The first line-up was Sam Gopal on tabla, Mick Hutchinson on guitar, Pete Sears (ex-Les Fleur de Lys) on bass guitar and keys, and later towards the end, Andy Clark on organ and vocals. On 28 April 1967, the band performed at The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, a UK Underground event organised by the International Times at Alexandra Palace. Other performing bands included Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, Savoy Brown, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Soft Machine and The Move. The band (then called Sam Gopal's Dream) played at the UFO Club (their first headline show), The Electric Garden in Covent Garden (later to become Middle Earth), The Roundhouse, and Happening 44. They later played the Christmas on Earth Show at Olympia in London with Traffic, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd. Jimi Hendrix later sat in with them at London's Speakeasy Club. At some point in 1967 the band recorded a few tracks for Screen Gems with Gus Dudgeon as engineer.
Andy Clark later joined on organ and keyboards and they soon changed their name to Vamp with the addition of Viv Prince on drums, and released a single called, "Floatin", on Atlantic. After the original band broke up in 1968, Sears went on to session work and formed his own band Giant, while Hutchinson and Clark recorded three albums as Clark-Hutchinson.
Gopal formed a new line-up with vocalist-guitarist 'Ian Willis' (better known as Lemmy), Roger D'Elia and Phil Duke. The album "Escalator" was recorded in late 1968 and released in March 1969. Managed by Robert Stigwood, the band released a single "Horse" / "Back Door Man". Lemmy went on to be the bassist of Hawkwind and, in 1975, the founder, singer and bassist of Motörhead. Roger D’Elia (the grandson of the actress Mary Clare) later turned up in a mid-1970s band called Glider, which included Twink (ex-Pink Fairies), Andy Colquhoun and Chas McKay. A further line-up of the band featured Alan Mark, Mox Gowland, Mickey Waller (also known as Mickey Finn) and Freddie Gandy (ex-Pink Fairies).
In 1969 a new line-up with Alan Mark (vocals), Mox Gowland (harmonica & flutes), Micky Finn Waller (guitar), and Freddie Gandy (bass) recorded a few tracks for Stable including "Somebody stole the Sun".
Following this, Gopal spent some time in Amsterdam and changed the name of the band from to "Cosmosis". Managed by R.Cole/Peter Grant, and brought in Bernie Holland (guitar). Recorded a few tracks for the Led Zep people. Around this time in '71, Gopal had a bad motor accident and sidelined for a couple of years. During this period, recorded an album "Building B".
In 1976 went to Paris, and there recorded for Radio France "Feedback" and "Backfeed" with Didier Malherbe (sax) and Patrice Lemoine (piano).
From 1981 to 1988, Gopal spent time in Nepal where he had been studying Tablas the previous years, and to continue further, and also allowing his own music to come through.
In 1988, Gopal moved to Berlin and started in 1989 his next "one off" band "SANGIT" with a live recording at the Berlin/Philharmonie /Kammermusiksaal. "SANGIT" recorded the soundtrack for "The Great Moghuls", six documentary films for Channel Four.
In 1990 Gopal recorded an album "Soap Opera" with Andy Clark (Keyboards & vocals) in Berlin. In 1991, he recorded the next album "Not For Sale" (working title) with Andy Clark (Keyboards & vocals) and studio musicians, also in Berlin.
In the 90s Gopal extended his music into the 12-tone Tabla direction.
Gopal self-released another album Father Mucker in 1999 (GPS CD 001, Munchen, Germany). Songs from that album were recorded in 1990 (many with Andy Clark) but not mixed and overdubbed until 1999, in which year he recorded one more song for the album. There are as many as six albums recorded with professional musicians and mastered that remain unreleased.
Other recordings:
In 1980 recorded in Olympic Studios London, few tracks including "Sell out Joe" (Vocals), "Falling In" and "Showdown".
In 1989 recorded an album "Largo" in Zurich.
In 1992, a Live Recording of Sam Gopal's one-off Band "Brain Tonic", also called Brain Tonic.
In 1993, recorded an album "Blind Man's Movie" in Munich.
Horse
Sam Gopal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through a dark sea gliding
Iron hooves are dancing on the
Moon and mirror sliding
Chase me through tomorrow
But you know you'll never find me
Far away in land of mist with
'Cause I'm flying now with the eagles
I'm never coming down
White horse gallop softly
Gone away, could call tomorrow
Take me through a thousand years
Of happiness and sorrow
Ask me what the past is
But I don't know the answer
I only know the future is
A misty swirling dancer
All the time I'm flying and
The wind is lying there
Alright, take it back
? Nobody knows the reason
? That every passing season
Riding through the woodland
The trees are old and wise, yeah
But I can't ask the questions
'Cause the stars are in my eyes
Spurs are on my heels and the? in my mind
Hey, ho
The song "Horse" by Sam Gopal is a mystical journey that takes the listener through a dreamlike state where the imagery of a white horse takes them on a ride to another world. The lyrics describe the horse taking the singer on a journey through a dark sea while the iron hooves dance on the moon and mirror slides. The horse continues to lead the singer to a faraway land of mist where they are hidden with only words to guide them. The future is uncertain, but the singer is flying with the eagles and never coming down. The white horse gallops softly, and the singer could be called tomorrow while they experience a thousand years of happiness and sorrow.
The singer does not know the reason for the passing seasons or have answers to things that trees may know, but the stars are in their eyes, leaving them mesmerized at the beauty of their surroundings. Spurs are on their heels and something is on their mind, possibly the adventure that they just embarked on. The lyrics leave room for interpretation and can be seen as a spiritual awakening, a psychedelic drug-induced trip, or a metaphor for a life journey.
Line by Line Meaning
White horse took me riding
I had a dream of riding a white horse
Through a dark sea gliding
The horse was moving smoothly as we crossed the dark sea
Iron hooves are dancing on the
Moon and mirror sliding
The horse's iron hooves were creating a rhythmic sound on the moon while we moved through the mirror
Chase me through tomorrow
But you know you'll never find me
You might chase me tomorrow but you'll never catch me
Far away in land of mist with
Only words to hide me
I'm hidden in a faraway land of mist and I can only use words to conceal myself
'Cause I'm flying now with the eagles
I'm never coming down
I'm flying high up with eagles and I don't intend to come down anytime soon
White horse gallop softly
Gone away, could call tomorrow
The white horse left softly and it may come back tomorrow
Take me through a thousand years
Of happiness and sorrow
The horse is going to take me through a journey of a thousand years filled with happiness and sorrows
Ask me what the past is
But I don't know the answer
You may ask me about the past but I don't have an answer
I only know the future is
A misty swirling dancer
The only thing I know is the future which is uncertain like a misty swirling dancer
All the time I'm flying and
The wind is lying there
I'm constantly flying and the wind is moving slowly next to me
Alright, take it back
? Nobody knows the reason
? That every passing season
I'm requesting to take back what was said before, and that nobody knows the reason for every passing season
Riding through the woodland
The trees are old and wise, yeah
Riding through the woodland, I can see that the trees are old and wise
But I can't ask the questions
'Cause the stars are in my eyes
Although I want to, I can't ask any questions because I'm fascinated by the stars
Spurs are on my heels and the? in my mind
Hey, ho
I have spurs on my heels and something is wandering in my mind
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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