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1967 was the start of the Tambourine Days -- but too soon, too soon. We..ll look back from that broken window much later. I..ve found the secret of time-travel: I close my eyes. The yellow mini with the blacked-out windows. Janet..s blue velvet coat, her Pre-Raphaelite hair. The Kings Road. The elegant back streets of Chelsea. The Stones strolling with their Oscar Wilde locks blowing in the wind. The Who cruising by in a lengthy limousine. The sun on the Serpentine, the hushed whispering of ancient, verdant trees. The growl of traffic far away in Kensington. The purple shade of Biba. The Egyptian shadows of Granny Takes a Trip. The gypsy booths of the Kensington antique market -- will we step from here into oceans or deserts? My head is on fire or is that music I hear coming out of your mouth. The Royal Albert Hall crawls like a cumbersome tortoise into the shimmering glades of Kensington Gardens. They..re changing the guards at Buckingham Palace. The Stanhope Place studios: inside the Titanic, the rush of waves beyond, the massive silence within. The desk is lit with stars -- we..re going home to heaven...
On the 24th February 1967 we had our first recording session as Kaleidoscope at Philips.. Stanhope Place studio just a giant leap for mankind from Marble Arch. Although nervous, entering this mysterious, subterranean dimly-lit cavern, we knew that we could not allow anything to go wrong. We recorded ..Holiday Maker.. and ..Kaleidoscope... Unlike every recording session we..d ever had before -- in egg-box dives -- we were not disappointed with the results. In fact we were stunned by the clarity of the results, fascinated by the recording process and pleased to find that the engineers were friendly and co-operative. Dick produced, obviously aware of the beating of our novice hearts, allowing us time to settle down, to accustom ourselves to the cathedral studio. A memorable day indeed. We experienced for the very first time that dream-like state as we stepped from the cocoon-twilight of the studio into the outside world -- like travellers returning from a voyage of discovery. You blink and find yourself back in the real world where life goes on. Difficult to explain; you should have been there.
Taken from ..The Definitive History of Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour.. by Peter Daltrey at www.chelsearecords.co.uk
