Freedom - Kandy Kay/ Escape While You Can

 

 

Ex-Procol types with surprisingly poppy single

 

Label: Plexium

Year of Release: 1969

 

I never can resist buying Plexium singles when they show up for sale. The EMI affiliated label's stone-cold, total lack of success makes it fertile territory for the flop hunter, and its mix-and-match A&R approach - where Easy Listening rubbed up against psychedelia, prog, pop and cheapo cover versions - makes it feel as if you're shoving your hand into an audio lucky dip.

 A lot of the label's releases are pure guff, of course, but amidst the flotsam and jetsam lie SE Essex scene stalwarts Sadie's Expression, the organ drenched pop of the Mike Morton Sound, and probably most enticing of all to collectors, the gruff psych-rock of The Glass Opening. Also high on some people's wish list are this lot, Freedom, who were formed by ex Procol Harum members Ray Royer and Bobby Harrison. Both had performed on the group's debut single "Whiter Shade Of Pale" but were rudely dismissed not long after it hit number one.

The pair decided to form a new group together, the name Freedom perhaps summarising their feelings about their "escape" from the hastily formed Procol as much as it referred to the liberal hippy ideals of the era. Joining them were Steve Shirley on bass and Mike Lease on keyboards.

Sadly, but perhaps somewhat predictably, Freedom did not manage to match Procol Harum's initial run of success, with their debut 45 "Where Will You Be Tonight" barely getting a sniff of attention when it was issued on Mercury in 1968. They jumped to Plexium for this one single in 1969, which appeared to be a deliberate attempt to pop things up in their rather hairy, maudlin, mellotron world. Gone are the anxious, pinched, progressive vocals, and in place are chirpy melodies, upbeat rhythms and brassy backings. I would even go as far as to say it sounds slightly like David Essex during his poppiest seventies moments in places, but for all that, the group still didn't get a hit, and went back to the drawing board to develop a harder, heavier sound. 

Five sought-after LPs followed on various labels, including two on the none-more-heavy Vertigo Records, and this single ended up looking like a weird, lightweight anomaly in their catalogue and is seldom given much thought these days. It's actually a very likeable composition with some commercial potential, though, and it's tempting to wonder what might have happened to the group had it been an actual proper hit.

As things stood, the group took a trajectory which saw them becoming cult progressive darlings from that day to this. Their final LP "Freedom Is More Than A Word" is so in demand that you're unlikely to find an original copy for less than £200 these days. "Kandy Kay", on the other hand, is available for slightly more reasonable prices when it turns up.

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