Second Hand

Second Hand were a British progressive rock band, established by teenagers Ken Elliott, Kieran O'Connor and Bob Gibbons in 1965. They recorded three studio albums (the first was released in 1968) until their breakup in 1972. History Formation and early years (1965-1968) Ken Elliott was 15 in 1965, when his schoolmate Kieran O'Connor, a drummer, suggested that they set up a band. Ken quickly learned to play the harmonica and the piano. Kieran also asked his friends Bob Gibbons, who played the guitar, and Grant Ramsay (bass) to join the group. The band's name was The Next Collection. The group was based in Streatham, South London. Ramsay was replaced by Arthur Kitchener soon afterwards. With him on board, the band won the Streatham ice rink battle of the bands and were awarded the privilege to make a demo recording at Maximum Sound Studios. The Next Collection recorded two songs during this session, "A Fairy Tale" and "Steam Tugs". These demo recordings were later released as bonus tracks to the 2007 reissue of the album Reality. Vic Keary, the owner of the studio, liked the band and decided to become their producer. Polydor years (1968-1969) With Keary's support, the band signed to the Polydor label under the name The Moving Finger (a reference to one of the Omar Khayyám poems). The band started working on their first studio album, Reality, with Arthur Kitchener on bass, but he quit the band during the sessions, and bassist Nick South was found through an ad in Melody Maker. Half of the songs on the album were recorded with Kitchener on the bass, and the other half with South.