Medicine Head
British blues rock duo with a 1973 top-three hit.
Medicine Head were a British blues rock band that started as a duo and remained active through the 1970s. Their most commercially successful single, "One and One Is One," peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1973. Across their career, they released six studio albums, with the first three issued on John Peel's Dandelion label.
The core of the group for most of its existence consisted of John Fiddler (born 25 September 1947 in the Moxley area of Darlaston, Staffordshire, England) and Peter Hope-Evans (born 28 September 1947 in Brecon, Powys, Wales). Fiddler handled vocals, guitars, piano, and drums; Hope-Evans played harmonica, Jew's harp, guitar, and mouthbow. Other musicians who joined at various points included Laurence Archer, Clive Edwards, Keith Relf, Tony Ashton, Roger Saunders, George Ford, John Davies, Rob Townsend, and Morgan Fisher.
Fiddler and Hope-Evans met at Wednesfield Grammar School in Wolverhampton and later attended Stafford Art School, which they both left. They began performing informally together, and around 1968 started playing blues and rock and roll songs in pubs and clubs around Birmingham. Radio DJ John Peel saw them at the Lafayette Club and shared their music with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Pete Townshend. At Lennon's insistence, the duo signed with Dandelion Records.
Their demo recording of "His Guiding Hand" was released as a single; Peel called it "the cheapest single ever made and one of the classic records of all time" and kept it among his most treasured records. Their debut album, *New Bottles Old Medicine*, was recorded in a single two-hour session. They toured with Peel at many of his gigs, with Peel paying them from his own fee. Their second album, *Heavy on the Drum*, was produced by Keith Relf of The Yardbirds. The single "(And The) Pictures in the Sky" reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart in 1971. It was not included on *Heavy on the Drum* but was added to CD reissues of their debut. That single was the first hit on the Dandelion label.
Hope-Evans left the band for over a year, and Fiddler, Relf (on bass), and drummer John Davies recorded the band's third and final Dandelion album, *Dark Side of the Moon*, released in 1972—a year before the Pink Floyd album of the same name. According to Nicholas Schaffner, Pink Floyd briefly renamed their piece (already performed live) to *Eclipse* until the Medi
- field
- Blues rock
- nationality
- British
- known_for
- 1973 hit "One and One Is One"
- active_years
- 1970s
- label
- Dandelion Records, Polydor Records
Lore & Background
John Fiddler and Peter Hope-Evans met while attending Wednesfield Grammar School, Wolverhampton and later Stafford Art School, only to then quit, and began performing together on an informal basis. In or around 1968, they began performing blues and rock and roll songs in pubs and clubs in and around Birmingham. Radio DJ John Peel saw them perform at the Lafayette Club and later shared their music with John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend. At Lennon's insistence, the duo was signed by Dandelion Records.
The demo recording of "His Guiding Hand" was released as a single, Peel describing it as "the cheapest single ever made and one of the classic records of all time" and keeping the single in his box of most treasured records. Their first album, New Bottles Old Medicine, was recorded in a single two-hour session, and they toured with Peel at many of his gigs, Peel paying them out of his own fee. Their second album, Heavy on the Drum, was recorded with Keith Relf, formerly of The Yardbirds, as producer. The single "(And The) Pictures in the Sky" rose to number 22 on the UK Singles Chart in 1971.
Hope-Evans left the band for over a year, and Fiddler, Relf (on bass), and drummer John Davies recorded the band's third album and last on Dandelion, Dark Side of the Moon. It was released in 1972, the year before the Pink Floyd album of the same name. Medicine Head signed for Polydor Records, and Hope-Evans returned for the album One & One Is One, produced by Tony Ashton. The title track became the band's biggest hit, reaching number 3 in the UK in 1973. Despite consistent touring, Medicine Head failed to place an album on the UK Albums Chart. For their final album, Two Man Band, recorded at Pete Townshend's Eel Pie Studios, they reverted to being a duo. Medicine Head finally folded in 1977.
Reader's Guide
Medicine Head's significance lies in their association with John Peel and their role as one of the early acts on his Dandelion label. Their debut single "His Guiding Hand" was championed by Peel as a classic, and their 1971 hit "(And The) Pictures in the Sky" was the first hit on the Dandelion label. Their biggest commercial success came in 1973 with "One and One Is One", reaching number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. The band's third album, Dark Side of the Moon, was released in 1972, a year before Pink Floyd's album of the same name; according to Nicholas Schaffner, Pink Floyd briefly changed the name of their piece to Eclipse until the Medicine Head album turned out to be 'a commercial dud'. Despite failing to chart an album, Medicine Head maintained a consistent touring presence and influenced later reissues and compilations, including a 2007 CD re-release of their debut and a 2009 best-of collection. Both members continued in music after the breakup, with Fiddler occasionally reviving the Medicine Head name for recordings and tours.
Did You Know?
- John Peel described the demo of 'His Guiding Hand' as 'the cheapest single ever made and one of the classic records of all time'.
- The band's third album, Dark Side of the Moon, was released in 1972, a year before Pink Floyd's album of the same name.
- Their 1971 single '(And The) Pictures in the Sky' was the first hit on John Peel's Dandelion label.
- Medicine Head's final album, Two Man Band, was recorded at Pete Townshend's Eel Pie Studios.
More in English rock music duos 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record