Vince Twizz & The Twizzmen

Vince Twizz & The Twizzmen
'Dance With Me, Madam' c/w 'Yellow Influence'
Released 1st May 1967. Special Records SPR 6795
Vince Twizz (vcls, marracas), Norbert Stem (guitar, dancing), Rustrum Hornblower (electric harpsichette), Jim 'Jimmy' James (bass), Rupert Burdett-Coots (drums), Darwin Pardew (zitherotron, whispy stick)

It was in Abbey Road Studios in the winter of 1966 that Vince Twizz & The Twizzmen changed the face of popular music and re-invented psychedelia.

"Vince had written this great song about asking a bird to dance and then when she said 'Yes', just walking away", says Harpsichette player Rustrum Hornblower. "We decided to record it in the most adventurous way possible. For a start, every single instrument was backwards. We turned the tape over and it sounded great. The whole song was obviously in reverse as well, but that didn't deter Twizzy".

Vince Twizz proceeded to improvise a whole new melody against the now nonsensical backing track.

When it came to the mixing, Vince insisted that every instrument and vocal track be on the left side of the stereo picture. This was to be their first stereo single and Vince wanted to impress.

"It was an experiment in sound", says Rustrum. "Unfortunately, EMI thought it sounded beyond terrible and refused to release it".

But help was at hand. Sir Spike Tetherington-Lewis, the alcoholic chairman of EMI, listened to the song and was impressed by the way that the empty right channel allowed him space to think of other things. 'Dance With Me, Madam' was finally released on the first of January 1967 and sank without trace. "