From the Underworld

{{Infobox song

| name = From the Underworld

| cover = From_the_Underworld.png

| alt =

| caption = US fold-out sleeve

| type = single

| artist = The Herd

| album = Paradise Lost

| B-side = Sweet William

| released = 11 August 1967

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Psychedelic pop

| length = 3:15

| label = Fontana

| writer = * Ken Howard

Alan Blaikley

| producer = Steve Rowland

| prev_title = I Can Fly

| prev_year = 1967

| next_title = Paradise Lost

| next_year = 1967

}}

"From the Underworld" is a single by the English rock band the Herd, released in August 1967. Written by the band's managers Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, the song's lyrics are based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It became the band's first hit upon release, reaching number 6 on the UK Singles Chart and launching singer Peter Frampton as a pop star. It was later included on the group's only studio album Paradise Lost (1968).

Background and recording

The Herd, comprising 16-year-old guitarist Peter Frampton, keyboardist Andy Bown, bassist Gary Taylor and drummer Andrew Steele, signed with Fontana Records in early 1967.{{cite journal |journal=Evening Sentinel|last1=Jones |first1=Alan |title=Revival of the old British scream |date=9 December 1967 |page=4 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/867521924 |access-date=17 February 2023}} The band's live performances were marked by an R&B sound, with Frampton, Bown and Taylor all taking lead vocals.{{cite book |last1=Schmitt |first1=Roland |title=The Small Faces & Other Stories |date=2011 |publisher=Bobcat Books |isbn=9780857124517 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1d6aAwAAQBAJ |access-date=15 February 2023}}{{cite web |last1=DeMain |first1=Billy |title=Peter Frampton: the ultimate career interview |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/peter-frampton-the-ultimate-career-interview |website=Classic Rock |date=4 November 2022 |access-date=15 February 2023}} However, the band's managers Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, known for their success with Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, positioned Frampton as the frontman. Frampton sang lead on the Herd's first Fontana single, "I Can Fly", and later reflected "they didn’t put the Herd on the covers of the magazines, they put me on. And instantly it started discontent in the band. I felt terrible. The die was cast."

Howard and Blaikley wrote "From the Underworld" before they became involved with the Herd.{{cite journal |title=No hitches in the world of Howard and Blaikley |journal=Melody Maker |date=21 October 1967 |page=9 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/67/Melody-Maker-1967-1021.pdf |access-date=14 May 2023}} The partners considered it a more serious work than the hits they wrote for Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich.{{cite journal |title=No hitches in the world of Howard and Blaikley |journal=Melody Maker |date=21 October 1967 |page=9 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/67/Melody-Maker-1967-1021.pdf |access-date=14 May 2023}} They compared their approach to that of the English writer Graham Greene, who divided his work into novels and "entertainments"; in a 1967 interview, Howard declared "The Herd are the novels and Dave Dee and co are the entertainments - and that is not meant to be derogatory in any way."{{cite journal |title=No hitches in the world of Howard and Blaikley |journal=Melody Maker |date=21 October 1967 |page=9 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/67/Melody-Maker-1967-1021.pdf |access-date=14 May 2023}} Lyrically, "From the Underworld" is based on the ancient Greek legend of the musician and poet Orpheus, who descends to the underworld to rescue his lover Eurydice, only to lose her when he breaks the commandment given to him by Hades and looks behind during their journey back to the living world.{{cite journal |last1=Beale |first1=Michael |title=Disc desk |journal=Birmingham Evening Mail and Despatch |date=9 August 1967 |page=3 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/853003657/?terms=%22herd%22%20%22underworld%22&match=1 |access-date=17 February 2023}}{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Derek |title=Beach Boys weirdly fascinating |journal=New Musical Express |date=12 August 1967 |page=4 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/1967/NME-1967-08-12-S-OCR.pdf |access-date=15 February 2023}} Howard and Blaikley had reportedly learnt the story when studying Latin at University College School, Hampstead.{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Alan |title=Melody is a must in Tin Pan Alley |journal=Lincolnshire Echo |date=29 November 1967 |page=6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900669234/?terms=%22Paradise%20Lost%22%20%22herd%22&match=1 |access-date=26 February 2023}} Regarding the song's Greek mythology theme, Michael Beale of the Birmingham Mail considered the success of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" proof "that there is room at the top of the chart for something different".

Musically, the song employs an elaborate string and brass arrangement. A fuzz guitar part and trumpet obligato also feature,{{cite book |last1=Clayson |first1=Alan |title=Death Discs: An Account of Fatality in the Popular Song |date=1997 |publisher=Sanctuary |isbn=9781860741951 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tyDaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22herd%20%22trumpet%20%22From%20the%20Underworld%22}} with a "demonic chorus" and "a most difficult, galloping rhythm", according to Ray Connolly.{{cite journal |last1=Connolly |first1=Ray |title=Discs |journal=Evening Standard |date=12 August 1967 |page=7 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/721572161/?terms=%22herd%22%20%22underworld%22&match=1 |access-date=17 February 2023}} It opens with a tolling bell, dubbed "Big Ben, or a near relation" by Peter Jones of Record Mirror.{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Peter |title=Your guide to this week's new singles |journal=Record Mirror |date=12 August 1967 |page=9 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/67/Record-Mirror-1967-08-12-S-OCR-i.pdf |access-date=15 February 2023}}

