70s prog rockers Absolute Elsewhere finally release second album Playground

Absolute Elsewhere, a mid-70s UK prog rock band who at various points featured both former King Crimson drummers Bill Bruford and Andrew McCulloch, have finally had their second album, Playground, released on Jambco Records.

The band were originally signed to Warner Bros. by former Beatles publicist and manager of Apple Records, MD Derek Taylor, and recorded and released their 1976 debut album, the instrumental In Seach of Ancient Gods, which was inspired by the writings of Erich von Däniken, and featured Bruford on drums.

Musically the band were the brainchild of keyboardist and flautist Paul Fishman and also featured Jon Astrop on bass and Phil Saatchi and guitar and mixed progressive rock with a more electronic sound.

The same core trio recorded a follow-up, Playground, which this time featured McCulloch on drums, and in which Fishman, Astrop and Saatchi all added vocals into the mix. However with punk rock in the ascendency, the record label lost all interest and the album languished in the label's vaults.

Rediscovered earlier this year, the album has been remastered and is now available through streaming and download services. You can listen to the album in full with the embed player below.

Fishman would go on to form new wave/electronic band Re-Flex, who had a hit in 1983 with The Politics Of Dancing, and has continued to work in the field of electronic music. Astrop is still a musician, producer and writer who co-wrote Sam Fox's 1986 hit Touch Me (I Want To Feel Your Body) and Saatchi, the younger brother of the famous Charles and Maurice Saatchi was signed to A&M for a solo career.

Absolute Elsewhere: Playground
1. Relax
2. Time to Change
3. Talk to Me
4. The 7 Year Itch
5. Elementary Fools
6. It Doesn't Take A Burglar Long To Fall In Love
7. The Nine Other Worst Dressed Men
8. Tides