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Fludd
...On!
Daffodil - 1972
Michael Panontin
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"Only in Canada can you play Maple Leaf Gardens, get two encores, and go home on the bus."
That quote, often attributed to others but actually by Fludd's bass player Greg Godovitz, says quite a lot about the fledgling Canadian music biz back in the seventies, a time when you could have huge hits north of the 49th yet be virtually unknown elsewhere in the world.
Fludd certainly had their share of success, charting an impressive eleven singles in Canada between 1971 and 1975. But, in keeping with Godovitz's words, they were nobodies in the US and are pretty well forgotten today, save for the occasional spin on AM radio of their best-remembered tune, the lazy, country-tinged 'Cousin Mary'.
The Toronto group trace their origins to the childhood friendship of Godovitz and Brian Pilling, who bonded over a shared love of the Beatles - an adoration so strong that it would inspire the pair to run across a field as if they were being chased by adoring fans, just like their heroes in A Hard Day's Night. That quest for fame began in earnest in a band called the Pretty Ones, which Godovitz formed with Pilling's brother Ed. But that group, which for a short time was part of the hip Yorkville scene, broke up when the Pilling brothers moved across the ocean to Birmingham, UK. When the two returned, no doubt buoyed by their time in England spent touring with Cat Stevens, they reunited with Godovitz to form Fludd, adding guitarist Mick Walsh and drummer John Andersen.
Fludd flew out to California to record their self-titled debut album, which spawned 'Turned 21', a blatantly Beatle-esque single that shot up to #16 here in Canuckistan. For Godovitz, who was still in his teens, it was a head-spinning time. "We had all those hit records when we were kids," he would later recall for radio veteran John Beaudin. "I was only 19 when 'Turned 21' came out."
For the follow-up, ...On!, Fludd switched labels from Warner Bros. to the local upstart Daffodil, whose roster at the time included the likes of King Biscuit Boy, Christmas and Crowbar. (And in what could have been an outtake for Spinal Tap, the album was originally intended to be called Cock On! - with the guys appearing on the cover naked except for trench coats - but Daffodil skittishly declined.)
...On! was recorded at Manta Sound in the final months of 1972, and it was a considerable leap forward for Fludd. For one thing, the Pillings, who were writing the bulk of the group's songs at the time, showed a marked maturity in their craft, especially on the album's first single, 'Always Be Thinking of You', a hard-rocking anthem that almost put them up there with heavyweights like Wishbone Ash or Free. Also, keyboardist Peter Czanky was brought in to replace Walsh, which added a lighter touch to some of the record's better tracks, notably 'Yes', with its nods to Badfinger, and the wispy 'Ticket to Nowhere'.
Strangely, 'Cousin Mary' was issued almost as an afterthought. With the moderate success of the three singles from ...On!, Daffodil agreed to make another album and sent the guys to Richard Branson's Manor studio in the UK. But as luck would have it, Oldfield was already there working on his sprawling Tubular Bells, leaving no time for Fludd to record. Daffodil revisited the remaining tracks on ...On! and found one more single.
'Cousin Mary', a song about a woman who had lost her husband in the war, seemed to resonate with Canadians, many of whom had similar stories in their own families. Godovitz and the others were hardly surprised. "We knew it was a hit the minute we rehearsed it." The single came out in Sept. '73 and by January the following year it had peaked at #17 nationally. It did even better out west, reaching #11 in Vancouver and #6 in Kamloops.
Fludd would release a final album called Great Expectations in 1975, but by then Godovitz, who felt his songwriting skills were being ignored, had left to form Goddo. He and Pilling would remain pals for life. But Pilling unfortunately left his friend with few options. "I was writing good songs, but they were never going to get heard," Godovitz remembered. "I think my mother was talking to the late great Brian Pilling one day and said to him, 'You know, Gregory is writing some pretty good songs' and he said, 'With all due respect Mrs. Godovitz, Fludd is my band'."
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