Town band alongside rock greats on album

Heavy rockers Barnabus split up in 1973 following a fruitless search for fame in London.

But they garnered a large following around Warwickshire – and their track Apocalypse evidently lingered in the minds of the people behind a new compilation, called I’m A Freak Baby. The record celebrates the British heavy psych and hard rock underground scene from 1968 to 1972.

And the honour has come as a delightful surprise to Leamington man John Storer, formerly of Barnabus. He said: “About a year ago, a record label approached us and asked if we would allow them to use one of our original tracks and add it to a new compilation they were putting together.

“We didn’t think much about it until that particular CD dropped through my letterbox last week. I felt huge amount of pride at seeing our long lost track immortalised alongside the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Hawkwind and the Edgar Broughton Band.”

The three-disc, four-hour CD set features tracks by the likes of The Yardbirds and The Move, It attempts to chronicle the heavier side of British psychedelia, incorporating various provincial acts.

Inspired by band’s place on the new album, John has set up a Facebook group about the band, which can be found by searching for ‘Barnabus band’.

I’m A Freak Baby is available now through Cherry Red Records, priced £17.99.