Grapefruit (band)

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Grapefruit was a London-based British band of the late 1960s.

The band was formed in 1967 by Scotland-born singer/guitarist George Alexander (b. Alexander Young), a member of the multi-talented Young family that also spawned his brothers George Young and Malcolm and Angus Young. Young had chosen to remain in Britain when the rest of the Youngs emigrated to Australia.

Together with three former members of 'Tony Rivers & The Castaways' - namely John Perry, Geoff Swettenham and Pete Swettenham - he formed The Grapefruit (the band discarded the initial 'The' soon afterwards). Terry Doran, an acquaintance of Brian Epstein, became their manager, as he saw in them the potential to fill the gap in pop music that was left by the Beatles.

Their record career was launched the following spring, albeit not on the Beatles' own Apple label, which opened for business a few months later. The Beatles took some interest in Grapefruit, however, with John Lennon introducing the band to the media and inviting John Perry to join in on the recording of the hit single "Hey Jude".Perry was in the background choir and can be heard very slightly shouting into the microphone at about 2:58 runtime.

Grapefruit's recording career spans only about two years, from late 1967 to the end of 1969. They released two albums (Grapefruit in 1968, Around Grapefruit in 1969) and a bunch of singles, none of which made a significant impact on the charts. Their brand of music was a typical Sixties blend of pop and rock, which they often fused with psychedelic effects such as phasers and vocoders or classical arrangements. Main song writer was George Alexander; their best-known track is probably the Terry Melcher-produced "Dear Delilah", which was released in early 1968, failing to enter the UK Top 20. Towards the end of their career, Grapefruit shifted from melodic pop to a more rough, blues-influenced style of music.

The band broke up in late 1969, with only Alexander remaining in the music business as a session musician.

Members

• George Alexander (b. Alexander Young, December 28, 1946, Glasgow) - bass guitar and vocals
• John Perry (b. July 16, 1949, London) - vocals and guitar
• Geoff Swettenham (b. March 8, 1948, London) - drums
• Pete Swettenham (b. April 24, 1949, London) - guitar

References and footnotes