Serpent’s Tail will publish “White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s” (ISBN: 1-85242-910-0) by one-time Pink Floyd producer Joe Boyd. The book will be in U.S. stores in April.
Boyd, a native of Boston, Mass., ran the London branch of Elektra Records until late 1966. In early ’67, he produced Pink Floyd’s first single, “Arnold Layne,” and its B-side, “Candy and a Currant Bun.”
“Arnold Layne” reached #20 on the U.K. charts, despite a ban by Radio London prompted by the song’s storyline of a man whose fondness for borrowing women’s undergarments lands him behind bars.
Boyd’s resume includes work with Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Fairport Convention, REM and many others. As the head of Warner Bros. Films, he worked on the soundtracks of “Deliverance,” “A Clockwork Orange” and others.
“White Bicycles” is Boyd’s account of helping shape the music scene of mid-’60s London, including starting the UFO Club, the one-time center of that city’s counterculture, where the Floyd first gained attention for its full-on psychedelic jams.
Fledgling Records will release a companion CD for the book in May. The 23-track album will include “Arnold Layne,” as well as music by Eric Clapton, The Purple Gang, Nick Drake, Nico, The Incredible String Band and others.
Boyd lives in London and writes for The Guardian, The Independent and others.
Serpent’s Tail is a 20-year-old independent book publisher in London owned by Profile Books Ltd.
“White Bicycles” is 282 pages and retails for $18 (£11.99).
Order your copy of the book online now. Place your order for the companion CD, too.
