64 Spoons

64 Spoons
Origin	Watford, England
Genres	Jazz-funk fusion, new wave, rock
Years active	1976–1980
Labels	Freshly Cut Records
Associated acts	Jakko Jakszyk, Level 42, 21st Century Schizoid Band, The Teardrop Explodes

64 Spoons (also known as The Legendary 64 Spoons, or simply The Spoons) were a British rock/pop band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, who utilised strong elements of progressive rock, jazz-fusion, punk energy and performance comedy. Though the band never met with commercial success during their career, they were notable for being the launch-pad for the musical careers of the band's members (most notably lead singer and guitarist Jakko Jakszyk and drummer/keyboard player Lyndon Connah).

Due to the formal musical training and tastes of the band members, 64 Spoons were a musically accomplished and eclectic band who merged "ten-minute collections of rich jazz chords, contrapuntal bass lines, and liquid guitar solos" with a strong sense of pop and bathetic English comedy. The band’s progressive rock (Hatfield and the North, Egg, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Allan Holdsworth), classical (Bartók, Delius) and avant-garde (Henry Cow, Frank Zappa) influences were mingled with disco, West Coast sounds, and various types of ‘60s and ‘70s pop. Jakko Jakszyk remembers that "We played our, at times, complex compositions with a punk-like ferocity and made sure that the lyrics to the songs were consciously unpretentious. Indeed, they contained a level of wit and imagery that would embarrass a Carry On scriptwriter. There were musical and visual jokes aplenty. Three years into our career and we were once memorably described as 'Stravinsky meets The Barron Knights." Reflecting the band's youth, song topics included various forms of social and sexual awkwardness ("It’s Only A Party", "Aggressive Travelling"), resistance to domesticity ("Plonder On"), the frustrations of suicide methods ("Ich Bin Heidi") and the music business ("The Do's and Don'ts Of Path Laying"), running away from home ("Dear Clare") and a rumination on pets and the afterlife ("Tails In The Sky").

...
Wikipedia