East Of Eden
Formed in 1968, this versatile UK group originally consisted of Dave Arbus (violin), Ron Gaines (alto saxophone), Geoff Nicholson (lead guitar), Andy Sneddon (bass) and Geoff Britton (drums). Their debut MERCATOR PROJECTED, offered an imaginative brew of progressive rock, jazz and neo-eastern predilections, but this robust, avant garde direction contrasted with the novelty tag placed on the group in the wake of their surprise hit single, Jig A Jig. This lightweight, fiddle-based instrumental reached number 7 in the UK in April 1971, and in the process confused prospective audiences. East Of Eden was plagued by personnel problems and by 1972 had shed every original member. Joe O'Donnell (violin), Garth Watt-Roy (guitar, ex- Greatest Show On Earth), Martin Fisher (bass) and Jeff Allen (drums, ex-Beatstalkers) then maintained the group's name before their demise later in the decade. Meanwhile, Arbus gained further acclaim for his contributions to the Who's WHO'S NEXT album while Geoff Britton later joined Wings.