Big Amongst Sheep ~ England

Striding Edge. 1980 private (MC)
Terminal Velocity. 1982 Rock Solid
Syndrome. 1983 Rock Solid (MC)

Here's a band I was familiar with way back in the day. They were sold through Lotus Records, a prog rock specialist mail order concern from England, and one of the earliest catalogs I ever received from the genre (1983 / 84 time frame). That's where I learned about bands like Haze, Pendragon, Twelfth Night, Red, and many more from the UK.

Then I completely forgot about Big Amongst Sheep. I mean completely. It was only recently I saw their Terminal Velocity album being sold online, and not for very much. Oh yea, I remember them! Never did hear their albums and don't recall ever having them on a wantlist, which tells me that Lotus Records wasn't hyping them as a prog band (at the very least). I think I might have those old catalogs here somewhere, and see what they originally said.

In researching the album, the data out there is also confusing. RYM says it's Space Rock. Discogs has the LP labeled as Space Rock too. However, same website has the cdr (not CD, hence it's placement on this blog) listed as New Wave, Pop Rock, Synth-Pop, and Power Pop. Truth is, it's all the above. You won't find it in ProgArchives (and yea, it would qualify). Even with Hawkwind's Nik Turner guesting on winds (and his presence is obvious), the album remains somewhat unknown. Given the latter's presence, I'm sure that's why the Space Rock tag was applied, something of a knee jerk reaction. 

Personally I was hoping for music like the great unheralded Body Album or maybe a proto Omnia Opera. No such luck. While listening to it, one can understand why this album has fallen through the cracks. It's certainly not proggy or trippy enough to capture the space rock audience. But it's not tough or snotty enough to appeal to punkers. It lacks hooks, and they hardly are a match for the synth pop stars of the day like Duran Duran or Depeche Mode. They have no feminine tendencies whatsoever. They look like your typical smelly English pub band from the early 80s. I'm more reminded of The Clash but with synthesizers, flute, sax, and more variety.

So what do you do with this album? It's way too arty for their preferred music choice. And yet not near arty enough to crossover to a different audience. All this to say, it's not a bad album at all. I can appreciate an album that sounds unique within expected boundaries. But I can't hear who the target audience may have been. And even for today, it's easy to understand why there's been no revival. The pseudo punky-space rock-power pop album. There's a niche audience for you.

As for their two cassettes, the debut is labeled by Discogs as Experimental and Post Punk. And the latter as Space Rock. RYM abdicated their responsibility on these. Your guess is as good as mine as to what the truth is.

Priority: none

4/8/26 (new entry)