Tintern Abbey were a British psychedelic rock band that were formed in late 1966 and professionally active between 1967 and 1968. The band are best remembered for their single "Vacuum Cleaner," which has been included on several compilation albums over the years.
History
Tintern Abbey were formed by Don Smith after meeting David MacTavish at the Overseas Visitors Club in Earl's Court London. Smith brought John Dalton into the band after a meeting in the Cromwellian Club in South Kensington and Mactavish brought Stuart Mckay into the band after a meeting at the dole office. Smith left the band after the release of "Beeside"/"Vacuum Cleaner" and completing work on "Snowman". MacTavish was later a member of Big Bertha and Velvet Opera, the latter of which latter-day Tintern Abbey guitarist Paul Brett also later joined. The band released only one 45rpm single on Deram Records, "Beeside"/"Vacuum Cleaner", in December 1967. Produced by Jonathan Webber, the single failed to sell. At this point the proposed follow up was a song called "Snowman" which had reached mastering stage when Smith left the group. After Smith's leaving, Paul Brett joined as a guitarist. Also, organist Terry Goldberg, originally of the Mark Leeman Five joined to the band. "How Do I Feel Today"/"Do What You Must", was slated for an April 1968 release but never appeared. A full-length LP was allegedly meant to follow in August 1968, but the group had disbanded by then. Since the band's breakup, the single "Beeside"/"Vacuum Cleaner" has been highly sought after by collectors and has been hailed as one of the best examples of British psychedelia. As such, the band has become something of a cult favorite. Among other places, "Vacuum Cleaner" was re-released on the Nuggets II compilation. A 7" vinyl EP was released by Paul Brett and John Dalton in 2006 of 4 of the band's 1968-era demo songs, including "How Do I Feel Today", as a benefit for Oxfam. These songs were recorded in 1968 at Tony Pike's studios in Putney, London, but never released until recently and they are the only copies of the original acetates. Paul Brett has a collection of songs from that era that he wrote for submission to the LP that never was, including a setting of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum". Brett intends to record these songs and release them to the public. Dave MacTavish as a solo artist released 1 single "Ooh La La" b/w "Collie Girl" on the Young Blood label in 1973 according to the label dates.
