i remember the song somewhat, liking it, certainly. but what i remember most about sopwith camel is having read in goldmine, maybe relix, somewhere... a pretty strange and twisted tale as i remember, about what happened to the band during the time between the release of their first album and their second, something like six years later. can't say what happened, as i don't recall, but do remember thinking it was a pretty interesting story when i read it, however long ago that's been..

Last edited by gopher (November 26, 2020 8:13 am)

I have this song on an old compilation album and it was always a fave of mine. But what really surprised me was that there's a spoken intro that no one ever hears in the 45 version that was released for radio play. I can see why they cut it off - it really doesn't add to to the tune and it's pretty bizarre. But it took me by surprise the first time I heard it, because I never knew it was there. You can hear it in the version below. 

As for the band itself, they broke up in 1967 after this song was released, reformed with a different sound in 1971 and then broke up again for good in 1974. Sounds like this Sopwith Camel did not have a smooth flight and crashed twice!

Wikipedia notes two members of the group played on Norman Greenbaum's Spirit In The Sky in 1969.

Now I invite you to have some of my tangerine...