The three teenagers and school friends John Simms (g, voc), Mark Sheather (b) and Ken White (dr) from the London borough of Acton had been playing together as a college blues-rock band since the late 60s. These young and rather talented musicians impressed manager Ashley Kozak, who arranged a recording contract for them with the progressive Philips sub-label Vertigo. The power trio with an average age of 18 (John Simms was even younger) subsequently called themselves Clear Blue Sky. In 1970, they recorded their eponymous debut album at Island Studios under the direction of producer and Nirvana musician Patrick Campbell-Lyons. It was released in January 1971 and features one of the very first cover designs by artist Roger Dean. The three youngsters presented their mixture of hard blues rock, progressive hard rock and heavy psych in an unusually mature manner, full of vitality, which did not need to shy away from comparisons with Led Zeppelin and early Jethro Tull at the time.
But as with most Vertigo acts of the time, virtually nothing was spent on promotion and advertising. So they soon disbanded, disillusioned. Today, the original vinyl is a coveted collector's item worldwide.
