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.
Yesterlove
Sam Gopal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With its fingers burning coldly in the mist
The sea it runs restless
With its seary nerves a walking
And it dreams of ages long ago, have been disturbed
I'm standing in the shadow of the eastward searching sky
And I'm searching for the peace that I have lost
And the soul of me is screaming
With the gamuts and the goads
With he's hopeless, for I know that I am lost
For you are far away across the swirling plain that is
before me
A year ago I said goodbye
You wondered of the dryness of my eyes
As you are quickly, through the ripple, wrinkled sand
Out of my life, like it never understands and why
It never turned toward a rest, goodbye
You can see the place where once we walked with heads
together talking
And our faded shrinking footprints left to sigh
That we were no sun or others
The walls are down between us
And we thought as one
The moon was shining in our eyes
A thousand words that we would not have time too say
And all the thoughts that I had never thought before
And you once whispered
'This is one for everything that happens'
And the things we said were ancient and unknowing
And our hands are always touching
Though it just was not enough, ... to only see you
And the sun has thrown the world in spinning circles
Once again the dawn is bridging night and day
And I stare at the new horizons
While it shimmers in the distance
With the tears in my eyes
Raise the sun too strong is shining
All the clouds in silence of the moon
The sky is drawn in beauty
Another dawn and new beginning
Suddenly I know that it is over
And the sorrow washes through me
Touching all my dreams of chorus
And I know its only passing
For the hurt begins to fade
In that instant, I can see creation
And the single beam of sunlight
And I thank you for the lesson that I'm learning
For you gave me my first love
Not as surely it was precious dear
I thank you from the bottom of my broken heart ...
The song "Yesterlove" by Sam Gopal is a beautiful and emotional piece that is full of vivid imagery and heartfelt lyrics. The song revolves around the themes of lost love, longing, and the passing of time. In the opening lines, the singer describes the dawn touching the windows of the sleeping world with its icy fingers, evoking a sense of cold solitude and loneliness. The sea is restless, dreaming of ages long gone by, and the singer stands in the shadow of the searching sky, seeking the peace that he has lost. He is screaming with the gamuts and the goads, hopeless and lost, as he thinks about the love that he has lost.
Throughout the song, the singer refers to the memories of his lost love, the moments they shared together, and the sadness that he feels as he watches her leave. He describes the place where they once walked together, talking with their heads together, and their faded footprints left behind. He speaks about the things they said, how their hands were always touching, but it was never enough to only see her. The sun throws the world into spinning circles, and the dawn bridges the night and day again, as the sky is drawn in beauty. The singer knows that it is over, and he feels sorrow wash through him, but he thanks his lost love for the lesson he has learned, for she gave him his first love, something that was precious and dear to him.
Overall, "Yesterlove" is a poignant and powerful song that speaks to anyone who has lost someone they love. It is a beautiful expression of heartbreak and longing, and it captures the emotions of the human experience in a powerful and moving way.
Line by Line Meaning
The dawn is touching many sleeping windows
With its fingers burning coldly in the mist
The cold dawn is awakening countless windows, with its chilliness seeping in through the misty air.
The sea it runs restless
With its seary nerves a walking
And it dreams of ages long ago, have been disturbed
The sea is constantly moving, with its nerves agitated; it yearns for the days long gone, which have been disrupted.
I'm standing in the shadow of the eastward searching sky
And I'm searching for the peace that I have lost
I'm standing beneath the searching morning sky, trying to find the inner peace that has vanished.
And the soul of me is screaming
With the gamuts and the goads
With he's hopeless, for I know that I am lost
My soul is tormented with conflicting emotions and thoughts, and I feel hopeless as I know I am completely lost.
For you are far away across the swirling plain that is
before me
A year ago I said goodbye
You wondered of the dryness of my eyes
As you are quickly, through the ripple, wrinkled sand
Out of my life, like it never understands and why
It never turned toward a rest, goodbye
You are distant and miles away, across the swaying plain which I am currently witnessing. One year has passed since I bade you farewell; you were curious about the dryness of my eyes as you hastened away through the sandy ripples, disappearing out of my life without ever understanding why. Goodbye was all that was left unturned.
You can see the place where once we walked with heads
together talking
And our faded shrinking footprints left to sigh
That we were no sun or others
The walls are down between us
And we thought as one
The moon was shining in our eyes
I see the same path where we walked together, our heads close while talking. Our fading and vanishing footprints remind me that we were not like anyone else. The walls that separated us earlier are now down, and we used to think as one. The moon was shining down on us, love in our eyes.
A thousand words that we would not have time too say
And all the thoughts that I had never thought before
And you once whispered
'This is one for everything that happens'
And the things we said were ancient and unknowing
And our hands are always touching
Though it just was not enough, ... to only see you
There were thousands of words we could never get around to saying, and so many thoughts that had never crossed my mind. You whispered once, 'this is for whatever happens.' Our conversations were archaic and unaware. We were always holding hands, but merely seeing you wasn't enough.
And the sun has thrown the world in spinning circles
Once again the dawn is bridging night and day
And I stare at the new horizons
While it shimmers in the distance
With the tears in my eyes
Raise the sun too strong is shining
The sun has flung the world into a dizzying spiral; once again, the dawn is bridging the night and day. I gaze in wonder at the new horizons, which seem to sparkle far away. Tears stream down my face while the sun rises, its light almost too bright.
All the clouds in silence of the moon
The sky is drawn in beauty
Another dawn and new beginning
Under the moon's silence, the clouds linger. The sky is heavenly and gorgeous. Every new dawn brings with it a fresh start.
Suddenly I know that it is over
And the sorrow washes through me
Touching all my dreams of chorus
And I know its only passing
For the hurt begins to fade
In that instant, I can see creation
And the single beam of sunlight
In a flash, I realize that it is finished. All the emotions wash over me, touching on all the dreams that I had once held close. I know that this pain will recede quickly, as I begin to feel the hurt easing away. In that moment, I can see the world in its beauty, lit by a single beam of sunlight.
And I thank you for the lesson that I'm learning
For you gave me my first love
Not as surely it was precious dear
I thank you from the bottom of my broken heart ...
I am grateful for the lesson that I am learning from this experience, and I thank you for giving me my very first taste of love, even though it was short-lived. Though it may have been brief, it was still precious, and hence I thank you from the depths of my shattered heart.
Contributed by Hudson A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.