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Marsupilami were an English progressive rock band active in the early 1970s. Their name was taken from a famous Belgian comics character created by Belgian artist André Franquin.[1] In 1969, the band toured with Deep Purple, and played at the opening of the Isle of Wight Festival when King Crimson withdrew. They released two albums, Marsupilami (1970) and Arena (1971), on Transatlantic Records.[2][3] The albums were reissued on Cherry Red Records in 2007. The band briefly reunited for gigs in 2011.
Personnel
- Mike Fouracre – Drums
- Fred Hasson – Vocals, harmonica, words and music
- Leary Hasson – Keyboards and music
- Richard Lathom Hicks – Bass
- Dave Laverock – Guitar, vocals, words and music
- Jessica Stanley Clarke – Flute and vocals
- Peter Bardens – Percussion and producer of Arena
- Mandi Riedelbauch – Woodwinds on 'Arena'
- Bob West – Vocals and words on 'Arena'
- Paul Dunmall – Tenor and soprano saxes and flute
Discography
- Marsupilami (Transatlantic TRA 213) 1970[4]
- Arena (Transatlantic TRA 230) 1971[5]
In the beginning
The band Marsupliami borrowed its name from the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin who created this comic character in 1952. Marsupilami was a cross between a monkey and a cat, yellow with black spots; cute, resourceful and anti-authority. Perhaps not an obvious choice, but the progenitors of the group, the Hasson brothers Fred (Vocals, harmonica, bongos) and Leary (Organ/piano), with their Anglo-French upbringing, had grown up with this comic character.
The idea was not to have a written name, and to use a drawing of the ‘animal’ to identify the group, rather than the name in letters (long time before Prince thought of Symbol) but when Transatlantic Record boss, Nat Joseph, wrote to seek permission, he neglected to mention this and clearance was given for the name only. At that point a name change was suggested, but Nat Joseph said the name was cool and so it remained.
The idea for Marsupilami began in 1968 following a tour of Southern Spain, organised by Leary’s school R&B band, ‘Levitation.’ At the last minute Fred, was drafted in as a replacement for the absent lead singer, to sing standard Soul and R&B numbers. Returning to the UK the band secured gigs at the County Hotel Ballroom in its home town of Taunton (Somerset), backing both The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Joe Cocker Band, , and who they shared a pint with in a nearby pub before the gig. After these, Fred and Leary were completely smitten with playing live gigs but none of the other members of Levitation could make the commitment.
The band reformed going through numerous iterations, including a short period when a bassoon player (Johnno Packer) was featured. The eventual line up for the often called ‘eponymous first album’ was recruited from local bands. The rhythm section of Mike Fouracre (drums) and Ricky Hicks (bass guitar) came from local blues outfit ‘Justin’s Timepiece’ and Dave Laverock (guitar) came from a semi-pro band, ‘The Sabres.’ Leary’s flute playing, art student girlfriend, Jessica Stanley Clarke (now Jekka McVicar, Britain’s foremost organic herb grower) completed the line up.
In a short time, most of the members of the band were living in a farmhouse with a hay barn serving as an ‘open all hours’ rehearsal studio. Musical tastes were eclectic: Jazz, Classical, Rock and Folk records littered the place: John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders,, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Messiaen, Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky, Fairport Convention, Soft Machine, and Frank Zappa – (in particular Absolutely Free and ‘We’re only in it for the money’) and long sessions late into the nights were spent listening to and dissecting the music. Under these influences the music of Marsupilami soon evolved from R&B and Blues cover versions to a very particular brand of what became known as ‘progressive rock’ ; the synthesis of musical influences was the result of a lot of careful listening, inspired writing, hours of relentless practicing and some respected musicianship. The material was eclectic and not easy with frequent rhythm changes and jazz-oriented chords. The band never wrote the music down, all the tracks were played from memory.
What Marsupilami needed more than anything else was a recording contract. They entered the Melody Maker ‘Find a band competition’, and a discussion about this was overheard, in the ‘Full Moon’ pub in Taunton’s High Street, by an eccentric looking barefooted and bearded guy called Julian Palmer–Hill. ‘George’, as he became known by band members, was older and wiser, had rejected an army career and after hearing the band, proposed to be its manager and get the band the recognition he believed it deserved. George hitch-hiked to London in his bare feet, and soon got results.
In September 1969, Marsupilami signed with Transatlantic Records, an independent label, that the band identified with, and went into the studio soon after. [Transatlantic wanted to diversify into rock music and also signed Stray, Camel , Jody Grind and others; Their stable was mainly folk artists such as Pentangle – John Renbourne and Bert Jansch, John Fahey, the The Humblebums (Billy Connelly and Jerry Rafferty), and also published a catalogue of stuff too weird, blasphemous, or just too far out for most labels to take on such as John Cage, and Frank Zappa’s ‘Uncle Meat’.]
Marsupilami – 1st Album
“Marsupilami” the first album (Transatlantic TRA 213) was recorded in 1969 at the Sound Techniques Recording Studios, just off London’s King’s Road, and released in April 1970. The studio, had been converted from an old dairy, and was just being fitted out with some new gizmo’s called Dolby’s!, when the band arrived. It is famous for the roster of artists recorded there by Joe Boyd: Nick Drake, Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention – the engineer was John Wood, leave this out but the band got the feeling that their kind of music was not understood.
