Radar Favourites was formed in the summer of 1974 by saxophonist/flautist Geoff Leigh after making Henry Cow’s Legend album the undisputed classic it is. Geoff & his lady, keyboardist/singer Cathy Williams, teamed with electric guitarist Gerry Fitz-Gerald (Mouseproof), bass guitarist Jack Monck (Delivery and Stars) and drummer Charles Hayward (Quiet Sun).
This quintet drew upon their disparate playing experiences to inject fresh blood into the then increasingly anaemic body of British Rock. Theirs was not a regular music but one that repositioned the markers on the rarified field of experimental rock. By year’s end Radar Favourites had completed two studio tracks and given just three concerts before shifting personnel and eventually disbanding under industry indifference.
This historical CD release presents the original Radar Favourites, carefully remastered from the reels, a pair of sublime studio recordings, an acute London College of Printing concert excerpt, and an untethered private session. All packaged in a special silver foil cover, as originally envisioned by Hawkwind’s graphic artist Barney Bubbles (1958 – 1986).
Seldom had a ‘rock group’ scoped out such prescient musical terrain; intensely amplified collective improvisations, dramatic tension and release along interweaving layers, sonic abandon traversing song structure, to wit. Without reservation, Reel Recordings recommends the music of Radar Favourites as a revelation that is never less than exhilarating – file under essential!
Geoff Leigh: soprano & tenor saxophone, flutes
Cathy Williams: piano, keyboard, glockenspiel, vocal
Gerald F. Fitz-Gerald: electric guitar, binson echorec
Jack Monck: bass guitar
Charles Hayward: drums
With special guest Colin McClure: cello on tracks 1,2
'This is a recording very much of its time, eloquent of a musical climate and style that has long vanished, almost without trace. If you were there or are interested in the critical byways of the period, this is pretty essential.'
Chris Cutler ~ ReR Megacorp
