(c’81-’84) Mark Applin (vocals), Fred Tarling (keyboards), Tim Hawes (bass), Lloyd Newman (guitar) and Kevin Arthur (drums).

This Lightwater / Bagshot prog rock band originally went by Still Brook. By the time Tony McPhee accepted the Wooden Bridge Rock Clubs invitation, and payment, to appear on 21 April ’83, it had been catenated and Stillbrook warmed up the crowd at The Wooden Bridge, Guildford for the founder of the British blues and rock band the Groundhogs. They also played the Community Centre, Cranford later that year on 22 July ’83, then supported Nashville Teens at The Old Schoolhouse, Woking on 27 August, that same year. They dropped Tarling in ’84 and became Fra Angelico; but not before, purportedly, Craig Logan, later of Bros, played bass in Stillbrook.

Early Still Brook (still two words) patch and poster blank. Source: Skylephant

Applin, who’d been in The Fallen Angels before Stillbrook, hopped to Lifespan in ’84, then went on to join Isle of Wight based 9th Street Heroes with Level 42’s Mark King’s brother Nathan on bass. This evolved into 9th Street who signed to A&M Records and released one album: “The Prayer”. Arthur and Hawes both went on to be founding members of Elephant Talk. Hawes is now a songwriter, record producer and music publisher with more than ten million record sales, and five number one singles having worked with Spice Girls, Five, Hear’Say, and Sugababes, amongst many others. He has also received of the Ivor Novello award for songwriting. Hawes is currently the CEO of Zebra1 and has been collaborating on the Skylephant project with Applin.

Gallery:

Stillbrook (l-r: Arthur, Tarling, Applin, Newman, and Hawes). Picture courtesy of Mark Applin
Advert for The Wooden Bridge Rock Club from Sounds 9 April ’83 issue. Image courtesy of Pete Cole