384) Wimple Winch — “Atmospheres”
The band released three singles (see #49). This was to be the 4th A-side. Well, it did sort of sneak out as the B-side of the 3rd single:
1967 Fontana notification to records shops that the Wimple Winch’s 3rd single had been withdrawn. [T]he band’s 3rd single was mis-presssed with a track called Atmospheres on the B-Side, the proposed 4th single. The single was repressed with the intended B-Side the diabolically awful Typical British workmanship. Along with Save My Soul, the epic track Atmospheres has earned that band their reputation as one of the most collected and sought after UK – so called- Freak Beat 45rpms. Condition : Near Mint £200.00
https://pleasuresofpasttimes.com/popt-shop/the-wimple-winch-fontana-1967-flyer-atmospheres-rumble-on-mersey-sq-south/
As to “Atmospheres” itself, it is one of the great ones. Vernon Joynson calls it a “stunningly complex and punchy composition, . . . veer[ing] towards psychedelia and featur[ing] a highly melodic chorus.” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) The Chocolate Soup for Diabetics comp calls it a “beautifully-crafted mixture of pounding hard rock and sweet harmonies.”
Wimple Winch. Mark Deming writes that:
Liverpool’s Wimple Winch are best known to obsessive collectors of U.K. freakbeat for a handful of rare but potent singles, such as the malevolent “Save My Soul” . . . . [I]n early 1966, something kicked in with this band, which adopted the new name . . . and embraced a far more aggressive and compelling sound, with a crispness that suggested the mod sound that was coming into vogue, along with shades of psychedelia creeping into “Atmospheres” . . . . [T]his is fascinating stuff for those enamored of the point where beat music fell under the lysergic influence, and reveals just how weird a seemingly ordinary, clean-cut band could get during the first era of acid.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/tales-from-the-sinking-ship-mw0000808821
Vernon Joynson adds that:
Their manager, Mike Carr, owned a club named The Sinking Ship near Mersey Square south in Stockport and, having become the house band, it wasn’t long before Wimple Winch secured a record contract . . . . In 1967 the Sinking Ship caught fire, and all the band’s gear was lost. They rallied to record some tracks that summer, but momentum was lost and they split soon afterwards.
Here is the song performed for radio:
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