==Release==

"From the Underworld", backed with "Sweet William", was released by Fontana on 11 August 1967. The Herd promoted the single with a television appearance on BBC1's Dee Time (7 September){{cite web |title=Dee Time |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/0d98c2eb9275451ca9cec61f040343ab |website=BBC |date=7 September 1967 |access-date=17 February 2023}} and radio sessions on the Light Programme's Pop North and Swingalong.{{cite web |title=Pop North |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/750135051a844454b40dce3223d7238e |website=BBC |date=28 September 1967 |access-date=17 February 2023}}{{cite web |title=Swingalong |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/267178b699eb49b087eecc78af3c3c36 |website=BBC |date=4 September 1967 |access-date=17 February 2023}} The band performed the song on the 28 September edition of Top of the Pops.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetvdb.com/series/top-of-the-pops-uk/seasons/4|title=Top of the Pops (UK) - Season 4 @ TheTVDB|website=www.thetvdb.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-27}} It peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart in November 1967 and ultimately spent 13 weeks on the chart.{{cite web |title=Herd|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/13090/herd/ |website=Official Charts |access-date=16 February 2023}} Speaking during its chart run, drummer Andrew Steele described 'From the Underworld" as "a fluke" and expressed the band's intention to write their own material.{{cite journal |title=At last, the Herd emerge from the underworld |journal=Melody Maker |date=28 October 1967 |page=9 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/67/Melody-Maker-1967-1028.pdf |access-date=15 February 2023}}

==Reception and legacy==

The song received mixed reviews upon release. Writing in the New Musical Express, Derek Johnson considered "From the Underworld" "a remarkable disc", praising it as "beautifully scored" and "the most serious and thoughtful composition yet from the Howard-Blaikley team". Peter Jones of Record Mirror commented "this moody bit of writing... ...is well-conceived but just misses out. Most promising, however." Ray Connolly of the Evening Standard wrote "a good, interesting record with some nice mythical-sounding trumpets, but personally I prefer the way Kathleen Ferrier used to sing about Eurydice." Alan Jones of the Lincolnshire Echo deemed the Greek mythology theme "learned material for pop song lyrics. The end product, however, is not as adventurous as the choice of material."{{cite journal |last1=Alan |first1=Jones |title=New singles |journal=Lincolnshire Echo |date=14 August 1967 |page=6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/900430359/?terms=%22herd%22%20%22underworld%22&match=1 |access-date=17 February 2023}} Interviewed for the Melody Maker column "Blind Date", Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys compared the chants in "From the Underworld" to the Yardbirds' "Still I'm Sad". He praised the percussion ("like African-Tahitian wood blocks") but felt the arrangement too elaborate, commenting "it's like overproducing "London Bridge Is Falling Down."{{cite journal |title=Beach Boy Bruce Johnston reviews new singles in Blind Date |journal=Melody Maker |date=19 August 1967 |page=10 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/67/Melody-Maker-1967-0819.pdf |access-date=15 February 2023}}

The song has received retrospective praise. In 1998, Mojo listed "From the Underworld" in its list of "100 Greatest Psychedelic Classics".{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060223170803/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p2.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 23, 2006|title=Mojo lists from October 1998|publisher=rocklistmusic.co.uk|accessdate=2 April 2016}} In his 2017 book Goldmine's Essential Guide to Record Collecting, Dave Thompson defines the song as "pure pop in dark, moody clothing"{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Dave |title=Goldmine's Essential Guide to Record Collecting |date=29 June 2017 |publisher=F+W Media |isbn=9781440248092 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABZjDwAAQBAJ |access-date=15 February 2023}} while Richie Unterberger of AllMusic considers it the highlight of Paradise Lost, highlighting its "dense production and booming harmonies".{{cite web |last1=Unterberger |first1=Richie |title=The Herd Featuring Peter Frampton |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-herd-featuring-peter-frampton-mw0000626577 |website=AllMusic |access-date=16 February 2023}}

Howard and Blaikley used another part of the Orpheus and Eurydice legend – as described in Vergil's Georgics – as inspiration for Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich's 1969 hit "Snake in the Grass"; the song is adapted from a section in which Eurydice dies while Orpheus attempts to rescue her from Hades, following a snake bite which she receives while running from a would-be rapist.{{cite book |last1=Moody |first1=Frogg |last2=Nash |first2=Richard |title=Hold Tight! Voices of the Sarum Sound 1945 - 1969 |date=2007 |publisher=Salisbury Printing |location=Salisbury |isbn=978-0-9557410-0-5 |page=178}}

A cover of the song by Marc Almond features on his 2017 album Shadows and Reflections.{{cite web |last1=Folland |first1=Richard |title=Marc Almond: Shadows and Reflections |url=https://www.popmatters.com/marc-almond-shadows-and-reflections-2495377680.html |website=PopMatters |date=6 November 2017 |access-date=17 February 2023}}