ABOUT US

Brian Rudd and Ian Peppercorn have been working together in bands on and off since 1969. They were both in the Soul Band, Lord Bernard's Baby Brown Bash Band, in the late sixties and early 1970's. After the band's demise they  worked in a series of covers bands, namely Deja Vu, Shark, and finally in Gypp in it's various incarnations. This band, who wrote all their own material, which was essentially prog rock, brought out one of the U.K's first cassette albums to be sold in shops and at gigs. This was in 1974 and pre-dated the punk explosion of self produced cassettes. Ahead of their time? Well maybe. . . .Their bass player at the time was Roger Clarke Johnson. He later moved to Germany and still gigs throughout Germany and America in the fabulous Sazerac Swingers, playing upright bass. Check them out online.

Gypp were later joined by Martin Newell, a distinctive singer and songwriter. They gigged extensively in the U.K and Europe, bringing out the EP Yaah! on their own record label. This record  is now a collectors item and can sometimes be found on Ebay. Following his departure from Gypp,  Martin Newell went on to gain cult status in his own right. 

Next to join Gypp was Jock Davies providing full bore rock vocals. Again they toured the UK and Europe. They also took time out to write and perform the score for the children's musical "BABEL". Also with Jock Davies they recorded the single "Airship" at the prestigious Eden Studios in Chiswick,  sadly it was never released and subsequently Jock departed from the band. Jock continues to perform and has a second career as an extremely talented cartoonist, you can find him online.

Gypp worked for nearly a decade and in that time had upwards of seventeen different members, too many to list individually, but all talented and most still involved in music in some form. Apologies to those not mentioned here.

In 1980 Gypp decided to change their  approach. Armed with the new name of Horizontal Brian they decided to remain a four piece with Tony Phillips on vocals and bass,  John Butters on drums, Brian on keyboards and Ian on guitar. Once again they gigged extensively in the UK and Europe. In 1983, they securing a record deal with Gold Mountain records in L A where they filmed a video for the fledgling MTV and brought out the vinyl LP Vertical produced by 10cc's Graham Goldman. The video, very much a reflection of the time it was made, can still be found on Utube. Sadly the record failed to sell in sufficient numbers and to some extent the band members went their own way. Tony Phillips went on to be a successful recording engineer with Pete Townsend, Joni Mitchell, John Lydon, Celine Dion, producer Trevor Horn and many others. Tony currently has a studio in LA and writes music for film and TV.

Other notable former members of Gypp and Horizontal Brian include the drummer John Butters who continues to gig with the great Blues Situation. John also now works with the great Tim Aves in Leavin' Trunk, both bands gig extensively, check them out live and online. John also often gets called upon to play with some great internationally famous blues stars when they work in the UK.

 Following the demise of Horizontal Brian some joint recording was undertaken with John Butters, Martin Newell, Brian and Ian at Short Straw Studios in Suffolk. Some songs recorded at that time, later ended up on Martin Newell's own solo records. 

In 1996 Gypp decided to do some reunion gigs in Germany. Subsequently  several former members of Gypp  gathered in Guetersloh for a memorable weekend of gigs. The open air gigs were recorded and brought out on the German label Jarmusic. Copies are now rare and difficult to find.

Brian and Ian continued to gig separately throughout the 1990's and early noughties in various bands, before deciding to get back to writing and recording their own music once again. 

Trash Humanica were formed to allow them to release music on their own label. The 5 CD's Moon Palace,  Kiss Like a Thorn, Inside the White Arcade, Thousand Camel Stare and "The Revenge of Hieronymus Bosch", together with the accompanying videos, all directed by David Hoser can be seen on this website. CD's are limited edition only and a small number are still available for those wanting the genuine article as opposed to streaming. Enquiries via our email address on this website please .

In 2022 "Thousand Camel Stare" was released together with a complete video album edited and directed by great friend and brilliant film producer David Hoser of Notable Films. All  nine tracks are featured. World class drummer George Fothergill agreed to collaborate again with Ian and Brian on this project, his contribution  has been massive. George has accepted honorary membership of Trash Humanica. Proceeds of the sale of the limited edition of the CD were donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Trash Humanica got a great boost from Dave Hoser's Trash Humanica video of "Wazoo" from the White Arcade album achieving Best Music Video Award at the 2023 London International Short Film Festival.

in 2023 the latest release "The Revenge of Hieronymus Bosch" also accompanied by great videos by Dave Hoser and featuring George Fothergill sees proceeds of the sale of CD's going to "Save the Children".

Trash Humanica continue working on new material with the next album in their sights.

Trash Humanica's complete CD catalogue is available to stream on all major streaming sites, you can also contact us from this website for a copy of any of our albums.

The project continues!

Author: Ignatius Ruddcorn.