Richard Allen’s Liner Notes for the Sommor Re-Release of Earth Harmony

In 1969 18 years old drummer Jonnie Miles moved to London where he met up with guitarist Clive Blenkhorn. Jonnie had been in a band called Earth, not the Ozzy Osbourne crew but one based in Kilmarnock in Scotland. Earth had been a blues-based outfit obsessed with the likes of John Mayall, The Animals, Kinks and Cream. Clive and Jonnie had similar tastes in music and since they shared a yearning to write original material and perform in front of an audience, immediately hit it off. It was then that they met bass playing Scotsman Smith Campbell and guitarist Roger Clarke. Smith had spent some time in Wales and had played with local Welsh outfit ” The Tren Setts” as well as Gale Force 4, Shades of Blue, MacNamara’s Band and Billy Boy and Funky Street. He was also briefly in progressive folk band Chimera backing Lisa Bankoff and Francesa Garnett but not long enough to feature on any of their recordings.

Clive was to become the lead singer, front man and main songwriter of Hokus Poke and it is his voice that is predominant on their sole record ‘Earth Harmony’, originally released in 1972 on Vertigo and now reissued herewith for your delight. Clive played a cherry red Gibson SG whilst Roger used a 1959 Gibson Les Paul which, together with Smith’s Fender precision bass and Jonnie’s Ludwig drum kit, gave the band an authentic classic rock sound. Jonnie muses fondly “Clive hailed from Northern England. He was a thoughtful, intense depressive with a highly developed sense of humour, and he was a good friend to me. He would get frustrated sometimes with the music and throw his guitar across the room, even though he was turning into a pretty good soulful vocalist and songwriter; check out the lyrics on ‘Down in The Street’ one of the last songs we wrote as Hokus Poke. Roger was from London and was also a good guy and very funny! He was not as complex and moody as Clive, but he was a talented and accomplished musician and could play anything; he worked out all the harmony guitar parts that were a big part of the Hokus Poke sound. Certainly, we were a tight group and not just creatively…check out the hair!”

Having established a musical connection Smith, Jonnie, Roger and Clive formed Hokus Poke. Jonnie suggests the name was probably a send up of technical prog bands like Focus (‘Hocus Pocus’). Smith adds “I initially suggested Hokus Pokus and then Roger Clarke said that since we were a rocky band the name should be shortened to ‘Poke’ which we all agreed to since at the time the word ‘poke’ meant a fast car or a loud amplifier which seemed perfect!”

The band rehearsed in various rehearsal rooms in West London and their aim from the outset was to realise a twin-guitar, blues orientated sound with the guitars counterpointing and harmonising, depending on the songs. It was always a collaboration, and the song writing was developed by all the band members working together, with each band member contributing their own ideas. However, despite some roots in the blues the bands sound was very different to most rock bands in the UK at the time primarily because their major influences were American. Smith notes” Roger and I were into American rock bands like Joe Walsh and the James Gang and Leslie West and Mountain but in any event, I grew up on a diet of Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. Clive was probably more into the Blues side of things which came out in his expressive guitar work” Jonnie adds “We were all into American hard rock albums from the ‘States; the studio sound and groove was to my ear preferable to the UK sound at that time. My roots are the blues and then Stax and Motown. The song ’Time and Space’ on the Earth Harmony album is a good example of the stripped-down groove I was going for back then (and still am!). That track was the first one we recorded, prior to entering George Martin’s AIR Studios”

Hokus Poke perfected their sound performing in pubs and clubs in London such as The White Lion in Fulham, The Café des Artistes in Earls Court, The Speakeasy in Margaret Street, the Marquee club in Wardour Street and Kensington and Ealing Technical colleges. It wasn’t long before the boys were spotted by the legendary performer and impresario Kenny Lynch during a residency at The Greyhound in Fulham Palace Road. Kenny Lynch was of West Indian descent and a well-known mainstream entertainer however he also loved rock and roll and had written the hit ’Sha La La La Li’ for The Small Faces. Kenny immediately took to the heavy, soulful American rock sound of Hokus Poke and became their number one fan signing them to his Specs Music publishing company.

Smith recalls Kenny as a very personable guy “He was likeable and funny…no airs and graces as such but he liked rock bands. I recall a late night at Kenny’s House in Nettlebed in Henley on Thames when it was dark and the garden lights weren’t working, Kenny said “Follow me lads. I’ll roll my eyes!!” which might seem shocking today but reflects the time”. Kenny contributed backing vocals to the bands album and played claves on ‘Big World, Small Girl’ a testament to his commitment to their cause.

