Ship of Fools (band)

Ship Of Fools were a neo-prog/space rock band from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Fantasy obsessed, few bands were as self-consciously weird and engaging. The band consisted of Sputnik (bass), Damien Clarke (keyboards), Les Smith (keyboards) and Mick Reed (drums). Andy Banks (guitars, mandolin, gliss) hooked up with the band soon after, along with Graham Wilkes (flutes, harmonica).

Friendly with the heads of the Dreamtime label, an offshoot of heavy metal distributors Peaceville Records, the band eventually signed with them and became the premiere psychedelic eccentrics on the label, releasing their first album, Close Your Eyes (Forget the World) in 1993. Following this release Wilkes apparently left the band (although he would appear as a guest musician on their next release), and was replaced by Oko (guitar). With this slightly revamped line-up in place a new album was recorded, released as "Out There Somewhere" in 1994.^[1]

The band was a highly experimental force of mind-altering music until they broke up in a haze of bad feelings and musical differences in 1996. Leaving behind a short but excellent catalog of material, Smith (who had gone on to join the decidedly un-psychedelic black metal phenomenon Cradle of Filth) compiled their music and in 2002 released Let's Get This Mother Outta Here, a farewell collection that summed up their career and paid a lasting tribute to their bizarre vision.^[2]

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