All 5 tracks were done in a handful of takes, virtually live.
The music is distinctive; complex and hardly emulated. The band did not want to create catchy tunes that finished off the same way they started – the tracks represented journeys into the mystical and subconscious places of the mind, with changes of mood, and underpinned by strong and sublime melodies, time sequence changes, stylistic shifts and ruptures of mood following one another: passages move from light folky or jazzy ensembles, to hard driving guitar and organ rock pumped up by the rhythm section, to slow ethereal dream sequences featuring flute, organ and chanting vocals. The content of the album can only be described as apocalyptic, but hopeful for a better world.
Facilis Descensus Averni, is the subject of one of the first music videos made by Jay Myrdal, who accompanied Pete Smith to do a photo shoot for the first album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2-Qti7H42U
and ‘The eagle chased the dove to its ruin’ contain some especially gloomy lyrics to accompany the affecting? guitar. The instrumental on the album, Ab Initio Ad Finem is a musical interpretation of an Old Testament style sermon, recounting the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, discovering new love spoilt by waring global culture leading to nuclear holocaust written by Leary – part of the track was used by Stuart Henry DJ on Radio One, as an introduction to his show.
Born to be Free is often cited as the best music produced by Marsupilami: with a strong melody, it features many tempo and mood changes, and in the last vocal section a poem written by Fred when he was 16, invoking feelings provoked by the nuclear arms build up. Track 1, Dorian Deep with its slow build up and thumping rock ending, was always a good warm up at the beginning of a gig.
‘The eagle chased the dove to its ruin’ contain some especially gloomy lyrics to accompany the affecting guitar. The instrumental on the album, Ab Initio Ad Finem is a musical interpretation of an Old Testament style sermon, recounting the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, discovering new love spoilt by waring global culture leading to nuclear holocaust written by Leary – part of the track was used by Stuart Henry DJ on Radio One, as an introduction to his show.
Born to be Free is often cited as the best music produced by Marsupilami: with a strong melody, it features many tempo and mood changes, and in the last vocal section a poem written by Fred when he was 16, invoking feelings provoked by the nuclear arms build up. Track 1, Dorian Deep with its slow build up and thumping rock ending, was always a good warm up at the beginning of a gig.
A Life We Once Lived - Brad Rose
Music by Brad Rose
Mastered by Alex at quiet details studios
Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with Brad Rose
Design by quiet details
© quiet details 2025 all rights reserved
Very happy to announce that next in the quiet details series is the wildly creative and prolific multi-disciplinary artist and music writer, Brad Rose.
Responsible for a vast archive of wonderful music projects across numerous aliases, released on his own Jewel Garden and labels such as the outstanding Room40 - his work covers a huge amount of ground and is a world all to itself.
Alongside this, he’s active in the world of visual arts, installation, design, writing - and of course one of his most well-known projects, the incredible long-running platform for experimental music and art, Foxy Digitalis, an essential resource for independent journalism.
A Life We Once Lived is an album of deep meaning and atmospheric beauty - born out of the subconscious making sense of the maze of life, and in the process making something of incredible scope.
This is an album full of emotion - starting out with reflective melodics that bloom into a vast world of competitive bliss, Brad’s highly nuanced musical sensibilities take us on a trip though feelings we can all somehow relate to - his sincerity coming to the fore throughout.
Each track turns a new corner and leads you to a unique place - the highly-refined harmonic structures matched with exquisite textural expansions. This is an artist pouring their heart and soul into their art form with spellbinding effect.
Masterful use of synthesisers and an array of acoustic sound sources serve to create a world of singular and stunning abstraction.As Brad says:
There are landscapes we never walk but still carry. Lives that linger just outside memory’s reach, shaping how we move through the world without ever fully revealing themselves.
A Life We Once Lived is an album shaped by those fragments—traces of what was almost real, or perhaps only imagined. It emerged from stillness, from the quiet textures and small details that form when thought slows and sound begins to take its place. Each piece invites a kind of soft attention. There is no resolution here, no fixed meaning. Just motion, breath, and tone, held gently enough to shift and transform.
This is a record of almosts. Almost-places. Almost-memories. Almost-love. A Life We Once Lived gathers what’s left in the gaps: the hush between pulses, the glow that never quite fades. It leads quietly toward something larger, a dream not yet spoken aloud. This is not a story, but a signal from the margins of memory—a drift through internal weather, a gesture toward something still forming.
For now, it offers a space to pause. To listen more closely. To feel what remains when everything else grows quiet.
Huge thanks to Brad - a beautiful addition to the series.
The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - originating from a photo from Brad which was then captured with analogue photography and processed here at quiet details studios.
As usual, the album is presented on the physical edition, a custom six-panel digipack with a separate fine art print too.
The CD also has a special long-form continuous mix of the album, created by the artist and representing the music in its purest form.
thejewelgarden.bandcamp.com
bradrose.bandcamp.comcredits
released July 23, 2025
Composed and performed by Pete Swinton
Recorded and mixed at Studio Kaktus, Jawa Barat, Indonesia 2025
Produced by Pete Swinton 2025
Photo by Leo Chane on Unsplash
Copyright 2025 Pete Swinton
All Rights Reserved Pete Swinton 2025
4-4-2music.comcredits
released July 12, 2025license
all rights reservedtags
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