Along with Peter Banks, Colin Carter formed Flash in 1971. After reading an article on Peter in the Melody Maker, he contacted Peter and on their second meeting together, they wrote “Small Beginnings” which is essentially what kick started Flash. With Colin’s enthusiasm and Peter’s connections, the two landed a deal with the newly formed Sovereign Records on the strength of that one song, before even having a name or band members! Small Beginnings would be the only song the two worked on together in that way. Colin would still get a few more songs into the group; however his pop sensibilities weren’t always easily welcomed into the group.

Colin Carter came to Flash from Portsmouth, where he was the singer and songwriter of Coconut Mushroom, later shortened to Mushroom, from 1967. The band turned professional in 1968 and came close to an Apple Records deal through producer Mike Berry, working as a session band for Berry’s London studio sessions. They signed to Decca in February 1970, and played the college circuit. Their 1968 recordings have since appeared on compilations from RPM and Grapefruit, including “Any Day Now”, “Run Run Run”, “Without You” and “Mirror”. Around 1970 the keyboard player Peter Bardens, later of Camel, recruited Carter as singer to promote his album The Answer. The job brought him from Portsmouth to London and was his first London band; they played the Marquee a few times, but Carter has said he was let go after a few months. Looking for his next move, he remembered Peter Banks’s guitar on the first Yes album, read a Melody Maker piece on Banks by Chris Welch, and contacted him through Welch.

PRE-FLASH BAND: MUSHROOM

with FLASH