Gracious began
as a schoolboy lark in 1964, when guitarist Alan Cowderoy and
vocalist/drummer Paul Davis banded together to cover pop songs at school
concerts. To arouse maximum ire at their Catholic school, they adopted
the band name "Satan's Disciples." Over the next several years the
recording lineup of the band coalesced with Cowderoy and Davis (who now
only sang), former road manager Tim Wheatley on bass, Martin Kitcat on
keyboards, and drummer Robert Lipson. Renamed Gracious (or Gracious!),
the band toured Germany in 1968 and then recorded a concept album about
the seasons of the year, although this went unreleased. Still, their
ambitions were unabated. After playing on a double bill with the newly
formed King Crimson, an awestruck Kitcat immediately adopted the
Mellotron as a lead instrument for the band. Kitcat and Davis were the
band's composers, and Kitcat in particular lent the group its
distinctive sound. He played the Mellotron as a lead instrument, much
like a blues organ -- that is, with percussive single notes, rather than
the grandiose chords favored by bands that used it as a faux-orchestral
backdrop. Their first released album appeared in 1970; with its rich
harmonies, heavy prog feel, and religious themes that hearkened back to
the band's Catholic school roots, it was a worthy contemporary to such
progressive bands as King Crimson and the Zombies. But when this album
failed to chart, the band found itself scraping for money. Tensions
flared up, precipitating Lipson's and then Kitcat's departures in 1971.
The rest staggered on to tour in Germany, but they had clearly reached
the end of the road. Gracious had recorded a second album, but the poor
sales of their first album caused it be shelved by their label until a
half-hearted posthumous release two years later. Cowderoy and Kitcat had
already both moved into music industry jobs at a variety of major
labels, largely forsaking their instruments, while the rest of the band
drifted into family businesses, session work, and studio jobs; Davis
even turned up on Jesus Christ Superstar. Meanwhile, their hard-to-find
LPs acquired a certain cachet among collectors. In 1995, Beat Goes On
Records re-released their two albums on CD. That same year, Wheatley and
Lipson reunited under the Gracious name to put out the album Echo on
the Centa label. Line-up / Musicians Alan Cowderoy/guitar,vocals Martin Kitcat/piano,Harpsichord,keyboards,vocals,Mellotron Robert Lipson/drums Tim Wheatley/bass Paul Davis/vocals,guitar Discography(Album) Gracious! 1971
1.Introduction 2.Heaven 3.Hell 4.Fugue in 'D' Minor 5.The Dream
