In 1969, Rare Bird were on the flight path to great things. Signed to Charisma, their first single, Sympathy, reached the top of the charts in Italy and France and was a Top 30 hit in the UK. But after six years of struggling to build on that success, they decided to call it a day. As Esoteric collects the band’s recordings on a new six-CD box set, Prog explores their legacy with former bassist Steve Gould and drummer Mark Ashton.

Words: Malcolm Dome

As the 70s dawned, Rare Bird seemed to have everything going for them. They had an immediate hit single, were signed to one of the most enlightened and dynamic record labels of the late- 60s/early-70s and had a sound that set them apart from everyone else. But their aspirations were dashed.

“We were let down by circumstances conspiring to trip us up,” admits drummer Mark Ashton, before adding, “But some of it happened through our own misjudgments.”

The story begins with Lunch. Not the meal but the band. In August 1968, keyboard players Graham Field and David Kaffinetti first teamed up in Lunch. By the following November, this band were over and Field and Kaffinetti brought in Steve Gould on bass/vocals and Ashton for a new project.

“David and I knew each other from Herne Bay,” explains Ashton. “I moved to London and met up with Davy O’List, who’d been the guitarist with The Nice. We tried to put together a new band, but things didn’t work out. By then David had also come to London; he and Graham recruited Steve, and because David knew I was looking to join a band he asked me to be the drummer.”

Gould initially joined on guitar, but had switched to bass by the time this new project were ready to play live.