Wallace Collection -

Wallace Collection was a Belgian psychedelic chamber-pop band that released the 1969/70 albums Laughing Cavalier and Serenade on Odeon. Both appeared as self-titled releases in select territories. Also in 1970, they recorded the soundtrack for the film comedy La Maison. Violinist Raymond Vincent subsequently recorded a solo album and co-founded the multinational symphonic-flamenco act Esperanto.

Members: Sylvain Vanholme (guitar), Freddy Nieuland (drums), Marc Hérouet (organ, keyboards), Christian Janssens (bass), Raymond Vincent (violin), Jacques Namotte (cello)

Background

Wallace Collection formed in 1968 in Brussels as 16th Century when guitarist-vocalist Sylvain Vanholme assembled drummer-vocalist Freddy Nieuland, pianist Marc Hérouet, bassist Christian Janssens, violinist Raymond Vincent, and cellist Jacques Namotte.

Vanholme learned guitar as a teenager in Ostend and worked through the Seabirds, Les Enfants Terribles, and Six Babs. Nieuland drummed in the Belgian army and worked with organist André Brasseur and the Spiders. In 1965, Vanholme recruited Nieuland for Sylvester’s Team.

Hérouet, a Brussels-born jazz pianist, co-founded Arkham in 1966 and entered the Sylvester circle near the end of the decade. Janssens played bass with the Brussels group Crash; Paul André then arranged an audition with the new Vanholme lineup.

Vincent and Namotte worked as violinist and cellist in the National Orchestra of Belgium. Vincent also earned a conservatory first prize and recorded semi-classical pop under the name Stradivarius.

Formation

Vanholme dismantled Sylvester’s Team in early 1968 and tested a transitional single, “Tiger Dance” (b/w “Hold the Line”), under the name Bird and the Bees. He then sought classical players for a pop group with amplified strings. Onyx Club proprietor Pol Clarck gave Vanholme contacts from a Brussels musicians’ directory, and Vanholme mailed invitations to violinists and cellists. Raymond Vincent answered and brought Jacques Namotte to a meeting with Vanholme.

Vincent and Namotte worked as violinist and cellist in the National Orchestra of Belgium. Vincent also earned a conservatory first prize and recorded semi-classical pop under the name Stradivarius.

The new group first rehearsed with Vincent on July 22, 1968, then used the name 16th Century for rehearsals while Vanholme and Nieuland completed existing Sylvester’s Team engagements. Vincent introduced classical themes at rehearsals and proposed Tchaikovsky material for a song that became “Daydream.”

The group rehearsed through the second half of 1968 near Brussels North station and at Les Gémeaux in Auderghem. Manager Jean Martin financed a demo and contacted EMI in London, which sent producer David Mackay to hear 16th Century at Les Gémeaux in October. Mackay arranged London sessions for the group.

The sextet arrived in London on January 6, 1969, where Mackay renamed them Wallace Collection after the Hertford House museum near EMI headquarters. The group spent three weeks at Abbey Road Studios with Mackay producing and Geoff Emerick engineering, recording fourteen songs for the debut album Laughing Cavalier.

Laughing Cavalier

Wallace Collection released their first album, Laughing Cavalier, in 1969 on Odeon.

A1. “Get That Girl” (2:41)
A2. “The Sea Disappeared” (2:33)
A3. “Get Back” (4:26)
A4. “Ragtime Lily” (2:37)
A5. “Natacha” (2:26)
A6. “Merry-Go-Round” (2:00)
A7. “What’s Goin’ On” (2:03)

B1. “Fly Me to the Earth” (2:52)
B2. “Peru” (4:53)
B3. “Poor Old Sammy” (3:35)
B4. “Baby I Don’t Mind” (2:46)
B5. “Misery” (1:39)
B6. “Laughing Cavalier” (4:50)
B7. “Daydream” (4:53)

Serenade

Wallace Collection released their second album, Serenade, in 1970 on Odeon.

A1. “Bruxelles (Part One)” (2:12)
A2. “We Gotta Do Something New” (2:44)
A3. “Serenade” (5:55)
A4. “Hocus Pocus” (2:14)
A5. “We Are Machines” (2:20)
A6. “Love” (3:57)

B1. “Let Me Love Her” (2:29)
B2. “Since You’re Gone for Evermore” (2:51)
B3. “Dear Beloved Secretary” (3:45)
B4. “Tic-Toc” (2:26)
B5. “When” (2:36)
B6. “See the Man” (3:15)
B7. “Bruxelles (Part Two)” (2:47)

La Maison (OST)

In 1970, Wallace Collection released La Maison, the Odeon soundtrack to the French film by director Gérard Brach.

A1. “Parlez-moi D’Amour”
A2. “Who Can Tell Me My Name”
A3. “Reflections”
A4. “Stop Teasing Me”
A5. “Hey Bird”
A6. “Single Man”

B1. “Generique”
B2. “Single Man”
B3. “Phil”
B4. “Tension”
B5. “Adagio”
B6. “Single Man (Reprise)”
B7. “Parlez-moi D’Amour (Reprise)”

Discography:

Laughing Cavalier (1969)
La Maison (OST, 1970)
Serenade (1970)

Sources:

References:

Mémoire 60–70 — Wallace Collection, “L’envolée vers la gloire”: the strongest source I found. Jean Jième built the account from interviews with Sylvain Vanholme, Marc Hérouet, David Mackay, Jean Martin, and other participants. It covers the Pol Clarck contacts, Vincent and Namotte, Studio DES demo, Martin’s EMI approach, Mackay audition, January Abbey Road sessions, name change, and Laughing Cavalier. (Mémoire 60-70)
Mémoire 60–70 — 16th Century / Les Gémeaux chronology: unusually useful because it reproduces Marc Hérouet’s 1968 diary chronology. It places the first Raymond Vincent rehearsal on July 22, documents the repeated rehearsals and remaining Sylvester’s Team dates, and traces the Mackay audition to the November EMI confirmation. (Mémoire 60-70)
Mémoire 60–70 — The Seabirds / Sylvain Vanholme interview: Vanholme describes his first guitar, Ostend schooling, early performances, the Seabirds, and the path that preceded Sylvester’s Team. (Mémoire 60-70)
Marc Hérouet biographical record / Cinergie: confirms Hérouet as a Brussels-born pianist and composer and dates Wallace Collection to 1968; Hérouet’s own résumé also lists Arkham among his pre-Wallace groups. (Cinergie.be)
Ostend pop-history study, Vanakcer and Jansoone: independently traces Vanholme from the Ostend scene through Sylvester’s Team to 16th Century and confirms Vincent and Namotte as National Orchestra musicians, the London move, Mackay, and the Wallace Collection name. (Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee)
Qobuz / Parlophone metadata: confirms David Mackay as producer and Geoffrey Emerick as engineer on Laughing Cavalier. (Qobuz)