The United Empire Loyalists was a Vancouver B.C. band that originally consisted
of Rick Enns (lead vocals, bass), Anton "Tom" Kolstee (lead guitar),
Jeff Ridley (rhythm guitar), and Richard Cruickshank , later
replaced by Glen Hendrickson(drums).
In 1968 the band recorded a
lone single "No, No, No," that was pressed in only 200 copies
but sold well enough to attract a fan base and the attention of
a local concert promoter who booked the band to open for
The Grateful Dead. In 1968 the UEL's were part of the
Vancouver underground music scene so the release of a
single was perceived as a commercial cash by the band so
they abandoned their commercialization for songs that consisted
of long jams and experimental sounds. With a limited fan base of
only a few hundred of Vancouver teens, the band started to make
waves around the west coast music scene and with some music
pointers taken from their experience with the Dead, they managed
to attract interest from Canada's National Television station
the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) .
In 1968, as part
of the Enterprise television series , the CBC filmed an
hour-long studio performance of the band. This even brought
more of a cult mystique to the UEL's and in 1990, the band
was reformed to again perform for the CBC in a documentary about
the Vancouver 60's music scene. During the late 60's and early
70's the band went on tour through out B.C. opening for such acts
as the Cream, Yardbirds, Steve Miller Band , Country Joe & The
Fish Canned Heat and many more acts both local and international.
They became one of B.C.'s hottest bands yet never released
another single or received radio air play !
Notes From The
Underground is the first compilation entirely devoted to the
music of the United Empire Loyalists. The CD contains 13 songs
taken from a variety of sources including some "live" club record
ings from 1968, unreleased studio recordings from 1970, as well
as songs that were originally featured on both CBC Television
programs from 1968 and 1990. While the sound quality on some of
the songs, especially the those recorded privately in 1968, is
not great these are some of the only recordings that still
exist of this band. Noticeable missing from this set without
explanation is the band's "commercial" single "No, No, No" but
none the less all but two on this set are originals written by
the band members. With liner notes detailing the history of the
band written by Anton Kolstee, this CD is a fitting tribute to
one of Vancouver's best kept secrets that is finally available
for the first time for all to hear.
by Keith Pettipas, CanEHdian.com
