The lineup of "The Society" has varied through the years. Starting out, they described themselves as a collective, whose members could come and go pretty much as they pleased, bringing whatever instrument that suited their fancy on that particular day. This was followed by a short period where one frustrated member is thought to have tried to wrest control of the band by kidnapping the singer and the drummer, holding them captive in the band's living quarters, and forcing them to rehearse all hours of the day, intent on making the band a hard-hitting power trio, with the - alleged - kidnapper on electric bass. This proved to be a rather unproductive method of working in the long run, and the project was soon terminated. The singer and the drummer continued on however, with no apparent hard feelings towards their former captor, and in fact remain members of the band to this day!
Since then, decades have come and gone, every season bringing new members and shedding a few of the old ones. But a core crew has remained loyal to the band, and the band itself has all along adhered to a remarkably consistent set of aesthetic values and has kept the recordings within quite narrow stylistic boundaries. In short: they sounded the same in 1984 as they did in 1968, and they still sound the same today. No mean feat!
Presented here are some of the main contributors to the recorded output of The Exploding Breakfast Society through the years:
Harry "Eggs" Benedict
Well-connected entrepreneur and jack of all trades. Hard at work in the informal business sector of his community, Harry also finds the time to take an interest in wildlife, especially the equine and canine varieties, as well as the arts, in particular the noble art of self-defense, being heavily involved in the local scene. Rumoured to be a very keen amateur violinist.
Musical contributions: unknown (possibly bass guitar)
Oberon Brown
Would-be ladies man Brown, seen here with a Spanish guitar, usually operates the gears of the electric organ, when not performing barely noticeable vocal duties in the background. He is an autodidact on the organ, but had to relearn the instrument before joining the band, mostly due to his eccentric disregard for the concepts of tonality and musical form. On some tracks, Brown can be heard playing a most irregular tambourine in a shockingly haphazard manner.
Musical contributions: keyboards, acoustic guitars, background vocals, percussion
Stuart "The Stew" Badminton-Fitzroger
International pop singer extraordinaire. Grooves with abandon, and swings with the worst of them. The hippest cat in a pair of boots since Puss. Take our tip and blow out your mind, as well as your eardrums, with the savage snarls of this noble young beast about town. Turn up, tune out and get “with it”, baby!
Musical contributions: lead vocals, background vocals, handclaps, lead guitar, tambourine, musical composition, lyrics
Rex Standard
Trained as an accountant, Standard was recruited as an arranger of the various brass instruments that had gathered in the dark corners of the band’s rehearsal space. Once all the instruments had been sorted out, he found himself a permanent member, and went on to play these strange conglomerates of metal tubes and valves on most of the band's recordings. Standard is currently - at 52 - the youngest member of the band.
Musical contributions: tuba, french horn, bassoon, flute, clarinet, moog synthesizer, drums, orchestral arrangements
Sir Emryth Foulweather, OBE FGH WC
“Many is the time in the past”, muses Sir Emryth, while resting a pair of slippered feet on an all but threadbare Irish wolfhound, “when lady Foulweather would let slip insidious underhand remarks with regards to my euphonium, and its execution, ‘Shut up with that infernal bleating, you dreadful old windbag, or I will most assuredly break your skull in darling little pieces and feed them to the porcupines’ being one especially memorable instance. However, following her recent encounter with an unfortunate combine harvester I no longer find myself constrained by such petty mundanities, and will frequently of an evening congregate with a few select friends of a similar inclination, grab the trusty old horn in a firm grip and simply let rip, ‘Think of England and blow’ being the chosen motto!”
Musical contributions: euphonium, orchestral arrangements, piano, organ
Ivor Tubb
Electric guitar, electric bass, electric organ, electric harpsichord, these are just some of the instruments that young Tubb has tried his hands at, with the associated electric shocks only resulting in minimal damage to his nervous system. Tubb also writes the occasional lyric to the band’s songs. That is, at least up until the latest incident involving electricity. Tubb claims to be a capricorn. Not the star sign. Literally a capricorn.
Musical contributions: rhythm guitar, bass guitar, harpsichord, musical composition, lyrics
