The band picked up on the British psychedelic movement after supporting The Pink Floyd as a soul/blues band called 'The Five Proud Walkers', the lineup was Richard " Hud" Hudson on drums, John Ford on bass, Colin Forster on lead guitar, Jimmy Horrocks (Horovitz) on organ and flute (who left early in the band's history), and Dave Terry on vocals and harmonica.
Earlier, they gigged for a while playing blues-based material,but gradually got interested in more a free-form style. The name Velvet Opera was chosen initially, which was amended to Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera within days after Dave Terry turned up to a session wearing a long black cape and a preacher's hat and had to endure some piss-taking from the rest of the band (Elmer Gantry was the fictional hero of a Sinclair Lewis novel and 1960 film about a preacher). The name stuck and Dave became Elmer. By this time Elmer, influenced by the music of John Cage, was making experimental taped backing sounds and using signal generators on stage in the act.
The band began to get quite a following and played clubs and university gigs all over the UK and at London venues like the Marquee and 100 club and Electric Garden. They would also occasionally play at the Speakeasy where Jimi Hendrix would jam with them, also people like Jeff beck and Eric Burdon. The band had been recorded independently for a while by Southern Music Publishing, who had their own four-track studio in Denmark Street, and it wasn't long before they had secured a record deal with CBS's "Direction" label. The problem was that Southern Music had originally signed them as a bluesy/jazzy band and they were not very keen on trying to get new, more riotous stage act on disc.
The group were persuaded to do more "regular" material. The first recording was the song, written by Elmer, that the band were best known for, 'Flames'. The record was on jukeboxes all over the UK and was covered live by bands as diverse as "The Joe Loss Orchestra" and "Led Zeppelin", in fact Jimmy Page told Elmer that Flames was the only non-Zep number that they included in their early stage-act (Robert Plant also included it in his 2001-2002 tour). However, for the average radio listener the song was too far ahead of its time and despite live popularity and numerous radio plays the song only managed to achieve number 30 in the charts. Direction did however, take faith in the band to record second and third singles and more importantly a self-titled album.
The group's second single, "Mary Jane" was removed from the BBC playlist after they realised that the song was the slang term for Marijuana. The third single, Volcano, was written by Howard & Blakely, who had written hits for Dave Dee etc.
After three singles and the album, major success had still not been achieved. The agent at the time, Terry King, had booked the group a lot of shows, they were regularly appearing on the BBC on John Peel's show, among others, they were playing, touring and promoting hard, but recording success was still elusive. Colin Forster was then replaced by Paul Brett but this still didn't achieve the desired result.
Disagreements erupted within the band, which led to a split from Elmer and so the Velvet Opera was formed. Elmer Gantry remembers : "eventually, EGVO broke up due to a change of direction within the band. Paul Brett, (who incidentally I had worked with previously and had brought into the band following our initial success) although a brilliant guitarist, had a strong interest in more folkish music and, with Hud's increasing interest in playing instruments other than drums, the band started to change direction. I did not welcome this change, and whilst I had great admiration for all the other members as musicians, was not interested. There followed a coup in which the other members of the band attempted to just replace me and keep the name. This would clearly have been ridiculous as I was already known as Elmer Gantry and the band was largely know for its riotous, envelope-pushing stage presence, not for electro-folk. The result was that they brought twelve string guitarist folk-blues guitarist Johnny Joyce in, and continued as The Velvet Opera and eventually Strawbs and The Monks producing the novelty hits "Union Man" and "Nice legs, shame about the face" and I continued with a new line-up, formed from the Downliners sect, as the Elmer Gantry band. I also later had a lead role in "Hair" in the west end, recorded on two Alan Parsons Project albums, did the lead vocals on Cozy powell's album, sang and wrote with Jon Lord on his solo album."
A second album, "Ride a Hustler's Dream" was released by the Velvet Opera on their own, Elmer and Colin having been replaced by John Joyce and Paul Brett. The album was recorded (as was the EGVO album) at Southern Music's studios in Denmark St. Paul Brett remembers : "It was an 8 track set up and was a real struggle to get real quality and instrument separation, but we did our best. We did lots of Radio 1 sessions and quite a few dates, the most memorable being with the Who at The Lyceum. John Ford and Richard Hudson were getting more into writing their own songs and they also wanted to perform them, Johnny and I were more into acoustic music and inevitably, we went our own ways quite amicably. Southern would have made another LP with us but we felt we needed to follow our hearts! I spoke to Hud last year about the possibility of collaborating on a new Velvet Opera LP as the bands reputation has survived and even grown over the years, probably because we have all done our own things. This is very much a possibility and I will pursue this with Hud and John. I did a CD last year with John Joyce 'Acoustic Power' that was really well received by the media. It could also be that there is another Fire LP in the future and certainly their will be more Paul Brett CD's and there are collectors issues on CD of the previous material and some unreleased Paul Brett & Sage stuff via my site www.fret-dancer.com".
