Friday 31 May 2013

FLASHBACK ISSUE 3 - MIGHTY BABY: FROM MODS TO MECCA


Across a mammoth thirty seven pages in the new issue of Flashback, Richard Morton Jack recounts how mod superheroes The Action evolved into bearded underground spiritualists, Mighty Baby. Picking up the story in 1967 with The Action's introduction of Ian Whiteman and Martin Stone; on to the Rolled Gold period; the departure of Reggie King; the making of their wiggy psychedelic Mighty Baby album; the mellower A Jug of Love; and finally how their religious believes became incompatible with their lives as gigging “rock” musicians.

Members of the band are interviewed as are some who worked with them and the article features rare photographs and press cuttings. It’s the first time, to my knowledge, Mighty Baby have been covered in depth and it’s long overdue. Covering the changing mood of time well there’s also good little snippets of information that’s new to me such as Marc Bolan’s reaction when Ian Whiteman played him the Action Speak Louder Than... tracks. “So what? I can do better than that.”

The Mighty Baby piece is the big selling point and I wouldn’t have forked out £9.99 without it but Flashback and an impressive publication. At 210 glossy colour pages with in-depth articles (Malcolm Jones on producing Syd Barrett and Pete Brown on the recent Graham Bond box-set being another two highlights) plus incisive and honest reviews it feels more like a book to keep than a disposable magazine. 

For more information and ordering details visit Flashback.

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