Rest in Peace... John Du Cann

When I checked my email this morning, I found one from someone I know in the music industry that I haven’t corresponded with in a few years.  He knew of my great love of 60s psychedelic music and how much I loved bands like Andromeda.  He wanted to be sure that I heard the sad news that John Du Cann had died yesterday of what appears to be a heart attack.

His real name was” John Cann,” and he was probably best known as the guitarist for Atomic Rooster.  His first notable band was the Attack, formed in London during the 60s.  The Attack broke up in 1968 and several members, including John Cann, formed a new band call Andromeda.

In 1969, Andromeda released their only album, shown above, and it remains seminal among collectors and aficionados of 60s psych music.  The album and the band remain among my favorites and I often wished that they had released more than one album.  Back in July, I did a blog post on what I listen to and it was called “Farfisa and Fuzz.”  In it I included a mini set I intended to play that included many of my favorite psych tunes of the era.  On that list was Sleep Like a Child by Andromeda, one of my favorite songs and one that only exists as a demo.  Again, what more would have come from them if they had survived longer?

 John Cann’s departed to join Atomic Rooster, a new band forming from members of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, which had just broken up.  John had been invited to join the new band as a guitarist and vocalist, which led to the breakup of Andromeda.  They soon began touring with Deep Purple and released their first album, Atomic Rooster, in 1970.  After that first album their drummer, Carl Palmer, one of the original members from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, left the group to help form Emerson Lake & Palmer, and would later be the drummer for Asia.  John Cann stayed with Atomic Rooster for two more albums before leaving over creative differences.

In 1974 John Cann toured with Thin Lizzy and, sometime after that, officially changed his name to “John Du Cann” on the advice of his manger and began a solo career.  In 1977 he began work on a new album, The World’s Not Big Enough, which was produced by Francis Rossi of the Status Quo.  The album was not released until 1992!  His only hit after leaving Atomic Rooster occurred in 1979 with Don’t Be a Dummy, which he worked on with Gary Newman.

I will do a special mini set in tribute to John Du Cann today during my show.  He does lead guitar and vocals in both of these songs.

Devil’s Answer, Atomic Rooster, 1971 (written by John Du Cann)

Sleep Like a Child, Andromeda, 1969

Happy Birthday Freddie!

Last week we marked the 65^th birthday of Freddie Mercury, one of Rock’s greatest voices. He was born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, Zanzibar, in 1946.  He was born of Parsi parents from India and spent most of his childhood living with his grandmother in India, where he learned to play the piano.  He developed the ability to listen to a song on the radio and then be able to play it on the piano perfectly. The Bulsara Family were devote Zoroastrians, a pre-Christian monotheistic religion from Persia.

In his teen years, he returned to his parents to live with them in Zanzibar.  He had already begun calling himself “Freddie Bulsara.”  In 1964 a revolution broke out in Zanzibar with African rebels attempting to overthrow the Arab Sultan.  With Zanzibar now a dangerous place, the Bulsara family, along with Freddie, fled to England and settled in Middlesex.  There Freddie went to college and earned a degree in Graphic Design.

Freddie performed with a number of bands after graduation before finally joining up with Brian May and Roger Taylor in 1970.  It was Freddie who chose the name “Queen” for the new band. Considering the connection the word had with homosexuality, it was a rather bold move, and the rest of the band was not completely comfortable with it. With the forming of Queen, Freddie Bulsara officially changed his name to “Ferddie Mercury.”  

Queen went on to tremendous success and remains one of Rock’s most innovated acts.  They took diverse styles of music, such as Opera, Jazz and Do-wop, and fused them into a style of Rock and Roll that was uniquely their own.  Most of us can hear a Queen and recognize it instantly just by its sound.  A big part of that sound was the voice of Freddie Mercury.  Queen went on to produce 18 number one albums, along with 18 number one singles.  By some estimates, they have sold over 300 million albums.  They are one of the most successful recording artists in the history of music.

Soon after Queen was formed, Mercury began a relationship with Mary Austin and the two lived together for some time.  By the mid-1970s, Freddie began seeing Jim Hutton.  This brought an end to his relationship with Austin, but she remained Mercury’s closest friend and confidant throughout his life.  He was private man and very discreet about his relationship and homosexuality publicly.  In the late 1980s he was diagnosed with HIV.  As the years went by, rumors of his HIV status started to spread and Mercury denied them.

On November 22, 1991, Mercury released a statement to the public finally admitting that he was HIV positive and had AIDS.  This was no surprise he had become quite gaunt and frail in his few recent public appearances.  Freddie died a little over 24 hours later with his partner Jim Hutton by his side.  His best friend, Mary Austin visited him daily up until the end and inherited the bulk of his estate.  Two days later, a Zoroastrian funeral was held and Mercury was cremated.  Mary Austin is the only one who knows the exact whereabouts of his ashes.

My entire set tonight will be dedicated to the music of Freddie Mercury.