Egg
Egg was formed in July 1968 by Dave Stewart (keyboards), Hugh Montgomery Mont Campbell (bass/vocals) and Clive Brooks (drums). The three musicians were all previous members of Uriel, a flower-power influenced group which had featured guitarist Steve Hillage. Egg recorded two albums, EGG and THE POLITE FORCE, between 1970 and 1972. Stylistically similar to the Soft Machine, these releases featured Stewart's surging keyboard work and a complex, compositional flair, bordering on the mathematical. The group's aficionados were thus stunned when Brooks abandoned this experimental path for the more orthodox, blues-based Groundhogs, and his departure resulted in Egg's demise. Stewart rejoined former colleague Hillage in the short-lived Khan, before replacing David Sinclair in Hatfield And The North. However, the three original members of Egg were later reunited for the final album, THE CIVIL SURFACE, on the Virgin Records subsidiary label, Caroline, before dissolving again. Stewart and Campbell remained together in another experimental group, National Health, but then embarked on separate paths. The former has latterly enjoyed several hit singles by rearranging well-known '60s songs. It's My Party, a collaboration with singer Barbara Gaskin, topped the UK charts in 1981 but, for all their charm, such releases contrast the left-field explorations of his earlier trio.