Smith Campbell was the bass player of the one and only British blues rock band Hokus Poke that released a fantastic album in 1972 on Vertigo.

Guerssen recently offered the first ever vinyl reissue of this UK prog-psych album from 1971. Recorded at George Martin’s AIR Studios and originally released on the collectable Vertigo label. A great mix of pastoral prog, hard-rock, blues and West Coast/Americana: long tracks, soft vocal harmonies, dual guitar… Hokus Poke formed in London in the late ’60s, consisting of Clive Blenkhorn on lead guitar and vocals, Roger Clarke on guitar, Smith Campbell on bass and Jonnie Miles on drums. Managed by Kenny Lynch, they secured a deal with the legendary Vertigo label. ‘Earth Harmony,’ their sole album, was recorded at George Martin’s AIR Studios. This is one of the rarest albums on the collectable Vertigo label.

Sadly our interview was never finished as Campbell was very ill. We are posting our unfinished interview in his loving memory.

How did you meet members of Hokus Poke?

Smith Campbell: Jonnie Miles was previously in a band called Earth. They were based in Kilmarnock, Scotland playing blues rock. When moving to London he met all of us. The band rehearsed in various rehearsal rooms throughout West London. We always worked together. It was a collaboration by all the band.

What would you say inspired you to form the band?

We really liked American rock music. Hard rock bands like Mountain and the likes.

How did you get signed to Vertigo Records?

We met Kenny Lynch in Greyhound Pub in Fulham Road at our gig. He was encouraging and signed us up to his Specs Music Company, arranged our record deal with Vertigo and booked Air Studios.

What’s the story behind your debut album?

Most of the material on ‘Earth Harmony’ was self-produced. One day we actually got to meet George Martin. He was a very nice and encouraging person.

<a href="https://hokuspoke.bandcamp.com/album/earth-harmony">Earth Harmony by Hokus Poke</a>

What can you tell us about the cover artwork?

It was designed by an old friend, John Kelly. He took the pictures at Kenny Lynch’s house. John worked with some really famous people. For example with The Beatles on their ‘White Album,’ Donovan, Humble Pie et cetera.

Did you do a lot of promotion when the album was released?

When the album was released, there was supposed to be a launch party, but due to Specs Music being short of funds it never materialised. We continued to perform at pubs and clubs but due to spare promotion it was sadly slowly coming to an end.

What happened after the band stopped?

At a meeting of the band Hokus Poke towards the end 1973 the atmosphere was sombre to say the least. The guys were disappointed at the lack of effort being made by the label. We were still playing the pub gig circuit and were liked by other musicians at the time, but the rent had to be paid so that was when we sadly decided to call it a day. There was no animosity amongst us. We were young and foolish and did not realise how good we were and the great potential there was to develop. So we rode off into the Shepherd’s Bush sunset.

Shortly after that I joined up with Clear Blue Sky‘s John Simms where we formed a splinter group called The Needle which was managed by Connie and Kenny Wyatt from The Who. They designed and made stage gear such as Roger Daltrey’s suede long fringed jacket and John Entwistle’s skeleton suit.

We recorded demos at Shepperton Studios and we were given instruments by The Who. I still have the bass to this day.

Jonnie Miles was still gigging around London and then went to play in Northern Ireland before moving to the USA playing music and doing photography. We are still in touch today and remain good friends.

Clive Blenkhorn seemed to move on to where I don’t know. Clive was always quiet and in a way mysterious. I tried to contact him but could not find him.

Roger Clark was in my eyes the best musician and writer in Hokus Poke. He was more into the American type of rock. I heard recently that Roger Had sadly passed away.

Today I am a 78 years old songwriter. I record all my work under the name of Kinsongs Project and release via Distrokid Network to Spotify/Apple/YouTube et cetera.

Klemen Breznikar

Headline photo: Smith Campbell

Guerssen Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube