Jan Dukes de Grey was a short-lived English psychedelic/progressive folk and progressive rock band that was primarily active in the early 1970s. Despite a relatively limited output and a lukewarm contemporary reception in terms of sales, the band has attracted a cult following and has seen a moderate revival of interest following the 2010 release of their previously completed but unpublished 1977 album, Strange Terrain. Jan Dukes de Grey is considered to have been among the least conventional musicians associated with the progressive folk scene and in particular their 1971 album, Mice And Rats In The Loft, has come to be viewed as a seminal British acid folk album and as one of the wildest relics of the florid post-hippie era.
History
The origins of Jan Dukes de Grey can be traced to the 11-man early-to-mid-60s soul group, "Buster Summers Express". While performing as a member of Buster Summers, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Derek Noy began to write his own music and to incorporate his material into Buster Summers' pieces. Receiving positive support for these innovations, and anxious to perform his own material exclusively, Noy split from the group in 1968 to pursue his own musical direction based more extensively on the emerging underground sound of the day (characterized by bands like Cream, Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull). Noy, penning 50 to 60 titles within the next 6 months, was approached by guitarist/fipple-flautist Michael Bairstow who wished to join Buster Summers Express. Noy explained that he was interested in starting a new band instead, and Bairstow soon agreed.
Formed in Leeds in December 1968, the original incarnation of the band consisted of the duo Derek Noy and Michael Bairstow. The name "Jan Dukes de Grey" was developed by Noy as an exotic-sounding title with no further significance. Gigging and refining Noy's original compositions for the next several months at local venues, Jan Dukes de Grey was signed in 1969 by Decca Records. By October 1969, the 18-track Sorcerers was recorded. The album consisted entirely of original pieces by Noy that have been described by reviewers as naive and instinctive with good musicality but lacking in technique especially in the flute accompaniment.
In October 1969, just after Sorcerers had been recorded, former Buster Summers drummer Denis Conlan joined the band and a new brace of gigging began. Though all pieces performed were written by Noy, the band's sound changed considerably during this period to become more strongly progressive and improvisational. This new sound resonated favorably with the university circuit and soon they had achieved a small measure of success, opening for big-name bands like Pink Floyd in November 1969 and The Who in May 1970. Despite this encouragement, sales of Sorcerers (released in January 1970) were mediocre and the band was forced to sign with the better-distributed Transatlantic Records for their next album, the epic 3-track Mice and Rats in the Loft (released in June 1971). Markedly different from their debut album, the second Jan Dukes de Grey album has been described as less-fragmented and more extreme than Sorcerers. The much longer track-lengths provided the band the opportunity to expand their more improvisational sound and to develop complex progressive themes in a wild and manic manner often favorably compared to Comus' First Utterance
Sales of Mice and Rats in the Loft were again tepid and the recording costs advanced by Transatlantic meant that savings had to be made in advertising and the album received little press. Jan Dukes de Grey carried on performing local shows for the next several years, briefly adding former Buster Summers keyboard- and saxophone-player Eddy Spence in late 1970. Bairstow left the band in early 1973 to be replaced by guitarist Patrick Dean, a fan who had written glowing reviews of the band for the Yorkshire Evening Post. By the end of 1973, Conlon also left the band and was replaced by Noy's wife Fiona Dellar. Two other musicians, bassist Danny Lagger and drummer Maurice McElroy joined immediately after Dellar.
By April 1974, the band changed its name to "Noy's Band" and added bass guitarist Alan Ronds to be signed to the Dawn label. As Noy's Band the group released only one single, a reinterpretation of "Love Potion Number 9" paired with Noy's original piece "Eldorado". When this release flopped the band began to unravel, finally disbanding in August 1975. Noy, Dellar, and McElroy then joined with musician Nick Griffiths to perform briefly as punk band, Rip Snorter, through 1976 and the start of 1977.