Barclay James Harvest - BJH & Once Again 1970-1971

Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Saddleworth, Lancashire, in September 1966 by John Lees, Les Holroyd, Stuart Woolly Wolstenholme (1947-2010), and Mel Pritchard (1948-2004). After signing with EMI's Parlophone in the UK for one single in early 1968, they moved to the more progressively inclined Harvest label. Their self-titled debut album was released in mid 1970 to positive reviews, but few sales. Their second album Once Again gained more favourable reviews, and the tour that followed was conducted with a full orchestra under the guidance of Robert John Godfrey. (wikipedia)

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The Barclay James Harvest story begins in the early sixties in the Oldham area of North-West England. John Lees and Stuart Woolly Wolstenholme met at Oldham Art School, and formed a band called The Sorcerers, which evolved into The Keepers. Meanwhile Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard were playing in another local outfit rejoicing in the name of Heart And Soul And The Wickeds. In 1966 a new band was formed from a fusion of the two and performed live shows on a semi-professional basis as The Blues Keepers. The resulting six-piece gradually dwindled to a stable quartet comprising Holroyd, Pritchard, Lees and Wolstenholme, and in the summer of 1967 they turned professional with a new name selected by putting names into a hat, and Barclay James Harvest was born.

Under the patronage of John Crowther, a local businessman and their first manager, they moved into an 18th Century farmhouse called Preston House to write and rehearse, and their spartan lifestyle was captured in a short documentary film made for Granada TV. A one-off single deal was negotiated with EMIs Parlophone label, and Early Morning, appeared in April 1968, attracting acclaim and the opportunity to record radio sessions for John Peel. This in turn led to a contract with EMI as the band became one of the first signings to the legendary Harvest label, releasing Brother Thrush, as their second single in June 1969.

From the very beginning, BJH experimented with new forms, going beyond the traditional guitar, bass and drums format to include woodwind, strings and brass, then acquiring a Mellotron to simulate the sound of an orchestra. It was a logical step, then, to record their debut album, Barclay James Harvest, with their own orchestra led by Resident Musical Director Robert Godfrey, later of The Enid, and to back the release of the album in June 1970 with a short orchestral tour. 1971 saw them perfecting their fusion of rock and classical music with the seminal albums Once Again and Barclay James Harvest And Other Short Stories and ambitious live performances which, while stunning their audiences, did nothing to impress the record company accountants! Mounting debts and strained relations with EMI led to a couple of abortive efforts at commercial singles and a slightly below-par 1972 album, Baby James Harvest, which led to a parting with the Harvest label in 1973. (bjharvest.co.uk)

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Barclay James Harvest - Barclay James Harvest / Once Again 1970 / 1971
(Beat Goes On/EMI 1992)

1. Taking some time on
2. Mother dear
3. The sun will never shine
4. When the world was woken
5. Good love child
6. The Iron Maiden
7. Dark now my sky
8. She said
9. Happy old world
10. Song for dying
11. Galadriel
12. Mocking bird
13. Vanessa Simmons
14. Ball and chain
15. Lady loves


1-7: Barclay James Harvest 1970

John Lees ΓΓé¼ΓÇ£ vocals, guitars, recorder
Les Holroyd - vocals, bass guitar, guitar, cello
Stuart Woolly Wolstenholme - vocals, mellotron, keyboards, guitar, harmonica
Mel Pritchard - drums, percussion

Jim Litherland - guitar on Taking Some Time On
The Barclay James Harvest Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra Leader: Gavin Wright
Conductor and Musical Director: Robert Godfrey
Engineer: Phil McDonald

Recording Studio: Abbey Road Studios, St. Johns Wood, London
Recording Dates: 8th November, 1969 to 26th January, 1970
Producer: Norman Hurricane Smith
Two 8-track machines were used to record the album,
including all the orchestral pieces!

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8-15: Once Again 1971

Once Again was the second album released by Barclay James Harvest, in early 1971. It is generally regarded as one of their strongest efforts, featuring powerful, epic tracks such as Song For Dying, She Said, and Mocking Bird, one of their best known songs. As was the case with their other early albums, it was recorded with a full orchestra.

On the track Galadriel, Lees played John Lennon's Epiphone Casino guitar, an event later recounted in a song on the band's 1990 album Welcome To The Show titled John Lennon's Guitar.

In an interview with Songfacts, Keith Damone (official biographer of Barclay James Harvest with his wife Monika) said John Lees wrote Mocking Bird back in 1968 while he was living with the parents of his future wife, Olwen. The song is based on a musical phrase from Pools Of Blue, which he wrote around the same time. (wikipedia)


John Lees - vocals, guitars, recorder
Les Holroyd - vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards
Stuart Woolly Wolstenholme - vocals, mellotron, keyboards
Mel Pritchard - drums, percussion

The Barclay James Harvest Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra Leader: Gavin Wright
Conductor and Musical Director: Robert Godfrey

Recording Studio: Abbey Road Studios, St.John's Wood, London
Recording Dates: 9th October, 1970 to 25th November, 1970
Producer: Norman Smith

As the more recent John Lennon's Guitar, puts it, the producer was Norman Smith, who'd engineered with the Beatles and John, but Smith also had a short-lived career as a solo recording artist, under the name Hurricane Smith, and scored two Top Ten hits with Don't Let It Die and Oh Babe, What Would You Say. His other production credits include Pink Floyd and The Pretty Things. (bjharvest.co.uk)