{"id":7279,"date":"2025-09-30T11:52:46","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T10:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=7279"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:52:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T10:52:46","slug":"shindig-168-the-marmalade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=7279","title":{"rendered":"Shindig! #168 \u2013 The Marmalade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hated by John Peel, kings of clubland and regular visitors to the Top 10, THE MARMALADE were out to prove themselves at the dawn of the \u201970s. They entered the decade with a million-seller in America, but when chief songsmith Junior Campbell jumped ship, the band lost direction and purpose. <\/strong><\/p>\n

HUW THOMAS explores how Glasgow\u2019s finest made progressive music their preserve<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Decca debut Reflections Of The Marmalade<\/em> was a self-produced, self-composed statement. Opener \u2018Super Clean Jean\u2019, a Joe Cocker-style R&B knees-up, sets the tone for a tight 35-minute demonstration of all of the band\u2019s strengths; there\u2019s commercial, brassy-pop in \u2018Some Other Guy\u2019 but there\u2019s also the Moodys-like \u2018And Yours Is A Piece Of Mine\u2019 and the astonishing \u2018Kaleidoscope\u2019, a shimmering, alliterative gem featuring what sounds like a clavioline, reminiscent more of modern neo-psych than anything of its time. The closing track \u2018Life Is\u2019 sums up the new adult, cerebral Marmalade perfectly with its jolly chorus of, \u201cWhat are we living for, if not to die?\u201d The music weeklies were charmed; Disc<\/em>, who\u2019d previously had little time for an outfit they called \u201cthe last of the great teeny-boppers\u201d, wrote \u201cif The Marmalade carry on like this, there’ll be no stopping them\u201d. A wistful new single to accompany the album, the acoustic \u2018Rainbow\u2019, made #3 in the UK and continued the critical acclaim. Like \u2018Reflections\u2019, there was a deep melancholy at the heart of \u2018Rainbow\u2019, a trademark of Junior Campbell\u2019s writing. \u201cIt\u2019s worked out very well,\u201d Campbell beamed to The Evening Sentinel<\/em>. \u201cTeeny bopper music doesn\u2019t have the drawing power it had two years ago. The fans have now switched to groups like Ten Years After.\u201d<\/p>\n