# Charles' obscure musical finds



## AsWeGoAlong14 (May 22, 2020)

Hello! Charles here. I felt like this would be a good place to show off some of the obscure music I have found! 

The band/album I will talk about is.....Floribunda Rose/Scrugg and their album Lavender Popcorn.

This is the first more obscure band i've came across. I found them accidentally whilst searching for zombies LP's. They're a band from South Africa that was around for about two/three years. Pretty sure they either started in 1967/68 and definetely ended in 1969. If you saw my reply to the music chain on another thread, you might have seen me post a song by them. They were very good for limited music supplies! Nick Warburton has an article dedicated to them on garagehangover, and I happen to be friends with one of their past drummers so I know some stuff.





First off, The band formed as Floribunda Rose with their lineup being Pete Clifford (lead guitar), Jack Russell (bass?), John Kongos (vocals, guitar), Chris Demetriou (keyboards), and Nick Dokter (drums). Nick wasn't chosen to be in the band until the very last second.
They released only one 45 consisting of "Linda Loves Linda" and "One Way Street" on the B side. I believe they played at many clubs in Johannesburg and that is how they got more known around there, and also how they got their name! John Kongos and Pete Clifford argued nonstop, and Kongos got so mad at Clifford that he decided "Hey! We don't even need a lead guitarist in our band!". Pete Clifford already had an opportunity to join the bats (you might know one of their songs 'fatman and bobbin' if you were watching cartoons in the late 70s.) so he got up and left. Nick Dokter's wife complained how they could hardly get any money with his current career so he left too. Jack Russell, while taking a trip to Wales met Henry Spinetti and Spinetti (Then 17) decided he would go to South Africa and join the band as the new drummer. Spinetti's older brother, Victor, is a pretty famous actor.




l to r: Jack Russell, Chris Demetriou, John Kongos, Henry Spinetti (the new drummer).
The band renamed themselves as Scrugg (Jack was a big fan of a guitar player named Earl Scruggs) and made it on about three 45s, maybe less.  Their songs consisted of "I Wish I was Five", "Everyone Can See", "Lavender Popcorn", "Will the Real Geraldine Please Stand Up and Be Counted", "Only George", "Patriotic", and my personal favorite, "Sandwich Board Man". Some were released after the band broke up as i've heard. I can't remember how they broke up, but they sure did. John Kongos pursued a solo career and let Chris, one of his favorite band mates in the band, help out in his hit song "He's Goona Step On You Again". Here's a video for you all to listen to if you like.

I believe Henry Spinetti is also on drums in this video!

John Kongos decided to release a CD named "Lavender Popcorn" in 2001, consisting of some of his songs before the band was formed, and some songs from the band that were previously unreleased. I actually own the CD! I'd recommend you check it out. It's on Spotify and Youtube.

Chris Demetriou went on to do stuff with other musicians, most notibly David Bowie, and is currently a pastor in England.

Well, I hope you liked my thing on this band! It was great to have been able to write about these people, and I must give a huge thank you to Nick Warburton for putting the photos on garagehangover and information, along with Nick Dokter also for more information. If you guys like this, I will dive deeper into other bands these people were in!


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