Ozric Tentacles - Live Ethereal Cereal (2LPs)

A raggle-taggle, unpretentious assortment of punk-infused, dreadlocked hippies, the Ozric Tentacles wove psychedelic audio-tapestries that captured the almost dangerous musical diversity of the free festival scene, blending acid rock with dub, reggae, ethnic world music and electronic, jazzy experimentation. This was the soundtrack to the herb-fragranced, alternative lifestyle that wound its way around country lanes looking for a place to set up and party, away from the psychoses of corporate life.

Fittingly, the band was formed at the Stonehenge Festival in 1983. Ed and Roly Wynne, Nick Van Gelder (Tig) and Gavin Griffiths (at that point known as the Bolshem People) were joined for a jam by Joie 'Ozroonuiculator' Hinton - a synth wizard who had just returned from India loaded with ethnic sound recordings that he had collected.

At some point, having attracted an audience, someone asked what the name of the new ensemble was and Ed responded 'Ozric Tentacles' mainly because he couldn't think of anything else. The name stuck and a mainstay of the UK festival scene for the next 30 years was born.

SIDE A
Erpriff (Glastonbury Oct `85)
Stupid Reggae (Glastonbury Oct `85)

SIDE B
Tentacular Explosion (Reading Dec `85)
Aumriff (Reading Dec `85) Mantric Mutter-
ings in Which Tig Evaporates (04:33)

SIDE C
Obstacular Explosion (Reading Feb `86)

SIDE D
Og-ha-be ( Glastonbury Oct `85)
Dots Thots ( Reading Sept `85 )
Erpitaph (Feb `86)