Baby Whale - The Downhill Climb (1973/2002)

Nick met Anne on the 106 bus in Cambridge in 1971. Recognising that the guitar she carried contained a Martin Guitar; he invited her home for lunch. Anne was American, had long blond hair and had a record deal… as well as the Martin Guitar. Nick played in a local bluegrass band Temporary Ferret and sold furniture in a Cambridge shop. Steve his friend, who wrote songs, had been in a jug band, The Toby Jug and Washboard Band and was a window dresser in a different Cambridge shop. The three of them became Goody Two Shoes in early 1972, Arian Kendon, who had been playing in various jazz-fusion groups around Cambridge, joined them in May playing string bass and fiddle, at which point they became Baby Whale. Early the following year they took on a drummer from Essex, Brian Wren. He was very good. They all moved into a big house in Roysten and “got it together in the country”. Adrian left shortly afterwards. He was replaced by Lindsay Scott, a Scot from Hawick, who had played in the JSD band. Lindsay played fiddle. He was very good too. Anne wrote lovely songs and played great rhythm guitar. Steve wrote really weird songs (they wondered what Steve was on, but he wasn't on anything) and played all sorts of things.
Nick arranged the songs and played all sorts of things too. Brian was really good on the drums and Lindsay was really good on the fiddle. With the inevitability of one month following another, August 1972 came round and the band received rave reviews at the Edinburgh Festival where they played a midnight show following the Cambridge Footlights revue. In the middle of 1973 they were thrown in to the Chuck Berry 'My Ding-A-Ling' tour, opening for him across the country. That began a spate of support gigs including MC5, Velvet Underground, Fairport Convention and Curved Air. Nick and Anne left the band in 1974 and got married. They eventually formed Telephone Bill and the Smooth Operators. Steve and the others carried on with Baby Whale for a while with Sally Oldfield and Raf Ravenscroft, but that was it really. Anne is now a portrait artist, Nick is on the radio, Steve lives half way up a mountain in Thailand, Adrian is teaching in Bognor Regis…and they can't find Brian or Lindsey. If you see them tell them they've got an album out and to get back in touch. This record has only now seen the light of day. Back then the management company fell out with the Record Company or something. Nice to have it out at last.