Looking Back At The Creation Written and compiled by Paul Rance
The Creation were big in Germany! But not as big in the UK as they should have been. Their catchy 1966 single 'Painter Man' reached number 36 in the British charts, but that was as good as it got for a group now classed as freakbeat. Think psychedelia but with a rockier edge.
Claims to fame for The Creation included Kim Gardner joining from The Birds on bass and later Ronnie Wood (from the same group) as their guitarist in one of their later incarnations, and earlier bassist John Dalton had replaced Pete Quaife in The Kinks. Gardner went on to form Ashton, Gardner & Dyke. The Creation's guitarist Eddie Phillips also used a violin bow on his guitar, and though a bone of contention, it's popularly believed he used that trick before Led Zep's Jimmy Page.
Though very popular in Germany and Scandinavia, The Creation struggled to crack the UK and the US. They reformed in the mid-1980s with a line-up of Kenny Pickett on vocals, Eddie Phillips on guitar, John Dalton on bass, and former Kinks drummer Mick Avory. Kenny Pickett died in 1997, but The Creation continued to tour, and played in the US for the first time in 2001.
The Creation perform 'Painter Man' on German TV in 1967. Thanks to Andrew Bruce for the link for this one.
Original Members
Kenny Pickett (3rd September,1942, Ware, Hertfordshire; died 10th January, 1997) - vocals
Eddie Phillips (15th August, 1942, Leytonstone, East London) - lead guitar
Mick Thompson - rhythm guitar
Jack Jones (8th November, 1944, Northampton, Northamptonshire) - drums
Bob Garner (15th May, 1946, Warrington, Lancashire) - bass
The Creation - Music available from booksmusicfilmstv.com in association with Amazon.co.uk
Albums
1967 - 'We Are Paintermen' (issued in Germany, The Netherlands, France and Sweden only)
1999 - 'Power Surge'
2004 - 'Psychedelic Rose: The Great Lost Creation Album'
Singles
June 1966 - 'Making Time'/'Try And Stop Me'
October 1966 - 'Painter Man'/' Biff Bang Pow'
1967 - 'Cool Jerk'/'Life Is Just Beginning' (Germany only)
June 1967 - 'If I Stay Too Long'/'Nightmares'
October 1967 - 'Life Is Just Beginning'/'Through My Eyes'
February 1968 - 'How Does It Feel To Feel'/'Tom Tom'
May 1968 - 'Midway Down'/'The Girls Are Naked'
'Bonney Moroney'/'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' (Germany only)
1968 'For All that I Am'/ 'Uncle Bert'
1968 - 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy'/'Uncle Bert' (Germany only)
April 1987 - 'A Spirit Called Love'/'Making Time'/'Mumbo Jumbo' (EP)
July 1994 - 'Creation'/'Shock Horror'/'Power Surge' (CD single)
July 2008 - 'Red With Purple Flashes' (1 sided Promo - strictly limited 200 only Planet 240708)
Compilations And Live Albums
1968 - 'The Best Of The Creation' (issued in Germany and Sweden only)
1973 - 'Creation 66-67'
1973 - 'Makin' Time'/'Painter Man' (single)
1975 - 'The Creation' (UK collection)
1982 - 'The Mark Four'/'The Creation' (German collection)
1982- 'How Does It Feel To Feel?'
1984 - 'Recreation'
1984 - 'We Are Paintermen'
1984 - 'Making Time'/'Little Bert' (single)
1985 - 'Live At The Beat Scene Club' (EP)
1993 - 'Lay The Ghost'
1994 - 'Painter Man' (UK budget collection)
1998 - 'Our Music Is Red - With Purple Flashes' (UK collection)
1998 - 'Complete Collection, Vol. 1: Making Time'
1998 - 'Complete Collection, Vol. 2: Biff Bang Pow'
2007 - 'The Singles Collection' (Italy)
DVD
2004 - 'Red With Purple Flashes: The Creation Live'
