Telfer, Jay - Perch

Tracks

		Track Name	Length
	1	Anything More Than Your Smile	02:41
	2	I Write Your Name on The Wall Above My Bed	02:24
	3	War Baby (Baby)	02:36
	4	Number One Hum	03:43
	5	Revelation (aka I Fell in Love)	05:12
	6	Doldrum	03:03
	7	To All	03:46
	8	Washed Down	04:10
	9	Suzie	02:14
	10	Glow	05:04
	11	Curly (1973 bonus track)	02:24
	12	Anything More Than Your Smile (second version)	00:12

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Information/Write-up

We are pleased to present this gem of a find - Jay Telfer's unreleased lost album here on citizenfreak.com brought to you by Ian Telfer and Nick Warburton.

Toronto singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jay Telfer is arguably best known for his work with 1960s rock group, A Passing Fancy, and for penning Steel River’s hit, “Ten Pound Note”.

Starting out with folk group, The Voyageurs at the age of 14, Telfer befriended future Bruce Cockburn manager Bernie Finkelstein, who was responsible for bringing the promising singer/songwriter into the ranks of The Dimensions and renaming the band, A Passing Fancy in 1965.

Fast-forward four years to spring 1969. Telfer has moved on from A Passing Fancy and composed some intriguing new songs. He approaches Finkelstein with the exciting new material and his old friend expresses an interest in producing an album, inviting into the sessions a diverse mix of musicians from the Toronto scene.

These include members of Kensington Market (managed by Finkelstein), a young Danny McBride years before he played lead guitar with Chris De Burgh and the Anglo-Canadian group Milkwood, including multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Tomlinson, who’d recently arrived in Toronto from London after working with a pre-Jethro Tull Martin Barre for two years.

As Telfer recalls, the musicians had a ton of fun doing the album, but when it came to selling it, Finkelstein asked the late Felix Pappalardi, who’d produced Kensington Market, but was turned down. The album was never mentioned again and Telfer lost his copies of the tapes. Over the years, Finkelstein also lost his.

As luck would have it, former A Passing Fancy member Fergus Hambleton salvaged some old tapes from his brother Greg’s driveway as they were being put out with the rubbish.

Among those tapes was Greg’s copy of “Perch”, Telfer’s unreleased album from 1969. In total, there are 10 tracks waiting to be heard. The titles and the personnel on each track are as follows and I’d personally like to thank Jay for sharing these with me before he died.

ANYTHING MORE THAN YOUR SMILE
Jay Telfer: guitar, lead and backing vocals
Keith McKie: second guitar
Jimmy Watson: drums
John Mills Cockell: synth

I WRITE YOUR NAME ON THE WALL
Jay Telfer: guitar, bar stool, organ, lead and backing vocals
Murray McLaughlan: second lead guitar

WAR BABY (BABY)
Jay Telfer: guitar, vocals
Keith McKie: electric guitar
Ronnie Blackwell: bass
Malcolm Tomlinson: drums
Fergus Hambleton: saxophone

NUMER ONE HUM
Jay Telfer: electric guitar, piano, electric piano, vibraphone, drums, bass, lead and backing vocals

REVELATION (AKA I FELL IN LOVE)
Jay Telfer: guitar, vocals
Danny McBride: electric guitar
Phillip Jalsevec: piano

DOLDRUM
Jay Telfer: guitar, vocals
Igor Romanyk: violin
Heavanly Host Rentals: chorus

TO ALL
Jay Telfer: guitar, vocals
Malcolm Tomlinson: flute
Rick Lyon: drums

WASHED DOWN
Jay Telfer: guitar, vocals
Louis McKelvey: electric guitar
Alex Darou: bass
Malcolm Tomlinson: drums

SUZIE
Jay Telfer: piano, drums, guitar, vocals
Ronnie Blackwell: bass
Fergus Hambleton: clarinet

GLOW
Jay Telfer: guitar, vocals
Murray McLauchlan: second guitar
Ray Bennett: harmonica
Donna Warner: backing vocals
Orpheus: backing vocals
Cathy Young: backing vocals
Keith McKie: backing vocals
Sydney: backing vocals

Perch is a lost gem from the Toronto scene and awaiting discovery. Anyone interested in finding out more about this recording, should contact the author at Warchive@aol.com
Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.
This article was originally posted on the Nick Warburton website on 25 May 2009.

James Deans "Jay" Telfer was a popular Toronto-raised musician, songwriter, artist, TV writer, avid VW memorabilia collector, B&B manager and founding publisher of the Wayback Times antiques and collectibles newspaper.

So Jay, stricken with heart, stroke and other health issues over the years, was many things to many people in the short 61 years before his death Wednesday in Mississauga. (Star obit)

Much has been written about Jay and no doubt many stories will be told during a 9:30 a.m. memorial service and reception this Friday at Turner & Porter 'Peel' Chapel, 2180 Hurontario St., in Mississauga

Canoe's JAM Showbiz web site has a lengthy 2005 bio for the popular 1960s and 1970s member of Yorkville bands, including A Passing Fancy. He recently returned to his Yorkville roots, reliving his folk/rock years with former band members and friends.

While Jay wasn't a Toronto Sun Family member, he was an admired innovator who found a niche in the antiques market in Ontario and launched a new antiques newspaper in 1995.

The Wayback Times, from the start, was financed by advertisers and distributed free from Ottawa to London. One man, working long hours with his wife, Cindy, from their home in Wellington, near Picton.

A firm believer in print media, Jay also saw the promise of the Internet and when two former Toronto Sun vets, the late Jim Yates and this blogger, approached him, he was agreeable to us hosting the Wayback Times on our new, but short-lived, YourGuide web site.

When Jay sold the paper in 2006 to Sandy and Peter Neilly of Hastings, he continued writing for the paper, not wanting to lose contact with the many readers, antique dealers and collectors.

Jay had much more to do, much more to say and much more to write. Sadly, deteriorating health that included a stroke in 1984, brought it all to an end much too soon.

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