THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
2,085) Tomorrow — “My White Bicycle”
Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, Tomorrow (see #72), especially when you’re loaning out “one of the most treasured British singles of the era” (Matthew Greenwald, https://www.allmusic.com/song/my-white-bicycle-mt0005142144), “a fashionable riot of backward tapes, phased drums, extraneous sound effects, guitar heroics . . . and [Keith] West’s [see #1,926] resolutely English enunciation”. (David Wells, Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era) Mike Stax writes that:
Perhaps more than any other song, Tomorrow’s “My White Bicycle” captures the unique zeitgeist of the British psychedelic era. Swarming with backward effects and snaky guitar work, the song skillfully blends its experimental edges around an appealing pop melody and mischieveously rebellious lyrics. The song’s title refers to the painted white bikes the Dutch Provos left around Amsterdam for communal use.
liner notes the CD comp Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969
Do you think they’re loaning out white e-scooters today?
Matthew Greenwald adds:
[It was o]ne of the great turntable hits in the U.K. in 1967. . . . Featuring future Yes guitarist Steve Howe, the song is loaded with backwards tape and phasing effects, making it one of the most experimental records of its time. The melody underneath this blinding array of effects is a surprisingly tight pop tune, and is driven by a locomotive (or bicycle) tempo that is part of the hook. The mildly rebellious lyrics comment on the fact that the police can’t find a charge for riding the vehicle, but will make one up in order to keep the youth movement down.
David Wells talks to Keith West:
“Mark Wirtz did pull out all the stop on My White Bicycle”, admits West. “He added the backward hi-hats, and the shouts and whispers. We ha a real policman on it, who we dragged in off the street. That was a crazy thing to do as we were all out of it. He could have busted us. He blew his whistle while somebody was body-paining the engineer. Our drummer, Twink, took his hat off and ran around the studio with it.” Immediately adopted upon its May 1967 release as an underground anthem, the song had been inspired by the Dutch Provos’ environmental statement of painting bicycles white and leaving them lying around for casual use. Keith West: “We went to Holland for a gig, and on the way back I wrote ‘My White Bicycle’ in the van. We’d seen all these bikes lying around Amsterdam. I quite liked the idea of that: you could just get on one, ride somewhere and leave it for someone else to use. I thought that was pretty cool[“]. . . . In commercial terms [it] suffered a cosmic flat tyre, and it would take the hard rock bluster of Nazareth to turn the song into a hit nearly a decade later. Still, perhaps more than any other recording of the era, the original neatly delineated the differences between American psychedelia and the British corollary. While the likes of Jefferson Airplane would have transformed such a political statement into a strident, tear-down-the-walls anthem of alienation and repression, the Brits turned in into a willfully daft song about children on bikes ringing bells, knocking over dustbings and annoying people . . .
Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records
Mike Stax reflects on Tomorrow:
Tomorrow had evolved out of London mod band The In Crowd . . . . Their roots in the R&B scene went even deeper . . . with members previously serving time in Four Plus One, The Fairies, and the Syndicats . . . . In 1966 The In Crowd underwent a musical transformation, setting aside soul and R&B for a more colorful psychedelic approach. As Tomorrow, they were soon a popular staple on the London underground circuit at clubs like the UFO. In the studio, producer Mark Wirtz harnessed the group’s energy and Keith West’s songwriting talent to create some thrilling psychedelic pop recordings. After debuting strongly with “My White Bicycle,” Tomorrow’s star seemed to be ascending; it was soon eclipsed, however, when a Keith West solo release, “Exerpt From A Teenage Opera,” became a smash hit, peaking at #2 in August 1967. The blatantly commercial pop sound of “Teenage Opera” was at odds with the group’s more psychedelic slant, and with West’s energies increasingly diverted toward his solo career, Tomorrow lost valuable momentum. A second Tomorrow single flopped, and their album’s release was delayed until February 1968 — too late to make the impact it deserved. The group drifted apart soon afterward. Keith West continued his solo career, and Steve Howe went on first to Bodast and then Yes. Junior Wood and Twink Alder made a one-off single as The Aquarian Age [see #62] after which Twink joined The Pretty Things [see #82, 94, 153, 251, 572, 731, 892, 1,001, 1,327, 1,908] and later formed the Pink Fairies.
liner notes the CD comp Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969
Richie Unterberger adds:
In the early days of British psychedelia, three bands were consistently cited as first-generation figureheads of the London-based underground sound: Pink Floyd [see #13, 38, 87, 315, 360, 922, 1,949], the Soft Machine, and Tomorrow. Pink Floyd became superstars and the Soft Machine influential cult legends, but Tomorrow is mostly remembered (if at all) for featuring Steve Howe as their lead guitarist in his pre-Yes days. Actually, Tomorrow was nearly the equal of the two more celebrated outfits. . . . [T]hey shared a propensity for flower-power whimsy. Though they were less recklessly innovative and imaginative, their songwriting was accomplished, with adroit harmonies, psychedelic guitar work, and adventurous structures and tempo changes. They never succumbed to mindless indulgence or jamming; indeed, their tracks were rather short and tightly woven in comparison with most psychedelic bands. A couple singles (especially “My White Bicycle”) were underground favorites, but the group only managed to record one album before breaking up in 1968.
Here is Nazareth (’75):
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