The Galileo 7 Boldly Make Cool Music ...

For us here at Garagerocktopia, The Galileo 7 is about as perfect an example of the kind of music we dig as you can find. If you’re new to this blog, that would be riff-driven, high-energy, upbeat rock and roll.

Whether you’re new or not, those of you who have not yet turned on to this band should do so right away. And when you do, expect one great hook after another, with nary a less-than-wonderful song to be found. 

Some bands are lucky to ever have one such song; but for The Galileo 7 it’s all in a day’s work, whose music recalls the shimmering melodies of early British Invasion bands, American garage-rockers like the Standells, and the more contemporary edge of bands like REM.

Hailing from Medway, UK, the group is led by Allan Crockford, who is no stranger to making very cool music. Perhaps the best-known group to which he has belonged is the the Prisoners. That band was considered to be retro back in the early ‘80s, when bands from London to Los Angeles (and many points beyond) sought to stand apart from the so-called “new-wave” bands popular at the time, and along the way they introduced a new generation of music fans to a vibe popular 15 years before.

The other members of The Galileo 7 are Viv Bonsels on organ and vocals, Paul Moss on bass and vocals and Mole on drums and vocals.

“The Prisoners hated what at the time was modern music,” recalled Crockford, talking to Garagerocktopia via Skype. “It wasn’t until the late ‘80s and early ‘90s was there finally a shift, in our view, to records that sounded good.”

Crockford’s resume sports quite a lot of other very cool bands. Both The Stabilisers and The Solarflares found airplay on Little Steven’s Underground Garage. Much of the sound of which he has been a part harkens back to the sounds of mod, freakbeat and garage rock.

“For a lot of people our age, that period between 1957 and about 1971 represents a kind of modern Renaissance.  A lot of great music got made, and a lot of obscure stuff is still being discovered even now. It's still influencing and inspiring us,” Crockford explained.

“Obviously we're not the only ones mining that seam, but it's how you use that  inspiration. There are a lot of bands around like us with those same influences. But, if you're careful, you can make something original that wears its influences on its sleeve but isn't just a copy. I do listen to new stuff all the time- I'm not completely stuck in a bygone era. But the music that has had the biggest emotional and inspirational effect on me is that old stuff."

But Crockford says the intention was never to simply be revivalist. It was just that the music with which he grew up was so much a part of who he was, it would be tough to completely avoid being a bit similar.

“There are things -- which aren’t deliberate -- in the music besides the obvious influences,” said Crockford. “ But I put in what makes seems to make sense in a particular song.  I must have absorbed a lot of  '70s and '80s power pop subconsciously as well as deliberately digging into classic psych-pop. It's a melting pot.”  

“I wouldn't necessarily call what we do in this band 'garage rock' in the classic sense, but we get lumped into it that category. Maybe that's because our music is a homegrown thing and we don’t dilute it.”

While the Prisoner’s commercial fortunes may not have climbed to the level they might have desired, the band was a clear influence to later groups, such as the “Madchester” bands like the Charlatans UK, whose sound owed much to Crockford and company.

During those many years of playing in so many cool bands, Crockford began writing songs, and along the way, he amassed quite an array.

“After I had quit The Stabilisers, I realized I had collected dozens of songs,” said Crockford. “I was in loads of bands, but I wasn't a songwriter. I kind of started writing songs late. Much of The Galileo 7’s first three albums are from that backlog. Not bad for a bloke who didn't start until his forties.”

Despite the wealth of great hooks in The Galileo 7’s music, Crockford – who along the way switched to guitar -- says he starts with the melody first.

“I'm not prolific -- it takes me days maybe weeks to put a song together," Crockford confessed. “Being a songwriter I start off with melodies, not riffs. I'm a bass player by trade. To become a songwriter and use a guitar was quite a leap.”

“I like most of the songs I've written,” Crockford said. “I'm also very happy with the lineup of this band, which I consider quite gutsy and dynamic. That's why we felt confident to make the live album (Live-O-Graphic)."

A good chunk of the joy of listening to The Galileo 7 is that the music seems to jump right out of the headphones and into your heart. Crockford says this might be, in part, because instead of relying on a bunch of digital doo-dads, the songs are recorded as close to live as possible.

“We record the rehearsal room and we wire things up,” revealed Crockford. “Backing tracks are usually recorded live, and anytime we have to go digital we see it as a necessary evil. But then again, the recording medium isn't as important as the attitude of the songs.”

Crockford and company, like many of the artists we have profiled, as well as your humble blogger, have not quite yet been able to depart their day jobs. But Crockford says he’s not expecting fame and fortune – he does what he does because his songs mean something to him beyond a paycheck.

“We're not making music to be famous or to get kudos,” said Crockford. “All the people I've played with or come across we all do it because we love the music. But, if you're not careful, you can make something original that wears its influences on its sleeve but isn't just a copy.”

“If I did make music full-time, I would probably fall out of love with it. By not being my daily grind, the music stays precious as an outlet.”

Speaking of outlets, at this point, there is probably not an outlet commercially to which The Galileo 7 would neatly fit, and like so many other bands, the band draws no small portion of its audience from the internet. This circumstance creates both rewards and perils in getting the band’s name known.

Galileo 7 -- the spacecraft, not the band

“Nowadays it's fairly easy to stumble across new music that hits the right buttons ,’ Crockford said. “But the internet has democratized access to music to the extent that you can feel swamped by very similar kinds of sounds. Getting your band to stand out can be very difficult. But we do have an advantage in that at least we have a lineage of previous bands that some people can latch onto. This gives us something that many other bands don't have.” 

Amongst those for whom the band might stand out would be Science Fiction fans. The Galileo 7 take their name from one of the most popular episodes of the Star Trek TV series from the late ‘60s. Though Crockford had been enamored of the series at various points in his life, the band’s name is not meant to be a shout-out to Gene Roddenberry or William Shatner.

“I was a trekkie in my teens,” said Crockford. “The show came to the UK after its run in the United States. I was really into it as a kid. Later, I collected the VHS tapes and got into it all over again. I was never a fanatic but a couple of the episode titles just made for great band names.”