Nuggets II: Days of the Broken Arrows by The Idle Race

Before he topped the 1970s charts with Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne recorded some gems with The Idle Race.

Days of the Broken Arrows—The Idle Race

• Track 71, disc 3
• Year: 1969
• From: Birmingham, UK.

9/10

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Credits

3/17. DAYS OF THE BROKEN ARROWS -The Idle Race
(Jeff Lynne)

PERSONNEL/JEFF LYNNE: vocals, guitar * DAVE PRITCHARD: guitar * GREG MASTERS: bass * ROGER SPENCER: drums
Produced by NOEL WALKER & JEFF LYNNE
Recorded in London, England
Liberty single #LBF-15218 (1969)

The Idle Race

The Nightriders formed in Birmingham in 1959. Rhythm guitarist Dave Pritchard and drummer Roger Spencer stayed with the band until the early 1970s. Eighteen different musicians passed through the band, but their most famous members are Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne. Wood was the band’s lead guitarist and vocalist between 1964 and 1966 – he left to form The Move.

Later in 1966, Jeff Lynne joined the band as lead guitarist. He quickly assumed control, becoming the lead vocalist and songwriter.

Days of the Broken Arrows

‘Days of the Broken Arrows’ was released between Lynne’s two albums with The Idle Race. It’s ambitious and Beatlesque, packing a lot of ideas into almost four minutes. It’s excellent, but it’s perhaps too complex to break an unknown band to the public.

“The A-side, Days Of The Broken Arrows, was and would remain arguably the best song in their entire catalogue. Lyrically it was another dark number, with mysterious references to a little girl and a pretty teddy bear, birds falling from the trees, lines like ‘don’t be too sad when you’re waiting for death,’ and a message on the garden wall saying that ‘Mickey Mouse is bad.’

Musically, it was chock-full of hooks, starting off deceptively slow then picking up speed after the first verse, with at one point a melody line which for a few seconds sounded uncannily like The Move’s Wild Tiger Woman. Yet glowing reviews and a few plays on Radio 1 still failed to bring it the success it deserved.”

John Van der Kiste (August 2015 – Jeff Lynne: Electric Light Orchestra – Before and After)

The Aftermath

Despite their obvious strengths, The Idle Race never broke through to the mainstream. Lynne quit the band when their second album, 1969’s The Idle Race, failed to chart. He joined Wood in The Move, excited by Wood’s idea to form an orchestral rock band. Lynne enjoyed massive success with Electric Light Orchestra in the 1970s.

By the beginning of 1969 The Idle Race had released four singles and an album. All were superbly crafted and seemingly bursting with commercial appeal, but sales had been less than overwhelming, with nothing reaching the Top 50.

Mike Stax, Nuggets II liner notes

Other notable musicians also passed through The Idle Race. Guitarist Dave Walker also played with Fleetwood Mac, Savoy Brown, and Black Sabbath. The Idle Race morphed into the Steve Gibbons Band.

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• Nuggets II Song by Song
• 1960s Album Reviews