Nuggets II: The Madman Running Through The Fields by Dantalian’s Chariot

The success of Rhino’s 1998 Nuggets boxset justified a follow-up. The sequel covers the rest of the world since the first volume only chronicled the USA.

Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 emerged in 2001. It features music from countries such as Iceland, Uruguay, and Japan. I’m profiling and rating each of the 109 tracks, working backwards.

Track 84 – The Madman Running Through The Fields by Dantalian’s Chariot

From: London, United Kingdom

Credits

4/3. THE MADMAN RUNNING THROUGH THE FIELDS – Dantalian’s Chariot (U.K.)
(George Money/Andy Somers)

PERSONNEL/GEORGE “ZOOT” MONEY: vocals, keyboards * ANDY SOMERS: guitar * PAT DONALDSON: bass * COLIN ALLEN: drums
Produced by RIK GUNNELL
Recorded in London, England
Columbia single #DB-8260 (1967)

Dantalian’s Chariot

Every time there’s a UK band on Nuggets II, it’s always fun to locate them in the vast interlocking web of UK bands. And it’s easier with Dantalian’s Chariot than most. Their most famous member is guitarist Andy Somers, who later changed his last name to Summers and played with The Police and Soft Machine.

Zoot Money formed the Big Roll Band in 1961. But, as musical fashions changed, he broke up the band and formed the psychedelic Dantalian’s Chariot. The band took their name from Duke Dantalion, a devil in the mediaeval book The Lesser Key of Solomon.

Dantalian’s Chariot all wore white robes and kaftans in concert, with their equipment also painted white, to heighten the effect of their psychedelic light shows.

The Madman Running Through The Fields

EMI signed the band, and ‘The Madman Running Through the Fields’ was their first single.

Madman was a description of our personal experiences, and the subsequent self-revelations brought about by hallucinogenics… The verse is the voice of the taker, the one who’s dropped the acid, and the chorus is him being observed by a second party – “Isn’t that the madman running through the fields?” A puzzled onlooker – much like the audiences at the time.”
Zoot Money, Record Collector

The record flopped, and bemused by their psychedelic direction, EMI dropped them. Their album was scrapped, although it belatedly appeared in 1996.

With its swirling, whirring backward tape effects, too-much-to-dream bass pulse, surprise tempo changes, and half-step vocal harmony shifts, “The Madman Running Through The Fields” is one of U.K. psychedelia’s defining creations–on a magnificent par with Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” and Tomorrow’s “My White Bicycle.”
Mike Stax, Nuggets II liner notes

I’m not quite as excited about it as Mike Stax – although the pretty melody is a highlight, as is the gentle psychedelic arrangement.

The Aftermath

As noted above, Andy Summers went on to a notable career with The Police. However, the other three members also remained in the music business. Bassist Pat Donaldson later played with Sandy Denny’s Fotheringay and with Richard Thompson. Frontman Zoot Money went on to play with Eric Burdon & the Animals. Drummer Colin Allen later joined Focus.

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10 Comments

Christian's Music Musings

December 7, 2025 / 6:19 pm Reply

“The Madman Running Through the Fields” certainly is not a bad ’60s psychedelic song, and I think the comparison with early Pink Floyd is fair. That said, it’s not particularly memorable, which probably helps explain why it flopped.
- Aphoristical
  
  December 9, 2025 / 9:28 pm Reply
  
  Not as immediate as some other Nuggets, but still strong I think.
80smetalman

December 8, 2025 / 7:35 am Reply

I was cooking while listening, I thought the beep at the beginning was my dinner burning.
- Aphoristical
  
  December 9, 2025 / 9:28 pm Reply
  
  Good news – it was Dantalian’s Chariot, not your dinner burning…
Badfinger (Max)

December 8, 2025 / 1:10 pm Reply

When I saw their picture in that light…I knew I was going to like it and I do. This is an incredible period of popular music. The experimentation going on…some hits and some misses but they were trying for something different. The only rule was there wasn’t any. I like this…I mean as you…not as much as Mike Stax…but I like it.
- Aphoristical
  
  December 9, 2025 / 9:27 pm Reply
  
  Yeah, boundaries and technology were increasing rapidly, and it didn’t feel like there
  were limits.
Vinyl Connection

December 9, 2025 / 12:41 am Reply

Really like the Dantalian’s Chariot track. Zoot Money: bless.
Andy also did a stint with Eric Burdon (Love Is, 1968).
- Aphoristical
  
  December 9, 2025 / 9:26 pm Reply
  
  Oh cool – I don’t think I’ve ever heard Zoot Money on anything else – recommendations?
J. Eric Smith

December 9, 2025 / 4:59 am Reply

I really love the Dantalion’s Chariot album, and this single. Higher quality performances and songs than many other period works where “psychedelic” just meant plinking a sitar or putting in backward seagull noises on otherwise drab/dull pop songs!!
- Aphoristical
  
  December 9, 2025 / 9:27 pm Reply
  
  It’s less immediate than some other Nuggets, but I can imagine they had a good album in them.