Please Mind Your Head - String Driven Thing

Vinyl L.P - 20th Century Records - T-470.

1974 - U.S.A.

Sleeve: HIPGNOSIS, Peter Christopherson.

Retouching: Richard Manning.

Back cover

Labels

String Driven Thing

Alun Roberts - Electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, vocals.

James Exell - Bass, vocals.

Kimberley Beacon - Vocals.

Grahame Smith - Violin, viola.

Colin Fairley - Drums, percussion, vocals.

       About the artist and the album:

String Driven Thing is an influential Scottish progressive folk-rock band formed in Glasgow in 1967. The group is primarily known for their time on Charisma Records in the early 1970s, where they were notable for the prominent use of Graham Smith's electric violin and Pauline's vocals.

Founded by husband-and-wife team Chris and Pauline Adams along with John Mannion as a folk harmony trio, they released a low-profile self-titled debut album in 1970 on the Concord label. After moving to London, they were joined by violinist Graham Smith (who later joined Van der Graaf Generator) and bassist Colin Wilson. During this period, they recorded their most acclaimed works: String Driven Thing (1972) and The Machine That Cried (1973). They toured with bands such as Genesis and garnered attention from European critics.

In 1974, the Adamses left the group due to exhaustion and health problems. Graham Smith led a new lineup before the band disbanded. After years of inactivity, Chris Adams reformed the band in the 1990s and 2000s. Although Chris passed away in 2016, the group has maintained some sporadic activity.

Please Mind Your Head is their fourth studio album, originally released in 1974 and distributed by labels such as Charisma in the UK and 20th Century Records in the US.

It was co-produced by the band and A.D. Munt. The sessions took place at Escape Studios in Kent with engineer Tony Taverner. This album marked a transitional period for the group, following the departure of its founders Chris and Pauline.

The album spawned two singles: “Mrs. O’Reilly” (b/w “Keep On Moving”) and “Overdrive” (b/w “Timpani for the Devil”).