Love Sculpture

(For the LOVE sculpture, see LOVE (Sculpture) or Robert Indiana).

Love Sculpture was a British blues-rock band of the late 1960s, led by Dave Edmunds (born David Edmunds, 15 April 1943, Cardiff, South Wales), plus bassist John Williams (born John David Williams, 19 January 1946, Cardiff, Wales) and drummer Rob 'Congo' Jones (born Robert Jones, 13 August 1946, Barry, South Wales).

Career

Love Sculpture formed in Cardiff in 1966 out of the remnants of another local band called The Human Beans, and disbanded in 1970, although Edmunds went on to enjoy solo success in the 1970s. The band itself was essentially a showpiece for Edmunds' considerable technical ability on the guitar. Love Sculpture mostly performed blues standards, slightly revved-up, but still largely reverent to the originals, releasing their debut album, Blues Helping with such songs as "Summertime", "Wang Dang Doodle" etc. They are best known for their 1968 novelty hit in the UK Singles Chart, a high speed cover version of the classical piece "Sabre Dance", by Aram Khachaturian, released on the Parlophone label (R 5744). The recording was inspired by Keith Emerson's classical rearrangements. "Sabre Dance" became a hit after garnering the enthusiastic attention of British DJ John Peel.

This was followed by a second album Forms and Feelings, with songs including: "In The Land of the Few", "Farandole", "People People", "Seagull" and the equally fast cover of Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me". The U.S. version of the album also featured a recording of "Mars" from Gustav Holst's The Planets, but Holst's estate refused to license the song for the U.K. version.

They recorded three times for BBC Radio 1's John Peel sessions in 1968 (twice) and 1969.

Love Sculpture split up after a U.S. tour, having recorded two albums. Edmunds shortly went on to further number one hit success with "I Hear You Knocking", and collaborated heavily with ex-Brinsley Schwarz bassist Nick Lowe, eventually forming the band Rockpile with him.