Interesting British band with an intriguing female vocalist named Noosha Fox, let’s be clear, Noosha was ‘weird’, definitely out of the ordinary, but not for 1975 I suppose, glam bands that could actually play as opposed to just looking pretty.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: Fox
ALBUM: Fox
LABEL: GTO Records
YEAR: 1975
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: England
LINEUP: Noosha Fox – vocals * Herbie Armstrong – lead guitar, vocals * Kerry Young – rhythm guitar, vocals * Pete Solley – keyboards, vocals * Gary Taylor – bass, vocals * Jim Frank – drums, percussion, vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Love Letters * 02 Imagine Me, Imagine You * 03 The Juggler * 04 Patient Tigers * 05 Only You Can * 06 The More * 07 Spirit * 08 He’s Got Magic * 09 Pisces Babies * 10 Love Ship * 11 Red Letter Day
Background
Interesting British band with an intriguing female vocalist named Noosha Fox (real name Susan Traynor, originally from Sydney AUST). Let’s be clear, Noosha was ‘weird’. Her singing style was almost child-like and her performance style was something quite original and different, sort of a wacko mix of Betty Davis and Freddie Mercury. Definitely out of the ordinary, but not for 1975 I suppose. Glam bands that could actually play as opposed to just looking pretty.
Like Sailor and Smokie for example were taking the music in new directions mixing pop with more progressive styles and Fox fit right in with the period. Unfortunately, not much is known about how Fox came together, Noosha’s background, or just general information on the band, but thanks to the Cherry Red label, all three Fox albums have been reissued from the master tapes and include bonus tracks.
The Songs
Fox have often drawn comparisons to 10cc, and as a major admirer of that band, I have to say I really don’t hear much of that influence in this music. Yes, it’s very creative musically covering a lot of ground from country pop on ‘Patient Tigers’ to just plain oddball song craft on ‘Only You Can’ and ‘Pisces Babies’ which to be honest sounds like nothing else you have probably heard before.
The closing ‘Red Letter Day’ comes across like Kate Bush doing a Motown Christmas track and only adds to the bizarre nature of the record. I’m not sure what audience Fox were hoping to attract with some of this stuff, but the album did show up on the British charts and they made several television appearances, some of which have shown up on ‘YouTube’ from time to time.
In Summary
The second Fox album ‘Tails Of Illusion’ lost some of the ‘magic’ of the first record as it features less of Noosha and a straighter rock sound but does include Queen‘s Roger Taylor on one track. ‘Blue Hotel’ was a valiant attempt at recreating the group’s original sound but still falls short of the debut.
Noosha went on to record a solo single, but not much has been heard from her in the years since which is too bad. Despite her strange take on pop music, these days in light of oversexed and/or ‘feminist with a message’ female singers clogging the airwaves and media, Noosha Fox sounds damn refreshing.
Fox on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
