Peter Daltrey - The Rhymer In The Long-Tongued Room (2024)

The lead singer and keyboard player of '60s psychedelic British band Kaleidoscope, Peter Daltrey continues to set his crystal-clear vocals and highly literate lyrics to hypnotic new age melodies. On his 1996 solo album, When We Were Indians, Daltrey was accompanied by the exquisite strains of Japanese pipes and harpsichords.

Daltrey became involved with the band that evolved into Kaleidoscope through songwriter Eddie Pumer, who he met when they were both employed by ABC Television in London. The group, which had been rehearsing for a year, initially called itself the Sidekicks. They struggled for three years before signing with the Fontana label, which hoped that the band would become a "new" Beatles. Although they recorded two impressive albums -- Tangerine Dream in 1967 and Faintly Blowing two years later -- neither provided the group's breakthrough and they'd disbanded by 1972. They were "rediscovered" in the '80s when their albums were reissued.

By the time that Kaleidoscope broke up, Daltrey and Pumer had already begun performing with Fairfield Parlour, a group they formed with bassist/flute player Steve Clark and vocalist/drummer Danny Bridgeman. They remained together long enough to record an album, From Home to Home, released in 1970, and the theme song of the film Eyewitness. They also wrote the theme song for the Isle of Wight Festival, crediting the single to I Luv Wight. ~ Craig Harris