Curtiss Maldoon were on
Purple Records, the label started by
Deep Purple. Their connection to Deep Purple came out of Dave Curtiss short-lived involvement with an early incarnation of the band known as "Roundabout" where Curtiss was the vocalist (and Bobby Woodman Clarke was the drummer). No recordings have come to light of this line-up. Dave Curtiss (under the name "Dave Curtis and the Tremors") recorded several
beat singles in the mid 1960s for various labels. Their first LP featured
Steve Howe on lead guitar,
Tony Ashton, and musicians from
Mighty Baby, including Roger Powell. This album features the song "Sepheryn," which
Madonna and
William Orbit transformed into the hit song "
Ray of Light." Curtiss Maldoon did some touring after the release of this album bolstered by a rhythm section. They played shows with
Badfinger in the US and also did a well reviewed concert at Lincoln Center where they were on the bill with vocalist
Merry Clayton. Their second album came out under the name 'Maldoon' as Curtiss asked that his name be removed from the project, and that it be a Clive Maldoon solo album. It came out on the Purple label as well, this time distributed by Warner Brothers. After this album, Clive Maldoon continued trying to establish himself in the music world, but ran into a series of managerial and contract problems. He died in 1978 of complications from prescription medications. ==Discography==