Principal Edwards Magic Theatre
| Principal Edwards Magic Theatre | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Exeter, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1968–1971 (as P.E.Magic Theatre) 1972–1974 (as Principal Edwards) |
| Labels |
Dandelion Deram |
| Website | http://www.principaledwards.com/ |
| Past members |
Principal Edwards Magic Theatre: Root Cartwright Belinda "Bindy" Bourquin David Jones Lyn Edwards Terry Budd Roger Swallow Jeremy Ensor Joe Read Martin Stellman Vivienne McAuliffe Eva Darlow Monica Nettles John McMahon Hill Gillian Hadley Les Adey Michael "Harry" Housman Chris Runciman Principal Edwards: Root Cartwright Belinda "Bindy" Bourquin David Jones Geoff Nicholls Richard Jones Nick Pallett |
Principal Edwards Magic Theatre was an English performance art collective in the United Kingdom made up of about 14 musicians, poets, dancers, and sound and lighting technicians. It existed between 1968 and 1971, after which core members formed a more conventional rock band under the shortened name Principal Edwards.
The collective was formed by students at the University of Exeter who had originally intended producing an arts magazine. The initial musicians were Root Cartwright (guitar, mandolin, songwriter), Belinda "Bindy" Bourquin (violin, keyboards, recorder), David Jones (vocals, percussion), Jeremy Ensor (bass), Martin Stellman (vocals), Lyn Edwards (drums), and Vivienne McAuliffe (vocals). Dancers included Gillian Hadley (choreographer), John McMahon Hill, Eva Darlow and Monica Nettles, while Les Adey, Harry Housman and Chris Runciman were responsible for sound, lighting, props and effects. The name was taken from the Magic Theatre referenced in Herman Hesse's novel Steppenwolf, and from Principal Thomas Charles Edwards, a theologian who was the first Principal of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and an ancestor of Lyn Edwards. According to Cartwright, the name had "no religious overtones, we just thought [it] sounded neat."
Their first public performance was at an event called "Dance of Words" organised by students in Portsmouth and hosted by John Peel in May 1968, which also featured Fairport Convention, Free, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Alexis Korner, and poets Brian Patten and Michael Horowitz. They were signed by Korner's management team and, with Peel's active support, performed at similar events and gigs in London and elsewhere, sharing bills with Pink Floyd, The Fugs, Family, Ten Years After and others. The group were the first to be signed to Peel's Dandelion Records – though the label's co-founder Clive Selwood later described them as "the most pretentious act I have ever come across", and Peel's radio producer John Walters described them as "incorporating all kinds of arty-farty nonsense" – and performed at the first Bath Festival of Blues in June 1969.
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