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Andromeda (10)

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English heavy psychedelic rock group from London, active late 1967/early 1970. In late 1967 Mick Hawksworth (bass & vocals), John Du Cann (guitar) and John Rhymer (drums) recorded a two-sided acetate at Central Sound Studios, London, as (possibly a working name). The first embryo of the future was born. During the summer of 1968, the trio recorded a series of acetates at Graham Clark Studios, a cheap demo facility in London. At least a couple of the recorded tracks were submitted by their manager, Tim Sharman, to John Peel. The DJ was suitably impressed by their music and they were invited to record a session for his Radio 1 show in October 1968. As result of their radio appearances they landed some prestigious gigs, specially at the Marquee Club, from November 1968 to February 1969. At the initiative of Peel, who was about to start his own label Dandelion, in early March 1969 they recorded some demos at the newly-opened trident Studios in Soho. By that stage, however, Cann and Hawksworth had jettisoned their original drummer, with Ian McLean (known during his Andromeda time as Ian McLane) coming in. The change in both drummer and sound, now more elaborate and heavy, did not please Peel, who promptly dumped the group. After an unsuccessful contact with Kit Lambert (the manager of ), Tim Sharman brokered a deal with RCA. The album was recorded during the spring 1969 at Advision Studios, where the band had complete freedom for recording and production. Preceded by a non-LP June single, the album was issued in late September 1969. But despite universal acclaim from the pop papers and several successful gigs, the album failed to sell. They continued to play live in the closing weeks of 1969, and also cut a handful of new studio demos, featuring Lou Martin () on keyboards. Finally, in March 1970, upon Du Cann's departure to join , the band split. Hawksworth later briefly joined Killing Floor, while Mclane began member of .