Decameron were an English folk rock and progressive rock band from Cheltenham, existing from 1968 to 1976. Decameron came to be in the late 1960s when Dave Bell met John Coppin through a mutual friend. Coppin and Al Fenn had a band that was emulating the best of 60s folk rock at the time – names such as the Band, Fairport Convention and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. But Coppin and Bell together became a formidable writing and singing duo and the group stuck mostly to originals from then on.Going professional in 1971, Decameron released their debut “Say Hello to the Band” on Vertigo in 1973. A cross between contemporary Lindisfarne and UK west coast folk rock with a sprinkling of Fairport Convention, it showcased both the serious and playful sides of the group and their fine vocal harmonies.
Label changes were de rigueur for Decameron, and, after adding bassist/guitarist Dik Cadbury, later of the Steve Hackett band, they released “Mammoth Special” on Mooncrest in 1974. It showed a turn towards more introspective and progressive material that was to define their sound for the remaining years of their all too brief existence. Here and there, a more sophisticated version of Magna Carta might be an apt characterisation.
Rumours of a missing 3rd album have circulated incessantly. It was called “Beyond the Light” or “Beyond the Days” depending on the source, and was even given a catalogue number, but it was ultimately scrapped, although supposedly some of its material has surfaced on compilations since. Now on Transatlantic, they released “Third Light” in 1975, and it was their most progressive outing to date, not surprisingly given the production by Tom Allom, who also engineered various Strawbs recordings of that time, and in fact “Third Light” was not dissimilar to Strawbs of the early 70s. The group added a full time drummer for the first time in the name of Bob Critchley, and issued a second album on Transatlantic, “Tomorrow’s Pantomime”. It was a logical progression from “Third Light”, although perhaps not quite as consistent. With not nearly enough sales to sustain them through punk’s unforgiving imposition, Decameron disbanded shortly thereafter.
The main members do re-unite occasionally, sometimes as a 60s doo-wop alter ego known as the Magnificent Mercury Brothers, sometimes as themselves, while Cadbury has released a solo album and writes with Dave Bell. In the meantime, Johnny Coppin has a name for himself as an English folk singer and collaborator. This is not surprising given Decameron’s own stamp on the folk rock genre, peculiarly English even when emulating their American influences in style. There is something so eminently tasteful about Decameron that they continue to sound fresh today.
Several compilations exist. Most recommended of the original albums is “First Light”, but one CD compilation features this album plus the best from “Tomorrow’s Pantomime”, and is thus also a great place to start, and is highly recommended. The first album has also been re-released on CD as a single disc with nine extra previously unreleased tracks. The latter three albums have since been reissued in full on a double-CD anthology entitled Parabola Road.
