GRAPEFRUIT

“Around Grapefruit”

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Most pop fans have at least a basic familiarity with the bands that were signed to Apple Records in the late ’60s and no doubt those bands profited greatly from that connection, at least in terms of buzz and profile. Nearly everyone knows Badfinger, Mary Hopkin and Billy Preston and even Jackie Lomax and David Peel are fairly well-known. There is no similar notoriety, however, for those artists that signed to Apple Publishing and, on the whole, that’s a shame, because there were some terrific acts and writers on that roster, including Grapefruit.

The main songwriter in Grapefruit was George Alexander (born Alexander Young) who was the brother of Easybeat rhythm guitarist George Young and AC/DC founders Angus Young and Malcolm Young.  Alexander was signed to Apple Publishing in 1967 by Tony Doran, a friend of John Lennon. Doran helped Alexander put together a band by recruiting three members of Tony Rivers’ band The Castaways (who were, not coincidentally, managed by Doran). Thus, the line-up was Alexander on bass, John Perry on lead vocals and lead guitar, Pete Swettenham on rhythm guitar and Geoff Swettenham on drums. The band was named by Lennon after the title of Yoko Ono’s book of surrealist poetry, Grapefruit (though briefly they were known as The Grapefruit). The Apple label had not yet been established and, with Doran and Alexander eager to get on with it, the band signed to Terry Melcher’s American label Equinox. The press launch was a star-studded affair. Lennon introduced the band and those in attendance included fellow Beatles Paul and Ringo, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Cilla Black and Donovan. Their self-titled debut was released in 1968 and featured liner notes by longtime Beatles associate Derek Taylor.

The music on Grapefruit is pure British psych-pop. The closest reference to my ears is The Herd, but there are lots of Beatles and Hollies touches, too. The opener is “Another Game,” a song that works the same sort of childhood touchstones as “Strawberry Fields,” but with a much lighter touch and very heavy reverb and echo effects. “Yesterday’s Sunshine” features a baroque-pop intro that segues into plodding psychedelia and strikes me a little like The Zombies performing a dull arrangement of “MacArthur Park.” The third track, “Elevator,” is stellar, however, and perhaps the best track on the album. Uptempo, energetic, with a terrific melodic bassline and ascending chords, and just a killer chorus. The lyrics explore the metaphor of drugs as a (mood) elevator, and are—surprisingly—not too clumsy or coy. “Yes” is another highlight, sounding like the theme song for a long-lost ’60s sitcom. “C’mon Marianne” tries hard to be a pop-soul hit, but doesn’t quite have the hooks to seal the deal and the aggressive production merely underscores the slightness of the song. “Lullabye,” on the other hand, benefits from a more lazy feel that perfectly fits the lyrics, which bear some similarity to The Beatles’ “I’m Only Sleeping.” “Round Going Round” presages bubblegum with its catchy chorus and 4-on-the-floor rhythm. “Dear Delilah” is the song that caught Lennon’s and Doran’s interest. It alternates brooding verses with a beaty, heavily-flanged chorus, but, in my opinion, it’s more of a period piece than a psych-pop classic. “Someday Soon” closes the album and is a ballad with descending chords and simply huge production—even The Walker Brothers never attempted an arrangement this grandiose. A jazzy sax solo is perhaps the high point of the track.

Four singles were released from Grapefruit: “Dear Delilah,” “Elevator,” “C’mon Marianne” and “Someday Soon.” “Dear Delilah” and “C’mon Marianne” charted the highest, reaching #12 and #25 on the British charts respectively (no single charted in the US). In yet another Beatle connection, Paul McCartney directed the promo film for “Elevator.”

A second album, Deep Water, was released in 1969 and was significantly less successful, both commercially and critically. Shortly thereafter, Grapefruit broke up. Alexander worked with George Young and Harry Vanda on various songwriting and production projects, but never worked in another band or released another album. Pete Settenham became a recording engineer and brother Geoff went on to record with Matthew Fisher, among others. John Perry reemerged in the late-’70s with the great pop-punk band, The Only Ones.

Around Grapefruit was reissued on CD by Repertoire Records in 2005 (with twelve bonus tracks, mostly single mixes) and is still in print. The album is also readily available in the digital domain for both streaming and downloads. The original vinyl is typically pricey but easily found online. Fans of late ’60s Beatles should definitely not miss this one!

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Pop Pioneer and “Lost Treasures” writer, Peter Marston is the leader of long-running power pop band, Shplang, whose most recent album, “My Big Three Wheeler” has been described as “the Beatles meet Zappa in pop-psych Sumo match.”  Peter has a new project in 2015 under the name MARSTON.   They will have a track on the upcoming “Power Pop Planet – Volume 5” compilation shipping February, 2016.

You check it out at this link:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shplang

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LINKS:

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit_(band)

All Music Guide:  http://www.allmusic.com/album/around-grapefruit-mw0000740575

Blog Post: http://therockasteria.blogspot.com/2014/09/grapefruit-around-grapefruit-1968-uk.html

VIDEOS:

“ELEVATOR”
“YES”
“BREAKING UP A DREAM”