50th anniversary edition of The Way We Live's first vinyl LP released

A 50th anniversary LP of Rochdale band The Way We Live’s first vinyl LP has been released.

The band – which would later become ‘Tractor’ – was signed up by John Peel in 1971, with their first album ‘A Candle for Judith’ released on his Dandelion Records label in Spring of that year.

A 1971 original LP in mint condition now fetches over £400; now there is a new triple gatefold sleeve release of the album on green vinyl – with a bonus 12” featuring two extra tracks from the same period.

The two-piece recording band consisted of guitarist and vocalist (and sometimes bass guitar) Jim Milne, and drummer (and sometimes bass guitar) Steve Clayton.

 

 

Demos for the album were recorded in studios in Rochdale before recording sessions were carried out in Birmingham and London including the studio where renowned rock band Cream recorded; appropriate as Cream was often referenced in reviews of The Way We Live and Tractor albums.

The Way We Live ‘A Candle for Judith’ was met with great reviews and then John Peel chose the new name ‘Tractor’ for their next album, released in 1972.

Through the 1970s, Tractor the band and its sound engineers would set up a plethora of businesses in Rochdale and Heywood: recording studios, music shop, rehearsal rooms, PA hire and a staging company that helped shape and service the local and national music scene. Tractor sound engineer Chris Hewitt helped found the legendary local Deeply Vale Festivals.

 

 

To quote 1970s Whitworth and Rochdale musician Ken Park, who adds his thoughts to the new anniversary edition sleeve notes: “Small acorns or in this case cotton fibres, this remarkable band opened doors all over the place, the impact they had still endures today.

“I was one of the lucky ones, able to walk through a door they opened, we were kids, we were skint still we did gigs in the 70’s with a professional PA system and we were lucky enough to get on the stage at Deeply Vale 77.

“We play on today, older a little wiser but we still doff our caps in the direction of Jim Milne and Steve Clayton whose music was not only great to listen to but set off a series of remarkable events that changed the course of music.”

For more info and to order the 50th anniversary 12” inch version of the album, please contact Chris Hewitt ozitrecords@gmail.com or tel: 07970 219 701.