Todd Dillingham

The link between the classic Canterbury Scene of the '70s and the D.I.Y. psychedelic pop scene of the '90s is Todd Dillingham - a one-of-a-kind artist. Equally capable of writing concise, catchy little pop songs, twisted psychedelic explorations, and sprawling prog rock improvisations. This North London resident is like a one-man combination of XTC, Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, and the Bevis Frond. Remarkably, for a one-man band who plays almost all of the instruments on his records, Dillingham came late to music, not recording his first songs until he was already into his thirties.

Remarkably, for a one-man band who plays almost all of the instruments on his records, Dillingham came late to music, not recording his first songs until he was already into his thirties.

His first album was a limited-edition self-released cassette, 1989's Stalking the Wily Chub, with a homemade cover designed by his brother, music journalist and psychedelic poster artist Mick Dillingham. (Dillingham has something of an obsession with fish, which regularly appear in his album titles and cover art.)

Brother Mick took an even more active role in Dillingham's next project, the Bizarrdavarks, a trio featuring the brothers and Bevis Frond mastermind Nick Saloman that placed two tracks on 1990's Woronzoid, a double-album compilation on Saloman's Woronzow label.

Saloman and Mick Dillingham also appeared on Dillingham's next recording project, the Saloman-produced Art Into Dust, which was supposed to appear on Woronzow in 1990 but was shelved, eventually appearing on the Voiceprint label in late 1992 with the addition of one later track, a nearly half-hour jam on Pink Floyd's classic "Interstellar Overdrive."

Dillingham's association with Voiceprint, a label associated with the '70s Canterbury Scene spearheaded by the Soft Machine and Hatfield and the North, began in 1991, when Caravan LEGEND Richard Sinclair invited Dillingham to record an album with himself, drummer Andy Ward (Camel), and reedman Jimmy Hastings (Caravan, Soft Machine, National Health). The resulting Wilde Canterbury Dream received rapturous reviews among prog rock diehards, but Dillingham's next two releases were a pair of more immediately accessible psychedelic pop EPs in the style of XTC's Dukes of Stratosphear side project: the Norwegian release A Dash of Haddock (1993), and the German release Arthur Woodcote (Is His Name) (1994).

Dillingham's next two albums, both released in 1994, re-emphasized the prog side of his musical personality, although the live Radio Session included a few '60s-style freakbeat rave-ups as well. Vast Empty Spaces (produced by Peter Giles of the legendary Giles, Giles, and Fripp) marked a reunion with Ward, with Curved Air's Mike Wedgewood and Anthony Alridge of the jazzy and eccentric Skaboosh! contributing bass and violin, respectively.

With the exception of occasional extended improvisatory workouts, Dillingham then retreated from progressive epics into a marginally simpler and considerably poppier form of psychedelic pop. The self-released Astral Whelks, which included contributions not only from Ward but Ward's Chrysathemums bandmate, Yukio Yung, was the first evidence of this new focus, but it was 1995's Sgt. Kipper, with its priceless cover portraits of Dillingham, Yung, and Ward in Sgt.Pepper-style satin outfits, that delivered Dillingham's most consistently poppy and groovy set of tunes. this was from the all music guide.. very much out of date im afraid.. from 1995 till 2007 another 18 cds have been released.










TODD DILLINGHAM DISCOGRAPHY
1989-2009
1.WORONZOID 1989 WOO 10 UK DOUBLE COMPILATION ALBUM
2.LAMENT EP 1990 POT4 UK
3.WHO STOLE MY WIG COMPILATION TAPE BY UK MAG HAIRY HI FI UNDER THE NAME APORIA DREAMT HAIRYTAPE1 1991 uk
4.WILDE CANTERBURY DREAM CD VOICEPRINT VP109CD UK 1992
5.ART INTO DUST CD VOICEPRINT VP121CD UK 1992
6.A DASH OF HADDOCK EP PERFECT POP POP9 DENMARK 1993
7.RADIO SESSIONS CD VOICEPRINT VPR002CD UK 1994
8.VAST EMPTY SPACES CD VOICEPRINT VP153 UK 1994
9.ARTHUR WOODCOTE EP MAGICAL JACK MJ1 GERMANY 1994
10.SGT KIPPER CD/DOUBLE LP(WITH BONUS TRACK) WORONZOW WOO25 UK 1995
11.SGT KIPPER SESSIONS 90 MINUTE VIDEO(LIMITED TO 10 COPIES) TODD1 UK 1995
12.TODDS TRIP VIDEO(LIMITED TO 10 COPIES) TODD2 UK 1996
13.12 BREAMS OF DR SARDINE AND US 10 INCH MINI LP PINK LEMON JAR006 GERMANY 1996
14.MOCK OPERA PLUS(LIMITED TO 5 COPIES) CASSETTE TODD3 UK 1996 15.NOSTRATODDUS(LIMITED TO 5 COPIES) CASSETTE TODD4 UK 1996
16.ODDS AND TODDS CD(LIMITED TO 10 COPIES) FANCLUB1 UK 1996 17.PERFECT POP COMPILATION 90-93 CD PPOP037 NORWAY 1996
18.HI JACK COMPILATION LP MAGICAL JACK BIGJACK01 GERMANY 1996 19.WITHOUT THE BEATLES BOX SET CD/DOUBLE LP PINK LEMON JAR015 GERMANY 1996
20.TRYST CD(WITH CADIVEROUS CONDITION) STARRY500 AUSTRIA 1997 21.ASTRAL WHELKS(400 COPIES PRESSED) TODD5 1997 22. 31 X CD'S 24K GOLD BOX SET(100 PRESSED) 1985-2003 TODDSONGS2003 INCLUDED WILDE CANTERBURY DREAM ART INTO DUST RADIO SESSIONS VAST EMPTY SPACES SGT KIPPER ODDS AND TODDS ASTRAL WHELKS NOSTRATODDUS VOLUMES 1-6 TRYST CANTERBURY SESSIONS 91-92 TABBY ROAD CRIMSON SPIRES MILL HILL LIVE JAM 6/15/2001 FISHY TALES LILYBEAT UNDERNEATH THE COVERS1-2 RARITIES OF THE OBVIOUS KIND(PRE 1989) JACKDAW SPECIAL CARE LONDON FLASHES THE SNAKE AND OTHER REPTILES FIRST TIME AROUND CIRKUS DEMO'S TODDS MUSICAL BOX BONUS CD .ART INTO DUST SESSIONS
23.MOCK OPERA DELUXE CD(LIMITED TO 100) TODDSONGS 2005 USA
24. A PAIR OF SLEEPY RED MOOSE, TODDSONGS 2008 USA (WITHDRAWN) 25.WHITEBEARDS GHOST(SUMMER 2009)
26.THE CENTAUR AND THE PIXIE FROLIC ON OPEN LAWNS 2 CD (AUTUMN 2009)