Biography
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Years Active
1966 – 1969 (3 years)
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Founded In
Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States
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Members
- Derek Shulman
- Elton John
- Eric Hine
- Martin Smith
- Phil Shulman
Simon Dupree & The Big Sound was a British psychedelic band formed in 1966 by three brothers: Derek Shulman (vocals), Phil Shulman (vocals, saxophone, trumpet), and Ray Shulman (guitar, violin, trumpet, vocals) who went on to form prog rock band Gentle Giant. Mainly known for their psychedelic single "Kites", in the early part of the twenty-first century a large amount of previously unreleased material surfaced.
Playing R&B around the Portsmouth area (home of the Shulman brothers) under various names, the band took the name Simon Dupree & the Big Sound in early 1966. Making up the rest of the group were Peter O'Flaherty (bass guitar) (born 8 May 1944, in Gosport, Hampshire), Eric Hine (keyboards) (born Eric Raymond Lewis Hines, 4 September 1944, in Portsmouth, Hampshire), and Tony Ransley (drums) (born Anthony John Ransley, 17 May 1944, in Portsmouth, Hampshire). Simon Dupree & the Big Sound' was chosen in the course of their search for a flashy name.
They broke through at the end of 1967 with the psychedelic "Kites", a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart. Regarding themselves as blue-eyed soul brothers, they hated it as it was so unrepresentative of their usual style.
The group released one studio album, "Without Reservations", on Parlophone Records (1967), and a compilation Amen (1980). The set, Part of My Past (2004), includes all their singles, album tracks and previously unreleased material prepared for their second album, release of which was cancelled at the time.
In late 1968, they released a single "We Are Th e Moles (Part 1)/(Part 2)" under the moniker The Moles.
Frustrated as being seen as one-hit wonders being pushed by their record label as a pop group rather than the soul band they had always intended to be, they disbanded in 1969 and the Shulman brothers went on to form the progressive rock group Gentle Giant.
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