Wave biography
British Psychedelic band SECOND HAND dissolved after a falling out between drummer Kieran O'Connor and keyboard player Ken Elliot, who on leaving the band forged a lucrative career as a sessions musician and composer in advertising jingles and incidental TV music. The pair were reunited in a south London pub owned by JETHRO TULL's original bass player Glen Cornick and, even though they had not reconciled their differences, they began talking about recording an album consisting of only keyboards and percussion. The result was "Things To Come", an album that consists of mainly synth-laden instrumental tracks with only four vocal songs, that was quickly snapped up by Gull Records in the UK and Janus in the USA. Rather than continuing with the SECOND HAND name, the Elliot and O'Connor chose to call the band SEVENTH WAVE and began putting together a touring band to promote the release in Europe. The album received a considerable degree of air play in the USA but the band chose not to tour there to support it, which ultimately resulted in poor sales. Not wishing to make the same mistake twice, they embarked upon a US tour in support of their more song-based second album, "Psi-Fi", (which features a guest appearance by VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR's Hugh Banton on the track Manifestations), but unfortunately this time all the radio airplay for the album occurred in Europe while they were touring the USA. During the tour, O'Connor fell out with Elliot again and quit the band, so by the time they returned to England Elliot had decided to dissolve SEVENTH WAVE for good. Ken Elliot went back to the world of TV and advertising jingles while Kieran O'Connor, who after working with various Blues/Rock bands around London, sadly died of alcoholism in the mid 80s.