After the split, Ford and Hudson joined Strawbs whilst Rick Wakeman was still a member. In 1971, Colin Forster recruited a whole new Velvet Opera featuring ex-Tintern Abbey vocalist, Dave MacTavish, bass player Colin Bass and drummer Mike Fincher who recorded one single on the Spark label. Elmer Gantry later appeared in the Seventies in Stretch singing the hit single "Why Did You Do It?" Stretch released four albums and some singles on the "Anchor" label. During the 90s, a CD of live "John Peel BBC Sessions" was released by "Strange Fruit" and a double CD set " Stretch, The Story of Elmer Gantry" was released on Repertoire Records. The Stretch catalogue is currently handled by "Trojan Records." Elmer is now working in the drug-rehabilitation field but still gigs occasionally both in the UK and in America.
Lookin' For A Happy Life
Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The chair which stood beside the door is empty once more of joy
Little girls dressed in white
Made up to look right
But I keep looking round, round
The local population still encourages boys
........ to know (his?) (pose in?) grace .............
A girl who's on her own
But I keep looking round, round
Would you like to know where you're going?
Would you like to know where you're at?
Would you like to know what you're doing?
If you could, would you look back?
Would you like to know where you're going?
Would you like to know where you're at?
Would you like to know what you're doing?
If you could, would you look back?
I've grown a liking for this place (........)
Sugar tastes much sweeter than before
I've found the joy of love
Kindness in her face
(.............) (no place?)
I need not look around
Would you like to know where you're going?
Would you like to know where you're at?
Would you like to know what you're doing?
If you could, would you look back?
Would you like to know where you're going?
Would you like to know where you're at?
Would you like to know what you're doing?
If you could, would you look back?
The lyrics of "Lookin' For A Happy Life" by Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera describe a sense of disillusionment and aimlessness. The singer wakes up to another "forgetful morning," implying a pattern of dissatisfaction and boredom. The chair which once brought joy is now empty, and the singer observes little girls dressed up to look right, but still with a sense of searching for something. The local population is encouraging boys to "know his pose in grace," indicating a desire for conformity and traditional gender roles. The singer longs for an easy life, perhaps in the form of a girl who's on her own, but still feels unfulfilled.
The chorus asks a series of existential questions, highlighting the themes of uncertainty and introspection. The repetition of the questions creates a sense of searching for answers. The last verse suggests a change in tone, with the singer finding joy in love and kindness. Sugar tastes sweeter, and the need to keep searching dissipates. The final lines express a newfound sense of contentment, "I need not look around."
Overall, the song portrays a sense of restlessness and discontent, with a glimmer of hope that love and kindness can bring a sense of fulfillment.
Line by Line Meaning
Another forgetful morning face has taken its place
A new day has begun, but it feels like just another ordinary, forgettable morning.
The chair which stood beside the door is empty once more of joy
Despite having a chair by the door, there is no happiness or joy that accompanies it. It is empty and meaningless.
Little girls dressed in white, made up to look right
There are young girls dressed in proper attire and made up to look good, but outward appearances don't necessarily reflect the true state of their happiness or well-being.
But I keep looking round, round
Despite the perceived lack of joy and fulfillment in the environment, the artist continues to look around for something that will bring them happiness.
The local population still encourages boys to know their place in grace
The people around the artist still hold onto traditional gender roles and way of life, expecting the boys to conform to their ideals of grace and behavior.
Looking for an easy life, a girl who's on her own
In the search for happiness, the singer is seeking an uncomplicated life and a woman who is independent and self-sufficient.
But I keep looking round, round
Despite this search, the singer still hasn't found what they're looking for and continues to look around for it.
Would you like to know where you're going?
The artist questions the direction and purpose of their life, wondering if they know where they're headed and what it all means.
Would you like to know where you're at?
The artist also questions their current position in life and whether it aligns with their goals and aspirations.
Would you like to know what you're doing?
There is a sense of uncertainty and confusion about what the artist is doing with their life and whether it is truly fulfilling or meaningful.
If you could, would you look back?
The singer wonders if, given the chance, they would go back and change anything about their past.
I've grown a liking for this place, sugar tastes much sweeter than before
Despite the earlier feelings of disillusionment and unhappiness, the artist has developed a fondness for their current environment, to the point where even simple pleasures like sugar taste sweeter than usual.
I've found the joy of love, kindness in her face, no place, I need not look around
Through the love of another person, the singer has found happiness and kindness, and no longer feels the need to search for it elsewhere.
Contributed by Zoe Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Syd bysyd
A great 60's album of class Psychedelia, which I missed when I was collecting stuff from that genre / time... This is brilliant.
VideoTester7
The vocalist here Elmer Gantry/David Terry would later go on to sing both "May Be a Price to Pay" from 'The Turn of a Friendly Card' and "Psychobabble" from 'Eye in the Sky' two albums from The Alan Parsons Project.