Clive Palmer, one of the founding members of the Incredible String Band, died last Sunday (November 23) in Penzance, England after a long illness.
English folk singer and friend Wizz Jones said “One of the finest musicians I have ever known has gone. Clive Palmer was an inspiration and a well loved friend.”
Former bandmate Mick Bennett in C.O.B. (Clive’s Original Band) added “Skilful, dogged, creative, artistic, one-minded, charismatic, authoritative, unconventional, masterful, just a few of the many words that could be used to describe Clive. None of them quite do him justice, no mere words ever could.”
Palmer was born in North London, taking up the banjo at age 10. By the age of 14, he was already playing in jazz bands in Soho and, at 16, busking with Jones in Paris.
In 1963, Palmer and Robin Williamson formed a duo and, two years later, added Mike Heron to become The Incredible String Band. The band released their first, self-titled, album in 1966 but Palmer was drawn to other challenges including his own folk club in Glasgow, Clive’s Incredible Folk Club, and traveling to other countries such as India and Afghanistan to play.
Upon returning from one of those trips, Palmer announced he would no longer be a member of the Incredible String Band, instead recording an album of banjo music (Banjoland) and eventually moving to Cornwall where he became a wordworking teacher.
While music was not his main vocation, he kept active in it on the side in bands such as the Famous Jug Band, with which he recorded two albums, The Stockroom Five and the Temple Creatures.
In 1971, Palmer formed C.O.B. and released the albums Spirit in Love (1971) and Moyshe McStiff and the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart (1972).
In the early 90’s, Palmer reunited with Williams and, later in the decade, Heron in a new iteration of the Incredible String Band which lasted until 2003 and never recaptured the glory of the original band. Palmer and Heron continued under the name incrediblestringband2003 with tours of the U.K. and U.S., which lasted until 2006.
Palmer recorded three final albums in the last six years, The Land of No Return (2007) with Tim Wellard and Along the Enchanted Way and Live at the Acord (both 2011) with the Clive Palmer Band.
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