Through Kenny’s contacts the band secured a deal with Vertigo and studio time at George Martin’s AIR Studios which had just opened in Oxford Street. It had the best engineers and technicians although the band produced the album with their help. Jonnie is still proud of the result “It sounded fabulous on those big monitors, and we all thought it was going to be a huge hit! It was an amazing experience, but sadly the record company did not spend the same kind of money on the promotion as they did on the album recording” Smith also has fond memories of the recording sessions “AIR Studios was a blast. There was a lot of people around and we met the great George Martin and had a pleasant chat with him. The album material was in the main self-produced with most of the guitar stuff being Roger and Clive whilst Jonnie and I worked on the rhythm section. It all came together well. There were AIR studios desk men and tape operators also advising on the takes. I think we had only six days to record the album and that’s how long it took for us to do it and I think another few days for the mix “

Whilst playing with the Tren Setts in Newtown in Wales Smith had befriended a local paper reporter called John Kelly. John had moved to London to open his own Orange Studios in Pimlico. He soon became well known for fashion and Pop/Rock Photography working for Queen Magazine where the Art Director had connections with The Herd and Peter Frampton. As a result of this link John was asked to take some photos for the Beatles White Album which then opened the door to working with other major artists of the time such as Donovan, Humble Pie and Mary Hopkin. John’s girlfriend was Viv Neves who became the first nude model to grace the Times newspaper. Through Smiths friendship the band were able to secure John as the photographer for the album sleeve and subsequently a photo session took place at Kenny Lynch’s home in Nettlebed.

When the album was released, there was supposed to be a launch party, but Specs Music being short of funds it never materialised. The band was signed to a booking agency but because the music was hard to categorise, espousing a style of soulful hard rock that was more popular in the USA, the agency failed to generate much interest. Whilst Hokus Poke had continued to perform successfully at pubs and clubs they never made the big breakthrough required to move up to a level that was viable in the longer term. The album sold relatively well initially but not well enough to provide an income or expand the bands fanbase. The lack of intertest generated the inevitable discussion about unpaid bills and an atmosphere of disillusionment took hold, before the band eventually ground to a halt. Soon after that Hokus Poke drifted apart.

Jonnie went on to play with Carol Grimes Band (Uncle Dog) and Quintessence offshoot Kala and then moved to Ireland to join a country rock outfit called Rodeo who became a part of the pub rock scene in London with a residency at The Hope and Anchor – where Dave Robinson (Stiff Records) recorded the band. Out of that came the band Albania who recorded an album (another collector’s item!) called ‘Are You All Mine’ for Chiswick Records in London. In 1985 Jonnie went to live in New York City and started a professional photography business photographing the likes of BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, Cab Calloway and many others. He recorded a CD in Power Station studios with a NYC band called The Prostitutes, but two members then sadly passed away.

After leaving Hokus Poke Smith was asked by John Simms to play bass with his Band Clear Blue Sky which led to offshoot outfit Needle, purveyors of heavy Space Rock. Needle were managed by Connie and Ken Wyatt also members of The Who design team and they not only recorded demos at Shepperton Studios but also found support from none other than John Entwistle. John jammed with Needle on the odd occasion and purchased new instruments for
the band and Smith is still the proud owner of the bass guitar that John gave to him.

These days Smith and Jonnie are still active making music through the usual streaming platforms. Smith operates through his Kinsongs Project whilst Jonnie is also writing recording and releasing original material. Both look back on their time as one half of Hokus Poke with fondness.

Roger has sadly passed away whilst the whereabouts of Clive is unknown. “It’s a shame we couldn’t find any info on Clive, being the voice and main songwriter of Hokus Poke” ponders Jonnie “I do have a memory of meeting him years later in a music store on Tottenham Court Road in London. He was working there in the guitar department and came through into the drum department when he heard someone playing a display kit. That someone was me! Clive
said that he had recognized the drum style immediately and thus we met again briefly! I wish we had stayed in touch, but I was just passing through”

Listening to Hokus Poke’s album now the band clearly had the makings of a top line band but as is often the way they not only failed to find the break they needed but did not realize just how good they were at the time.