The Music

This section provides information about the various Timebox releases.

 

Timebox was a singles band.  Only 6 years after they changed their name to Patto was a compilation of their five UK singles released as an LP, titled "The Original Moose on the Loose".  In 1998, the Timebox recordings for the Deram label, many previously unreleased, were made available on a CD titled "The Deram Anthology".  

Timebox searched hard for that hit single that would bring attention to the band, but it never really happened.  They tried the popular American pop and R&B sounds, straight-ahead rock, tinges of psychedelia, and even a novelty song.  Ollie's vibes in particular gave their tracks a unique sound.  They had just one minor hit and a fair amount of radio airplay in the UK with a fine cover version of a Four Seasons song, "Beggin", but that wasn't enough to get the public to buy up their successive singles.

Their limited success may also have been partly attributable to their stage repertoire being very little  like their singles.  Audiences would come expecting to hear their R&B/pop singles and instead hear jazz-rock, covers of early American rock and Beatles tunes, and the looning that would carry on through the years when the band was known as Patto.  Their act did, however, win over a cult audience which continued to grow in numbers during their Patto years. 

After nearly three years of failing to make a breakthrough on the singles charts and recording an aborted full-length album, Chris Holmes left the band.  In 1970, Timebox changed their name to Patto, and, no longer hampered by their quest for the big hit single,  began recording albums that were far more experimental and representative of the unique mix of rock and jazz music that they played in their live shows.

Check out Barry Monks's informative liner notes from the 1998 CD release, "The Deram Anthology" to read an overview of Timebox's career.

    

 The Singles, 1967 - 1969 

 "The Original Moose on the Loose"
1976 compilation of the Deram UK singles

"The Deram Anthology"
1998 compilation of the Deram recordings, many previously unreleased

    

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