Jonathan Dunsterville and his brother Richard Dunsterville of Farnham Common were inclined toward music and performing at an early age, and during the early '60s, formed a band called the Force Four, specializing in Everly Brothers-style harmony material. Jon was at college when he met Stewart Osborn, a drummer, who in turn knew a bassist named Roger Newell. Out of this a new group, the Rainbow Ffolly, was formed; they had a light, fun touch, very much in the spirit of early 1967; a close, cohesive sound in which all four members sang, with Jon Dunsterville serving as songwriter.
By early 1967, they acquired a manager, John Sparrowhawk, and decided to try for a recording contract. They booked time at the Jackson Recording Studio, owned by Malcolm and John Jackson, the sons of disc jockey Jack Jackson, and put a demo tape together.
Their first five songs were so accomplished that they were persuaded by the Jackson brothers to come up with seven more songs, all ostensibly for a full-length demo reel.
Jon Dunsterville and his wife Jane came up with the most ornate cover art (and some of the cleverest of the decade) that they could in keeping with the "rainbow" in the band's name, and Sallies Fforth (as it was christened) was released. It turned out not only not to be bad, but pretty good, although the group wished, long after its release, that they'd been allowed to go back in and complete some tracks. The guitar parts were what bothered them the most, on tracks like "Come on Go," where they never did the overdubs that they'd intended.
The group played concerts in support of the record and even did a tour of Germany, making their first overseas appearance at the Star Club in Hamburg in a month-long engagement. the Rainbow Ffolly also performed at the Playboy Club in London, which was then a new recreational institution and always attracted a lot of attention. The group took chances, and some of them paid off, at least musically. They were able to bridge the gap between the lighter weight but elegant harmony groups, such as the Bystanders and the Montanas, and what have since come to be called the freakbeat bands (the Troggs, etc.), with their more heavyweight sounds. In a sense, they were like the Beatles in that respect, although based on Sallies Fforth, they didn't have as easy a time generating the heavier instrumental sound needed to compete with the hard-rocking psychedelic outfits of the era.
Members:
John Dunsterville
Richard Dunsterville
Roger Newell
Stewart Osborn
Sun Sing: http://youtu.be/XwK0G-L_HSQ
Discography:
Sallies Fforth - 1967
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