Steel Mill Green Eyed God

Fabled British prog-rock band Steel Mill was formed in Wandsworth, a working-class district of south London, during the late 1960s, after singer/keyboardist David Morris began working with saxophonist/flautist John Challenger, who had played with folk group, The Garret Singers, the initial Mill line-up completed once they were joined by former Roadrunners Colin Short on drums, Derek Chandler on bass and Terry Williams on guitar. The nascent band rehearsed for about one year, playing very few live gigs, before cutting demos in April 1970, their pensive sound miles away from the British blues blueprint that then dominated London, though there was the occasional hard-rock element beneath their pastoral prog. By the time that proper recording sessions were booked at Marquee Studios to cut a single with producer John Schroeder (who had worked with countless acts, including The Shadows and Status Quo), Short had been replaced by former Rumplestiltskin drummer Ricky “Rupert” Baer. The resultant single “Green Eyed God” surfaced on Penny Farthing in 1971 and although it only managed to reach number 51 on the British charts, the song hit number 17 in Germany. By the time further sessions were arranged at Delane Lea studios to yield a debut LP, the group’s rhythm section now featured bassist Jeff Watts and drummer Chris “The Rat” Martin. Somehow, Penny Farthing wasn’t very impressed by the album itself, leading to its initial release in Germany via Bellaphon; it did not receive a British release until 3 years later, by which time there had been further line-up changes and a shift towards Glam. Nevertheless, Green Eyed God remains an enticing slice of little-known prog, unjustly ignored at its time of creation.