ged by Brian Jones, who was drawn to instruments like the sitar and ancient Eastern percussion, the Rolling Stones dipped their feet into the scene with songs like "Paint It Black" (1966) and the less-successful album Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967). In Britain psychedelic pioneers created music that was steeped in whimsy and surrealism and was less aggressive and minimalist than their American counterparts. The scene revolved around venues such as London's UFO club (a predecessor to festivals like Glastonbury) and Middle Earth and such events as the 14-Hour Technicolour Dream, a happening in April 1967 in the Alexandra Palace that featured an enormous pile of bananas and bands like Pink Floyd, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and the Utterly Incredible Too Long Ago to Remember Sometimes Shouting at People. A benefit for the alternative newspaper IT (International Times), the event also drew counterculture celebrities such as John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Andy Warhol. Pink Floyd was the leading light of the British underground scene, with vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett the main writer behind such hits as "Arnold Layne" (a quirky, controversial song about a transvestite), and the spacey, driving instrumental "Interstellar Overdrive." He was a strong creative force until his worsening schizophrenia led to him being edged out of the band in 1968. Other British acts included the anarchic Tomorrow, which specialized in droning raga feedback and wild drumming; the operatic, flamboyant Arthur Brown; the R&B-flavored Pretty Things, and the Canterbury band Soft Machine, which incorporated "harmolodic" jazz into their psychedelic rock. "Musically people were experimenting, trying to convey that transcendant feel. Even the Stones did it, shooting off at an angle that didn't suit them," sums up Andy Ellison, lead vocalist with John's Children, the first band of Marc Bolan, who later fronted T. Rex. "It was like soul music came from white boys o...
