Man In The Bowler Hat

Recorded between July and September 1973 at Air Studios, London and released the following February, @The Man In The Bowler Hat' was Stackridge's third long-player. It was , by common consent, their finest achievement, both up to that point in their entire seven-year career. For James Warren, Stackridge had 'three ingredients going for it: eccentricity, Englishness and an incredible stylistic diversity. We were flying in the faces of the Frees, Zeppelins and Sabbaths, undoubtedly; but none of us were out and out rockers at heart, so we just stuck to ploughing our own idiosyncratic furrow'. But the magic ingredient '...Bowler Hat' boasted was the involvement of an iconic musical figure: GEORGE MARTIN, producer of the BEATLES until their split three years previosly. Andy Davis had sessioned on JOHN LENNON'S 'Image' album, while James Warren had been inspired to pick up the guitar by such classic singles as 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'I Feel Fine'. 'We had unwittingl joined the musical aristocracy' he marvelled, 'and it was a very pleasant three month sojourn...' Musicians: ANDY DAVIS, MUTTER SLATER, MIKE EVANS, JAMES WARREN and CRUN WALTER.