Kippington Lodge — “Turn Out the Light”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 26, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,156) Kippington Lodge — “Turn Out the Light”

Kippington Lodge* is “[b]est remembered as the vehicle for the earliest Nick Lowe . . . recordings . . . stemm[ing] from Lowe’s first band . . . which he formed with school pal, Brinsley Schwarz.” (All Music Guide, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kippington-lodge-mn0001784212) The Lodge “put out five singles through Parlophone in perfect step with baroque-tinged pop-psych of the times.” (Terry Staunton, https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/shy-boy-the-completerecordings-1967-1969). The band was a “groovy lite psych-pop outfit” (Joe Marchese, https://theseconddisc.com/2011/07/08/nick-lowe-welcomes-you-to-kippington-lodge/), “an ingratiatingly twee British psych-pop band”. (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, https://www.allmusic.com/album/shy-boy-the-complete-recordings-1967-1969-mw0002165338).

Stefan Granados tells us that:

Having failed to secure a hit with a self-composed song, it was back to the professionals for single number four, which was issued in December 1968. Written by Roger Greenway and Roger Cook, “Tomorrow Today” (see #672) sounded tailor-made for Kippington Lodge, showing their vocal harmony work and [Barry] Landeman’s organ work to great effect, yet once again the pop charts failed to yield to the charms of Kippington Lodge. Landeman composed another strong song for the flip — “Turn Out The Light” – on which Brinsley Schwarz laid down an impressive extended guitar solo, but it was another case of quality going to waste.

liner note to the CD comp Kippington Lodge: Shy Boy: The Complete Recordings 1967-1969

All Music Guide gives some history:

On leaving school, Lowe . . . decided to go and see some more of the world leaving Schwarz [who] . . . formed Three’s A Crowd who were signed to EMI Records in 1967. Changing their name to Kippington Lodge they released their debut ‘Shy Boy’ in October. This effective pop song was accompanied by the equally good ‘Lady On A Bicycle’. At this point, Lowe returned to England and joined his friends in time for the second single ‘Rumours’ which was produced by Mark Wirtz. . . . To supplement their lack of income from record sales, Kippington Lodge became Billie Davies’ backing group and released three further singles during 1968-69. . . . The last single, a version of the Beatles’ ‘In My Life’, came out in April 1969 and, after doing as poorly as previous efforts, left the group at a loose end. . . . the name Kippington Lodge was dropped in favour of that of lead guitarist Brinsley Schwarz.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kippington-lodge-mn0001784212

* The band was actually named after the home of the Schwarz family (see https://twitter.com/NickLoweBio/status/1297878969744842754?s=20&t=1heTeO0DrOydSgVRlKfRug for a photo).

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