Manky Kat

formerly known as Mystic Tangent 

The Mystic Tangent, Left to Right: Steve Page (D); Mike Pike (B) and kneeling Pete Dashwood (G); Mark Austen (V); Jim Bellamy (G). Other member Mark Eden (B).

Mystic Tangent were best known for a mass fainting at Pokesdown Youth Club. They were playing in a small space next to the boiler room when a strobe light caused a small number of overheated teenagers to collapse. Six girls and a boy were taken to the hospital where they received medical attention. The story made headlines in the Bournemouth Echo and was picked up by some of the national dailies, who could hardly contain their outrage at such an event being allowed to happen. The Daily Mirror ran the headline, ‘Pop Frenzy KO’s Seven Children at a Club Dance’, with the sub-header, ‘Council to Probe Psychedelic Session’. The Daily Sketch went with, ‘Flashing Pop Lights Knock Out 12 Young Ravers’. It is said that The Rolling Stones manager, Andrew Loog-Oldham, was so impressed with the stunt that he offered the band a contract, as long as they wrote some original songs to record. None were forthcoming, and the idea was quietly dropped.

Mystic Tangent holding the psychedelic gizmo that created a media storm (Photograph Mark Eden).

In 1971 Mark Eden replaced Mike Pike, and The Mystic Tangent morphed into Manky Kat. There was a brief reunion in the nineties of the original lineup, but that was brought to a premature end with the untimely death of Mark Austen.