Everyone seemed to agree that there was something different about Jerusalem in comparison to most other Rock bands at the time. No-one could actually put their finger on it, but as many have said since, they were probably 10 years ahead of their time. By the launch of the album Jerusalem were playing the top Universities, Colleges and famous spots like The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm and Dagenham Roundhouse. Sometimes as support, sometimes as headline. They shared the same stage as many top bands of the time and also started doing the major Festivals in Europe. Because everything happened so quickly, many people didn’t know who Jerusalem were until they walked on stage. A good example was a major Festival in Vienna, where every other band on the bill was a name e.g. Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Fairport Convention, Curved Air, Rory Gallagher, Osibisa, Juicy Luicy etc. When Jerusalem came on stage about halfway through the bill, many people in the tens of thousands started walking out to get drinks, use the toilet, get food etc. Ian ‘Bige’ Hansford Purples road manager was doing the mixing for Jerusalem as they were using Purples gear. He said he had never seen anything like it before, one minute there were all these people walking out, then Jerusalem started playing there first song Frustration and all the people leaving turned around and stampeded back into the hall. This moment was actually captured by Austrian TV. After this Festival all the bands were to go to Frankfurt for another huge festival. Throughout the journey, people kept coming up to the band to say they saw them on TV and wow etc. Suddenly from nobody’s they had become a known quantity. The Frankfurt festival was also memorable. Lynden was a real showman/crazy man on stage anyway, often instigated by Paul, but this night he surpassed himself, well it appeared so at the time even to the rest of the band. He suddenly started changing the words and doing some kind of strange dance and then collapsed on the floor. Turned out there was a fault with the mic and he was getting a major dose of pure electricity. That was the end of Jerusalem’s show that night, but most of the crowd obviously thought it was part of the show and really thought it was a great ending. The Promoter of the Festival was so pleased with Jerusalem (he had taken a chance putting them on the bill) that he gave them a bonus (unheard of for a Promoter!!) and paid for them to fly back to the UK on a proper flight with Deep Purple.
The relationship between the members of Jerusalem was always good and thus they enjoyed everything about being a band to the fullest degree. They were having such a crazy time in the bandwagon (OGY) once that they were nearly late for a gig at Liverpool University, because they managed to drive 20 miles past Liverpool without noticing (one of the biggest cities in the UK!) There are many Jerusalem stories which will hopefully appear when the official Jerusalem website is put online.
Paul and Ray had been great friends since school, had a lot in common and did most things together. Paul took the role of leader of the band throughout its existence with the full support of Ray. It was Paul who always took the final decision on anything regarding the band. Paul and Ray as the creators were the foundation and the driving force. Bill and Bob built on top of this and Lynden was Lynden!
When they got back to the UK from Germany, Deram wanted a single for release but not an album song. Paul and Lynden sat down at Paul’s mothers house and came up with Kamikaze Moth in about an hour. The band had a quick practice of the song and then went to London the next day and recorded it in the Decca Studio.
Jerusalem was a unique band at the time. No-one ever knew what to expect and sometimes the band as well. They were young, raw, energetic, followed no rules, accepted no compromise and were not overburdened by influences. It was one of those strange moments in time when a small group of people came up with something that cannot be truly defined or ever be re-created. There was no middle road with Jerusalem, when people left their gig they either loved it or hated it. Whether you like them or not, for some reason Jerusalem has become a legend that will not lie down and die. After 35 years they have a bigger fan base now than they did at the beginning and it’s still growing!
Why did Paul and Ray disband Jerusalem after such a short time? The answer is probably found in Ian’s quote on the album as to why he wanted them recorded. To Paul and Ray, Jerusalem was about rock in its purest and most basic state. Lynden and Bill were evolving and wanted to move in a more polished and progressive direction. Bob at that time just enjoyed playing. The Rock scene was exploding in so many directions within a very short period, from the Zeppelin, Purple, Sabbath to Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, etc. These bands themselves changed overtime and experimented in different directions, some of them returning to their roots many years later. Studio production was advancing in leaps and bounds. Paul and Ray felt that they had made their statement and didn’t want Jerusalem forced into areas created by peer pressure and the accountants and lawyers who were beginning to takeover and run the Music business based purely on commercial terms. Luckily, up to this point in time, most of the Record/Music Industry, etc. were run by ex-musicians and people with some understanding of music and the vision necessary to take gambles. Without these pathfinders many of the most successful bands of the 60’s and 70’s would never have been given a chance. After discussions with Ian and Sam everyone agreed that it was a good time to end as to carry on would lead to compromise and changes which Paul and Ray decided would dilute and alter what Jerusalem was all about. They could have changed the line-up and continued as Jerusalem, but what Jerusalem had created was too important to both of them to merely use as a ladder for their next evolution They decided to create something different, which was to become Pussy and Bob was quite happy to take on the pressure of being the guitarist of a 3 piece (another story).
