Tractor

In 1966, the group “The Way We Live” was organized in a school in the English city of Rochdale . The group included Jim Milne (guitar, vocals), Steve Clayton (drums), Michael Batsch (bass) and Alan Bourget (vocals). Soon, Bourget and Batsh left the band, and manager and sound engineer John Brierly became the third participant. The three musicians work a lot in the studio and experiment with sound ^[2] .

The result of the work was a demo tape, which was sent to the DJ “ BBC Radio One ” John Peel , the owner of the label Dandelion Records . Dandelion Records representative Clive Selwood liked the film so much that a contract had been signed for several days. The musicians arrived in London to record their debut album. He was named “ A Candle for Judith ” and was recorded in just a couple of days. In January 1971, the disc was already on sale, prompting positive criticism in the press, for example, “ Time Out ” called it “ full of depth and eclecticism, broad in genre aspect ” ^[1] . Nevertheless, the album did not become commercially successful and did not achieve success in the charts.

Dandelion Records decided to continue working by changing the group name to Tractor. The first release under this banner was the maxi-single “Stoney Glory”, which, in addition to the title track, recorded “Marie” and “As You Say”.

In 1972, the musicians returned to Rochdale and recorded there an album, called simply “ Tractor ”. The disc also received good feedback and featured in some charts. By the end of 1973, he reached the pinnacle of commercial success - the 19th position in the charts of Radio Luxembourg (leaving Uriah Heep behind The Magician's Birthday ) and the 30th position in the best-selling album published by Virgin Records ^[3] . In the same year, the team began a concert activity. The audience enthusiastically met the team, putting them on a par with the most influential groups of the progressive scene of the time - Can , Pink Floyd , Hawkwind . With the latest Tractor played a joint concert during the Hawkwind tour in Rochdale . ^[one]

In 1974, a conflict broke out between Milne and Brierley, who saw the future of Tractor music in different ways. As a result, Brierly leaves the group, and Alan Bourget, who has returned to the group, now performs the duties of the sound engineer. Soon the problems with the label began - the single Roll the Dice, made with a reggae bias, disappointed the management of Dandelion Records and Tractor were left without a contract. By 1975, the ensemble ceased all activity.

In 1976, the musicians gather again, and Chris Hewitt becomes the group's manager. The group founds the company Tractor Music, which owned a studio and a rehearsal room. For the organization of the concert activity was expanded - Dave Addison became the bass guitar player. The group is actively touring all sorts of clubs, bars and halls. After the festival “Deeply Vale Free Festival”, in which “Tractor” participated, Steve Clayton decides to “tie” with the music. Brent Whitworth comes to his place temporarily.

In 1977, Clayton returns and the band continues its concert activities in the same lineup. In the same year, the musicians made peace with John Brierly, who recorded, produced and financed the release of their new single, “No More Rock'n'Roll”, with a circulation of 600 copies ^[3] .

The next two years, the Tractor was practically inactive. Milne played in local teams, Addison went abroad. The group became more active in 1980, having replenished the lineup with keyboard player Tony Crabtree, they had a great tour, and then released the single “Average Mans Hero” ^[1] .

In 1981, Dave Addison and Tony Crabtree leave the band. Bass guitar player Kiran Miskel and keyboard player Dave Goldberg take their places. In the 80s the team toured little and soon ceased to exist ^[3] .

In the early 1990s, the albums Tractor ^[4] and A Candle for Judith (as The Way We Live) ^[5] were reissued on CD in Germany .

In 1991, the Worst Enemies CD was released, containing songs written for the band's third studio album, which was never released due to the termination of the contract with Dandelion Records .

In 1992, the compilation Original Masters was published, which included recordings of 1970 songs, which later entered the album A Candle for Judith , as well as previously unreleased tracks and live recordings.

In 1998, previously unreleased songs were released on the disc “Before, During and After the Year”.

The duo of Milne and Clayton again began performing in 2001. In 2002, he performed at the Glastonbury Festival , and in 2003 at ^[6] .

In 2010, the songs “Angle” and “King Dick II” were included in the soundtrack to the film Garik Sukachev “ House of the Sun ” ^[7] , based on the tale of Ivan Okhlobystin's “House of the Rising Sun” ^[8] .

In 2012, the commemorative edition of The Road From Townhead Mill was published on two vinyl records . The kit also includes a CD version of the album. In addition to the well-known fans of a group of songs, several previously unpublished tracks were included on the disc ^[9] .

• Jim Milne - guitar, vocals, bass guitar (1966-1983)
• Steve Clayton - drums, bass guitar (1966-1976, 1977-1983)
• Alan Bourget - vocals (1966), sound engineer (1974-1977)
• Michael Batsh - bass guitar (1966)
• Dave Addison - Bass Guitar (1976–1981)
• Brent Whitworth - the drums (1976-1977)
• Tony Crabtree - keyboards (1980-1981)
• Kiran Miskella - bass guitar (1981—1983)
• Dave Goldberg - keyboards (1981-1983)
• John Brierley - manager (1966–1974), sound engineer (1966–1974, 1977–1983)
• Chris Hewitt - Manager (1976–1983)

Studio Albums

• 1971 - A Candle for Judith ( The Way We Live )
• 1972 - Tractor

Singles

• 1971 - King Dick II ( The Way We Live )
• 1972 - Stoney Glory / Marie / As You Say
• 1974 - Roll The Dice
• 1977 - No More Rock'n'Roll
• 1981 - Average Man's Hero

Other releases

• 1991 - Worst Enemies
• 1992 - Original Masters ( The Way We Live / Tractor )
• 1998 - Before, During and the Dandelion Years
• 1999 - Steve's Hungarian Novel ( The Way We Live / Tractor )
• 2012 - The Road From Townhead Mill
• 2013 - The Art Of Being Steve Clayton

• John peel

• Forgotten Prog-Rock: Tractor Group // Article on the Tractor Group on the ProRok and ProRok website
• Tractor (inaccessible link) // Tractor on the site of "Hard Rock Cafe"
• Biography Tractor // Biography of the Tractor Group on Last.fm