Graeme Taylor talks about his career
in and outside Gryphon
An exclusive interview conducted by Eduardo Mota



E. M. - As a Gryphon founder member, please tell us how the band started (and how do you felt to integrate such a project)?
G. T. - Richard & Brian were doing small gigs with a lutenist, Christopher Wilson as a rather more authentic Elizabethan/Medieval trio. Chris left to pursue a solo career, and I was asked to join them, not exactly to replace Chris, as I had no specialist knowledge in that area of music. Being rather anarchic at the time, I much enjoyed ignoring the boundaries and helped us develop into more of a hybrid/eclectic unit with a strong sense of humour, which led us to recruit a rock drummer, Dave Oberlé, to complete the line-up.

E. M. - Do you think Gryphon found then the exact formula, I mean the medieval folk rock subgenre, to reach an immediate success among the media (all four BBC channels, Melody Maker, NME, The Times and others)?

G. T. - If we hit upon any formulae at all it was entirely by chance, nothing we ever did was particularly preconceived, if fact most of the music was written at the last minute, in the studio or whilst waiting for a colleague to deliver a fish and chip lunch. We were a strange and intriguing looking bunch of hippies with a very eager and persuasive young publicist, who knew a good angle when he saw one.



E. M. - With “Minight Mushrumps” and “Red Queen”, the band moved gradually from that medieval folk rock to a now called progressive rock sound. How did this happen?

G. T. - At that time we were all beguiled by the music of Yes and although our music turned out sounding very different they were certainly the strongest influence. We were consciously aiming for a bigger sound with the addition of a bass player and I always wanted to play electric guitar for all the different sounds it enabled.

E. M. - As a guitar player and composer, from which musicians did you received more influence or/and inspiration in early Seventies?

G. T. - Some of my stronger influences were actually wrought in the Sixties when I was an avid pop music fan. Towards the end of that great decade and into the Seventies I loved The Incredible String Band, Dylan, The Band, Renbourn & Jansch, Joni Mitchell, Grateful Dead, Django Reinhardt, Richard Thompson…

E. M. - Why did you leave after recording “Raindances”?

G. T. - I felt Gryphon had had its day, and also there were “musical differences”. I went off with Malcolm Bennett, the bass player at the time, with the pipedream of forming a British Beat Combo with the improvisational freedom of The Dead (it didn’t really work out, although we played some great gigs and this certainly was an important time for me to gain experience playing electric). I found solace playing with John B. Spencer, and another great Rhythm & Blues band, The London Apaches. About nine months later I was offered the job in the Albion Dance Band, which I accepted whilst continuing with the other projects.

E. M. - As an outsider, how do you find “Treason” comparing to albums recorded at the same time by other great bands like Yes, Genesis or even Gentle Giant?

G. T. - It wasn’t really up my street. I don’t think the soft/pop-rock direction was right for Gryphon. I’d also grown less fond of Yes by then, and had never been a fan of the other two bands mentioned.

E. M. - After leaving Gryphon, you continued playing guitar in the folk rock genre. Which project, Albion Band, Home Service and others did you enjoy more to work with?

G. T. - As I explained above I was playing in several different bands, all of which I enjoyed. The Albions did some pretty amazing stuff, big shows with big line-ups, two drummers, two guitarists, fiddle, keyboards and the rest. Then of course the classic album, "Rise up Like the Sun". We pushed the boundaries even further in that genre with The Home Service. Exciting times.

E. M. - Which are your current projects now? Do you plan to release a solo album?

G. T. - I’m still working a fair bit with John Tams, which is always a great pleasure. I played on his 2001 Roots album of the year, "Unity", and we’ve just finished and released "The Reckoning", which I also helped record. We will be making some live appearances soon I hope.

E. M. - May Gryphon enthusiasts expect the band reformation soon

G. T. - No. But there just might be a special appearance at a major English festival this year…

E. M. - Do you find Internet, and particularly the Gryphon website, could be of any help on promoting that reformation?

G. T. - Indeed it is of great assistance in any form of promotion, being the World Wide Web that it is, so it is, and spreadin all over the Wide World Indeed, Weblike!

E. M. - From all your discography, and as an accomplish guitar player, which do you recommend more to Gryphon fans?

G. T. - From Gryphon, probably the first album and "Red Queen to Gryphon Three", then the two Home Service albums.

E. M. - Please point us a douzen albums you should take to a desert island.

G. T. - Oh dear! I’ll just put a random pin in some good ones:
01. Any Django Reinhardt albums
02. "Infidels" - Bob Dylan.
03. The brown Band album 4. "Moondog Matinee" – The Band
05. "Peter Grimes" – Benjamin Britten, featuring Peter Pears
06. "Europe 72" – The Grateful Dead
07. "Electric Landlady" – Kirsty MacColl
08. The Kate & Anna McGarrigle album with ‘Talk to me of Mendocino’ and ‘My Town’ on it.
09. "From The Cradle" – Eric Clapton
10. "The 5,000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion" – The Incredible String Band
11. "The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter" - The Incredible String Band
12. Dr. John Mac plays "Rebennack"