Dantalian's Chariot

Dantalian's Chariot
Origin	London, England
Genres	Psychedelic rock
Years active	1967–1968
Labels	EMI, Wooden Hill
Past members	Zoot Money Andy Summers Pat Donaldson Colin Allen

Dantalian's Chariot was a British psychedelic rock band formed in 1967, led by keyboardist and bandleader Zoot Money, and also featuring Andy Summers (later of The Police). They are best remembered for their single "Madman Running Through the Fields", and for their live performances, which featured early psychedelic light shows. The band would all wear white robes and kaftans in concert, with all of their equipment painted white, to heighten the effect of these light shows. The group disbanded in April 1968, with Summers going on to join Soft Machine and Money joining Eric Burdon & The Animals.

In 1961, George Bruno "Zoot" Money formed the Big Roll Band, playing a mixture of soul, jazz, and R&B. Despite becoming a popular fixture on the London club circuit in the early-to-mid-1960s and releasing two albums on EMI's Columbia label, they had little commercial success. With the burgeoning psychedelic scene rendering the band's blend of jazz and R&B passé, Money split up the Big Roll Band in mid-1967 and formed a new band. This new group comprised Money on keyboards and vocals, Andy Somers (who later changed his surname to Summers) on guitar, Pat Donaldson on bass, and Colin Allen on drums. The new band's name, Dantalian's Chariot, was suggested by publicist Jim Ramble, and was derived from references to a devil, Duke Dantalion, in the mediaeval book on witchcraft, The Lesser Key of Solomon. The band made their first live appearance at the Windsor National Blues Festival in August 1967, which also featured the debut public performance of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, as well as performances by The Nice, Arthur Brown, and Ten Years After. The band rapidly gained a strong live reputation and their light show, which had been brought over from San Francisco, was regarded as one of the best in London at that time. To heighten the effect of the spectacular light show being projected onto them, the musicians would all dress in white robes, with their instruments and equipment also painted white.

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