The Doves story

 'In that magical, halcyon summer of '67 - bells, beads, sunshine, 'Sgt. Pepper' and what not, Jeff Beck had a group incorporating Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood and a house just around the corner from where I was living in Sutton, Surrey. I had been to school with Jeff and when he toured with his band across Holland, Germany and other such exotic destinations, he would leave his dogs with me to look after. I longed to be in a band that traveled somewhere different every night; the gypsy in my soul was stirring.
    Out of the blue, Terry Clark, singer & rhythm guitarist of the Herd and the band's manager Billy Gaff, asked me whilst sitting in the latter's Morris Minor 1000 Traveler, if I would like to join them. You can imagine my enthusiasm... but before anything came to fruition, the Herd broke up and reformed. Terry and Mick Underwood (Drums) had refused to be pop stars for a mere £12-a-week and departed, to be succeeded by Peter Frampton and Andrew Steele. Meanwhile, I was daydreaming on who the personnel for my ideal band line-up would be, Terry and Mick being top choices. On next speaking to them, they were enthused by my suggestion of forming a new band, which was thereafter conceived under the working moniker of Clockwork Orange (Nothing to do with the 1966 Ember recording of 'Ready Steady', by a band of the same name, of which I was blissfully ignorant, as were Messrs. Clark and Underwood, who were at that time busy recording & touring with the Herd). I added Chris Lamborn on bass (already with a local band called the Corsairs) and the best local lead guitarist, Ian 'Sneaky' McGlynn.        
        Because of my large social scene, we started to perform immediately at debutante parties, weddings and local village halls. During this embryonic stage we recorded a self-written demo track entitled 'Crying Sun', in a local Cheam, Surrey studio.
    Almost on a flying pie, 100-Watt Marshall equipment arrived, as well as a sparkling new Commer Van. Agents were attracted by positive reports and a more prestigious stream of gigs alongside big named attractions followed, each prefaced by the diligent preparations of our road crew who would chauffeur the equipment in the Commer, whilst we traveled by car... oh, what luxury!  At this point, Mike Underwood introduced Harvey Hinsley into the lineup to replace Ian McGlynn, who was preoccupied by his school studies and Terry introduced his neighbour, Brian Curtis for a trial on bass, completing the core ensemble.
    Our setlist was composed largely of somewhat obscure yet memorable material from American West-Coast harmony bands, our heavy interpretations of which were accompanied by our own colourful compositions. Visually, four microphones were placed across the front of the stage, tended to by four rather attractive slim gentlemen, all vying for the spotlight, with a horde of young ladies clamouring to place strings of miniature bells around our necks.
    Due to a fast growing following, several record companies and producers approached us with recording offers, including John Edward, who was a DJ on pirate station, Radio London. We accepted John's advance and allowed him to mould us into a top London attraction. He insisted that we define our own identity and suggested the name Doves, a derivation of my surname to which no' body objected. 
    John Edward eventually offered to produce a one-off single at Decca. From the material we presented to him he selected my composition 'Smokeytime Springtime' and arranged for us to record the track in late Autumn '67 at Decca's West Hampstead Studios, London. The intended B-side, 'I'll Cry If You Make Me' was written and sung by Terry Clark. It was an exciting session in which we experimented with backward tapes and tone control on the guitars; a thrilling experience.
     The Moody Blues were recording 'Nights in White Satin' on the same day in Studio 1 and after having met John and Justin in the loo, they invited me into their session whilst we were waiting for the fabulous Tom Jones, who was still working in our proposed studio; he had one track left to record for his album and had asked if we would wait whilst he and his brass section chose, arranged and performed the song, all of which took only half-an-hour... four hours into our session, I was still struggling, never having been in a proper recording studio before. I remember the difficulty in getting my ideas across, but from the finished product I feel I succeeded.
    John Edward's fine production failed to secure a release with Decca and our association ceased, however, because of our continued popularity, other agents booked us and EMI emerged to offer us a test at Abbey Road.
    We arrived at 9am, February 4th 1968, rather nervous and under-rehearsed. The Beatles (of course) passed us bleary-eyed (or something . . . ) on our way in and I recall that when we arrived in Studio 2, Norman Smith, the engineer, was running off some tape for 'Lady Madonna', which I presume they had been working on in an overnight session. We recorded our interpretation of 'She's Not There' amongst their musical debris; I always remember that there was a strange omnipresent fug hanging in the air, which made me feel rather nauseous; there were also fluorescent lights, covered with pink cellophane, further adding to the hazy atmosphere - I longed to open the push bars and let some fresh air in. It was a condition of the test that we take a second hand song and interpret it in the manner of Vanilla Fudge. A band whose work, introduced to us by Jeff Beck,  had greatly inspired my original thoughts on forming the band; ironically, it would be the final act of this line-up.
    After 'She's Not There' was also declined for release by EMI, Terry, Mike & Harvey left and by the end of Summer '68, Doves became known as World War III for a few concerts, with a revised personnel list before diffusing completely.

         Each core band member drifted into their own new respective projects; I continued to perform in a singer-songwriter capacity, signing with George Martin's AIR production company, Mick joined Episode Six and then formed the band Quatermass, who were also signed with AIR. Harvey went on to shine in Hot Chocolate while both Terry and Brian emigrated to Perth, Australia, there forming a band named the Birds.

        Over the time of Clockwork Orange and the Doves, we had two drummers (Mike Underwood & Gary Lonsdale), three bass players (Chris Lamborn, Brian Curtis & Mike Howard) and three lead guitarists (Ian McGlynn, Harvey Hinsley & Alan Curtis). I was the only constant member as lead vocalist.

