Dando Shaft

Dando Shaft is the name of a short-lived psychedelic/progressive folk and folk jazz band that was primarily active in the early 1970s. The band has attracted a measure of attention from recent compilation releases and Dando Shaft is today known primarily as one of the major influences on the progressive stream of the 1960s folk revival.
Forming in Coventry, England, in 1968, the original Dando Shaft was an all-male quintet composed of the two guitar/vocalists Kevin Dempsey and Dave Cooper, multi-instrumentalist Martin Jenkins, bassist Roger Bullen, and tabla/percussionist Ted Kay. The band's name was taken from that of the title character of a 1965 novel by Don Calhoun. Performing in local English venues for the next two years while remaining active in the folk revival scene, the band was offered a recording deal with Young Blood Records and in 1970 they recorded their debut, An Evening With Dando Shaft. The album was well-received, drawing immediate comparison to the work of fellow folk revival musicians Pentangle, but demonstrating more of an emphasis on original folk compositions as well as showcasing a more progressive use of bluegrassy multi-instrumentation (especially due to Martin Jenkins's diverse talents) and Balkan (particularly Bulgarian) rhythmic structures. Comparisons to Pentangle were only enhanced when, after moving to London in 1970, the band grew in October of that year to include Leamington Spa singer Polly Bolton, who had previously sung with June Tabor.....(Read more at Wikipedia)
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== Links to Peel ==
Dando Shaft did two sessions for Peel in the early 1970s, but appear to be among the many artists from that era whom he never revisited, even if they did re-form several times and find audiences in later decades. They became involved with pop entrepreneur Miki Dallon, who ran the labels Strike, which issued Roy Harper's debut album "Sophisticated Beggar" in 1967 but then went bankrupt, and Young Blood, who put out Python Lee Jackson's "In A Broken Dream", originally recorded for Peel's Dandelion label. 
Members of Dando Shaft played with other artists after the group broke up (see the Wikipedia article on them for details) but probably the best-known was Martin Jenkins, who in later years played alongside Bert Jansch in a duo, and led a Bulgarian-influenced band of his own, which made some BBC radio appearances, but not on Peel shows.
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== Festive Fifty Entries ==
* None
== Sessions ==
1. Recorded: 1971-06-21. First broadcast: 03 July 1971. Repeated: 18 September 1971
*Coming Home To Me / Shadows Across The Moon / Never Mind The Rain / Black Prince Of Paradise / Whispering Red (Whispering Red premiered on 1971-09-18) 
2. Recorded: 1972-01-11. First broadcast: 18 January 1972. Repeated: 21 March 1972
*Road Song / I Heard Somewhere / Melancholie Fervour / Don't Forget The Animal
== Live ==
*11 July 1971: (concert show with Heads Hands & Feet)
#Sunday is Dawning
#Kalliope Driver
#Lazily Slowly
#The Black Prince
#Whispering Ned
#Springclogdance
== Other Shows Played ==
;thumb|220x220px1970
*01 August 1970: Cold Wind (LP - An Evening With Dando Shaft) Young Blood
== See Also ==
*Rare, Precious Or Beautiful
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*Official site
Category:Artists