In the late 1960s, after scoring a hit with "Big Time
Operator", the Big Roll Band metamorphosed for a while
into the prototype psychedelia outfit Dantalian's Chariot.
Sharing bills with the likes of Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett
vintage), Soft Machine and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown,
there were a lot of goings-on with white khaftans, lava
lamps and sweet-smelling incense at the most underground
of clubs, but despite all this and an inspired crop of songs,
for various reasons no more than a single, "Madman
Running Through The Fields", saw the light of day until
the fabled "Chariot Rising" album was released
thirty years on in 1997.
A brief stint with Eric Burdon's American-based New Animals
followed, and Zoot decided to stay in the USA for a bit.
At this point he began picking up acting roles, starting
a parallel career which has continued ever since with character
appearances in many high profile film and TV dramas.
On the musical side
Zoot featured with (amongst others) the Grimms, Ellis, Centipede,
Kevin Coyne and Kevin Ayers before signing up in 1980 to Paul
McCartney's label, MPL, to record the Jim Diamond-produced
Mr. Money.
In addition to his live music and acting talents Zoot is no
mean songwriter - his song "It Never Rains But It Pours"
was recorded by Jimmy Witherspoon, for example, and he has
also written for such artists as Lulu, Maggie Bell and Long
John Baldry. His prodigious musical knowledge is also called
on from time to time as a radio programming consultant, and
more recently Zoot turned producer for two very different
artists: soul diva Ruby Turner ("Call Me By My Name"
- Indigo Records, 1999) and up-and-coming indie singer-songwriter
Woodstock Taylor ("Road Movie" - Cuppa Records, 2002). |
