Introduction
Hokus Poke were a London-based group who formed in the early 1970s and performed in many of the famous clubs, pubs and college venues in the capital.
This website has been created to bring together all available information on Hokus Poke. It includes the first-ever interview with Clive Blenkhorn, their lead guitarist, vocalist and main song writer, and provides links to existing interviews with other group members. It also features Richard Allen’s excellent liner notes from the 2022 re-release of the group’s Earth Harmony LP.
The Group
The group consisted of Clive Blenkhorn on vocals and lead guitar, Roger Clarke on lead guitar, Smith Campbell on bass guitar and Jonnie Miles on drums. In late 1972 or 1973 Jonnie Miles left the group and he was replaced by Pete Banham.
Discography
They recorded just one LP, entitled Earth Harmony, at George Martin’s Air Studios in 1971. The LP was released on the Vertigo Swirl label in 1972. The photos for the album were taken by John Kelly at Kenny Lynch’s house. John Kelly is most famous for his portraits of the Beatles included with The White Album.
Unfortunately, there was little or no promotion of the group or the LP by their management agency or by the record label. As a result, the LP sold poorly and Hokus Poke broke up in late 1972. Members of the group went their own ways and pursued other careers.
Earth Harmony is one of the rarest Vertigo Swirl LPs and collectors will now pay hundreds of pounds for original first pressings. For many years the LP was not available but it has been re-released on CD in Germany in 1991, on CD in Japan in 2012 and on LP in 2022 by Sommor in Spain. The Sommor LP is highly recommended: an excellent re-release that features the original die-cut gatefold sleeve and comprehensive liner notes by the UK journalist, Richard Allen. Earth Harmony is also available to stream on YouTube and Spotify, and digitally via Bandcamp.
Reviews of the LP speak very positively of the group’s musicianship and the originality of the song writing. Some of the reviews refer to a range of potential influences, such as Wishbone Ash as a result of the interplay between the two lead guitars and Americana as members of the group liked US bands such as Mountain. Many reviews comment on the quality of this, Hokus Poke’s only album, and speculate how great might have been a second LP had the group not broken up in 1972.