         I heard 'She's Not There' in finished form for the first time since the original session, two days ago, forty-four years later and was astounded by both it's existence and how good it was! I also had a similar experience a couple of years ago, when my son played the, thought-long-lost, 'Smokeytime Springtime' to me rather loudly, to which I reacted "Please, turn that racket off!", before the realisation dawned, that I was listening to my younger self; the kind of thrill other people could not experience in life, for which I feel greatly privileged and thankful for the efforts of those who cared to locate and rescue the original acetates.
I never considered that the Doves disbanded and I still believe ourselves spiritually together now, it was that kind of vibe . . .'

                        Henry Turtle         
                                                                         Midsummer's Day, 2011  

                       Critiques

David Wells (September, 1995):

"Doves, unfortunately must remain something of a mystery - with no photographic evidence, no record releases and no gig guide mentions to help us out, it's tempting to think that they were just the figment of someone's imagination. If that's the case (and John Edward insists otherwise), then maybe we should all be blessed with the imagination that could create something so sublime as "Smokeytime Springtime", an irresistible floating psychedelic pop concoction that ploughs the same furrow as Turnstyle's "Riding a Wave", but arguably with greater success. The other featured track "I'll Cry If You Make Me", is closer to bubblegum pop, albeit with the same gossamer touch that ensures the song avoids much of the bland anonymity normally associated with the genre.

John Edward (October, 1995):

"Doves were a very creative group that deserved success but were sadly denied even a release. They wrote their own songs and, although inspired by the scene, were still original in their presentation. Named aptly by their leader Henry Turtle, they worked hard to regain their ground, but parted company with Instant (Promotion company) soon after the recording was turned down for release."

Modern Records (1996)

"Dating from around 1968. The Doves leave their mark with this completely over the top cover of The Zombies' classic ('She's Not There'), turning the latter combo's sweet harmonies into a menacing assault on the senses."

Live Setlist
ATLANTA BALLROOM,
WOKING (1967)
(Two 45 minute slots)

GREAT AIRPLANE STRIKE '60

GET READY
CHERRY CHERRY
YOUNGER GIRL
SHE'S NOT THERE (HENRY)
GOOD THING
SMOKEYTIME SPRINGTIME (original)
EIGHT MILES HIGH (SNEAKY)
IN MY COMMUNITY
I'M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE
LOUISE
MY FRIEND JACK
~
SECURITY
MY WHITE BICYCLE
LITTLE RED BOOK
SAY THOSE MAGIC WORDS
I'LL CRY IF YOU MAKE ME (TERRY) (original)
HIM OR ME
DID YOU EVER HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND
CRYING SUN (original)
YOU DON'T LOVE ME (MIKE)
CAN'T DANCE WITH YOU
NEVER MY LOVE (ALL)
LEAVING HERE
~

(ENC.) MY FRIEND JACK

Concerts
& Other Bills
(Various incarnations:
Clockwork Orange, Doves, World War III & Springfield Gap)

ALL SAINTS HALL, LONDON

ATLANTA BALLROOM, WOKING
* Tomorrow * Pink Floyd

BEAULIEU MOTOR MUSEUM, BEAULIEU FESTIVAL
Various including, Ten Years After

THE BLUES ROOM, EDMONTON

CAESARS', LUTON

CALIFORNIA BALLROOM, DUNSTABLE
* Cream * Small Faces * Amen Corner

LE CARE PUTNEY, LONDON
(Residency after midnight; often post gig - at least 20 times.)

CLUB-A-GO-GO, BOURNEMOUTH
* The Bunch

DEBUTANTE BALLS IN ASCOT (x3), HENLEY-ON-THAMES,
VIRGINIA WATER (X2) AND BEAULIEU, IN THE NEW FOREST.

FRAMLINGTON, NORFOLK
 * Paul and Barry Ryan (Depped for)

GROTEQUE CLUB, SUTTON
* The Ajays

HERMITAGE BALLROOM, HITCHIN, LUTON
* Katch 22 * Geranium Pond *

HIPPODROME, BRIGHTON

MARQUEE CLUB, LONDON
* The Action (Best band I ever saw)

MIDDLE EARTH, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON
* The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

THE NAUTILUS, LOWESTOFT PIER, SUFFOLK
* Wishful Thinking

OVERSEAS VISITOR'S CLUB, EARLS COURT, LONDON

PLUMPTON FESTIVAL
* The Pretty Things

END OF RAG CHARITY CONCERT, ROUNDHOUSE,
CAMDEN, LONDON
(Dep. for Gernium Pond)

SILVERBLADES ICE RINK, BIRMINGHAM
* The Move

SILVERBLADE ICE RINK, STRETHAM

SOMBRERO, EASTBOURNE

STARLIGHT BALLROOM, CRAWLEY
* Jimi Hendrix  * Amen Corner * Small Faces
* Wishful Thinking * Jimmy James and the Vagabonds

STARLIGHT BALLROOM, GREENFORD
* Duane Eddy * The Byrds * Small Faces x2
* Wishful Thinking * The Gods

SUFFOLK SHOW FESTIVAL

THE UPPERCUT, FOREST GATE, LONDON
* Jimi Hendrix * Marmalade * Small Faces

WALTON HOP, WALTON-ON-THAMES, LONDON
* The Smoke * The Flies * Paul and Barry Ryan

Henry Turtle
Riviera Record Co. 2011