“It was all slightly arty farty!”
Producer Derek Lawrence recalls working with the fledgling Tull on their first single.
Mostly known for his work with Deep Purple and Wishbone Ash, producer Derek Lawrence recalls how he first encountered Jethro Tull.
“It was Ronnie Beck at Feldman Music who suggested I might like to work with a band called John Evan Smash. So, I booked time at Columbia Studios in New Bond Street, London, and that’s where we recorded the Sunshine Day single and the B-side, Aeroplane. I have to admit that
I wanted them to be more of a rock band, but they were determined to be more left field.”
Lawrence subsequently worked with the young band on four more tracks at Abbey Road Studios, by which time they’d changed their name.
“I suggested they become Candy Coloured Rain. It seemed to fit what they were trying to do much better. To be honest, it was all slightly arty farty!”
While he wasn’t exactly in tune with what the band wanted to do musically, Lawrence respected their potential.
“They were clearly talented and had some very good ideas. These were also nice guys, although the only one I used to hang out with was Mick Abrahams. Ian Anderson definitely had a strong vision for what he wanted to do, and I appreciated his single-mindedness.”
When Sunshine Day came out as their debut single, the band had become Jethro Tull, although a spelling error meant the label had them down as ‘Jethro Toe’. In the past, Lawrence has taken the blame for this error. Now he’s ready to set the record straight.
“It was actually a secretary at the label who misheard the name and made the mistake. I took the blame for what happened as it seemed unfair to let a hapless employee at Island get it. But now I can tell everyone: it wasn’t me!”