Dr. Strangely Strange

Dr. Strangely Strange
Dr Strangely Strange in Walthamstow, February 2009
Background information
Origin	Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Folk pop, folk rock, psychedelic folk, freak folk, experimental, avant-garde
Years active	1967–1971, 1973–the early 1980s, 1996 (small reunion), 2008–2009 (small reunion)
Labels	Island, Vertigo, Hux, Hannibal, Witchseason Production Company
Associated acts	Incredible String Band, Fotheringay, Joe Boyd, Al Stewart
Past members	Tim Booth Ivan Pawle Tim Goulding Caroline "Linus" Greville "Orphan Annie" Mohan Joe Boyd Gay Woods Terry Woods Al Stewart

Dr. Strangely Strange were an experimental Irish folk group, formed in Dublin in 1967 by Tim Booth (born 6 September 1943, County Kildare, Ireland), vocals and guitar, and Ivan Pawle (born 17 August 1943, England) bass and keyboards.

Booth and Pawle soon teamed with multi-instrumentalist Tim Goulding (born 15 May 1945, Hatch Street, Dublin), vocals and keyboards, at that time an aspiring painter, and percussionist/vocalist Caroline "Linus" Greville, and began living and rehearsing in a house owned by Goulding's girlfriend, backing vocalist "Orphan Annie" Mohan, which its tenants nicknamed "The Orphanage". The Orphanage became a springboard for a new generation of Irish rock, helping launch the careers of Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott, Gary Moore and others. After signing with the Incredible String Band's producer and manager Joe Boyd, Dr. Strangely Strange debuted in 1969 with Kip of the Serenes. The album was produced by Boyd. While on tour with Fotheringay, they enlisted drummer Neil Hopwood, and later in the year appeared on the Incredible String Band's Changing Horses album.

After the 1970 album Heavy Petting, Dr. Strangely Strange began falling apart: Linus was asked to leave to cut down on touring costs after some early sessions for the record, Goulding left to enter to a Buddhist monastery, while Pawle and Booth teamed with Gay and Terry Woods for a brief tour. The group disbanded in May 1971, after playing a concert with Al Stewart at London's Drury Lane Theatre. The Woods explained "We said that if the Strangelies hadn't gotten it together during the time we were on the Continent then we would leave, because six weeks of gigging should pull a band tighter. Unfortunately, instead of getting together, they were getting looser." They reunited in 1973 for an Irish tour, and briefly reconvened again in the early 1980s. During this time Goulding worked as a painter while Booth became an artist and made animated films. In October 1994 the band played at the Griffin Hotel in Leeds as part of the Incredible String Band convention weekend. The band reformed with the original trio to record a third album in 1996.