Biography

This Scottish psych-folk outfit featured David McNiven (b. 4 November 1945, Glasgow, Scotland; guitar, vocals, piano, flute), Angie Rew (b. 25 September 1946, Edinburgh, Scotland; guitar, vocals, organ, African drums) and Carolyn Davis (b. 15 August 1946, Edinburgh, Scotland; guitar, vocals, bass, tambourine, buzz horn). Their 1969 debut album, on Decca Records, included mainly self-penned material. Davis had left by the time the second album was released, but did appear on vocals and guitar on one track, ‘Purple Hazy Melancholy’. The Strange Tale Of Captain Shannon And The Hunchback From Gigha featured the surreal lyric of ‘Hymn For Sylvia’ and, unlike the first album, featured electric instrumentation used more to the fore. This second release also featured Danny Thompson (bass), and Terry Cox (guitar). Amaryllis followed in 1971, but commercial success evaded the band. Rew and McNiven married, and the latter went on to write for the BBC comedy unit, as well as film scores. Rew later ran a touring children’s theatre company called Hullaballoo, working as writer, composer, actor and director. In 1990 McNiven toured with Tracy Nelson. Davis became a full-time student of media studies.