Traffic – Mr. Fantasy (1967)

I didn’t even have a record player when this was released, I listened to the radio and caught glimpses of my musical heroes on TOTP or Ready Steady Go.  This band were all in local Birmingham groups, most famous was singer and guitarist Steve Winwood who had been in ‘The Spencer Davis Group’ who had already had a few hits.  Formed in April ’67 the band recorded this debut in the Autumn and released it just before Christmas of the same year.  Things moved fast back then, recording was quick and most bands released at least one album a year.  Incredibly the album didn’t contain their three big hit singles released over that Summer of Love – ‘Paper Sun’, ‘Hole In My Shoe. And ‘Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush’.  This was quite common in those days, as it was considered to be a rip-off to make fans buy the same song twice.  But the album was simply brilliant anyway, best songs were ‘No Name, No Face, No Number’, ‘Coloured Rain; and ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy’.  This band along with the Beatles were really the English psychedelic phenomenon of that famous Summer.  The band had a string of albums, best of which was ‘Welcome To The Canteen’ until Steve finally left in 1974, though he had tried leaving before in ’69 when he formed ‘Blind Faith’.   The band folded but had a brief reunion.  For those of us who lived through that summer this band were fantastic. My fondest memory was dancing with Jane Sarginson to Mulberry Bush at a youth club dance which ended in a kiss and a sexy walk home.  Ah memories…