Man’s 1974 album Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics. Ryan proposed a photograph of sleeping bags submerged in water and later objected to the completed design.

BGO Records coupled both Neutrons albums on a 2003 CD and added “Suzy and the Wonder Boy” as a bonus track.

Later Activity

The Neutrons toured after the release of Tales From the Blue Cocoons. Williams left early in the tour, and guitarist Richard Treece deputized before the band dissolved in July 1975 amid further turnover. Ryan returned to Man in September and appeared on the 1976 album The Welsh Connection. Youatt and Halliday later formed Alkatraz, which released the 1976 album Doing a Moonlight on Rockfield Records.

Discography: