THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,290) Mandrake Paddle Steamer — “Strange Walking Man”
This UK pop psych classic with “superb trippy lyrics” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “[f]eatur[ed] mournful guitar and great harmonies [and] was lent its extraordinary coda by producer Robert Finnis, who spliced on a tape of session musicians playing the Incredible String Band’s ‘Maybe Someday’.” (liner notes to the CD comp Mojo Presents Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery from the UK Underground 1965-1969) Band members Brian Engel recalled that “[‘SWM’] was the mildest of our songs, and our new label . . . couldn’t see anything bizarre in it at all. It was, in fact, about a guy suffering from a very bad trip but maybe it was about a boy whose girlfriend had left him . . . .” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)
As to Mandrake Paddle Steamer, the CD comp Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers tells us :
Formed by two art school students, Martin Briley and Brian Engel . . . the band never seemed destined to succeed. According to lead singer and chief songwriter Briley, they set out to be provocative: “Our songs tended to be based on authentic blood thirsty Viking sagas or Beowulf, or urban myths about East End sex criminals or circus dwarves. We predated punk by 10 years. Nobody knew how to categorize us.”
liner notes to the CD comp Mojo Presents Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery from the UK Underground 1965-1969
All Music Guide adds:
Comprising Brian Engel (vocals), Martin Briley (b. London, England; guitar/vocals), Barry Nightingale (drums), Martin Hooker (keyboards) and Paul Riordan (bass/vocals), Mandrake Paddle Steamer were responsible for recording one of the [now] most cherished singles of the psychedelic era – “Strange Walking Man” . . . Mandrake Paddle Steamer never received a similar level of acclaim in their era, and issued only one further single, ‘Sunlight Glide’, which was released on Parlophone Records in 1969 but only for the Swedish market. Engel left in August 1970, leaving Riordan and Briley to take over on vocals. David Potts subsequently replaced Nightingale on drums as the band shortened their name to Mandrake, but the departure of Briley hastened their demise. Engel and Briley joined up again in the less celebrated Prowler and Liverpool Echo, the latter recording a single and an unreleased album, Liverpool Echo, for Spark Records in 1973. Briley then went on to play with Greenslade and enjoy a minor hit with the solo ‘Salt In My Tears’, before establishing himself as an in-demand session player and songwriter. Engel recorded two albums with Limey before joining the New Seekers.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mandrake-paddle-steamer-mn0001812518#biography
For all you MTVers, here is “Salt in My Tears”:
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