Camel

Camel is a progressive rock group from Guildford, Surrey, England. They formed circa 1964 when brothers Andrew and Ian Latimer got together with their respective friends Alan Butcher and Richard Over to form The Phantom Four. The band played extensively around their hometown of Guildford, Surrey before changing their name to Strange Brew. The group performed mainly cover tunes until mid-1968 when Ian Latimer quit to get married. Andrew Latimer and Alan Butcher placed an ad in the Surrey Advertiser for a bass player to which Doug Ferguson responded. On 13th November 1968 Ferguson arrived for an audition and promptly impressed the duo with his confidence, a ‘fat’ bass sound, excellent gear (Fender jazz bass, 2 Vox T-60 cabs with amps) and his own roadie! He was offered the gig on the spot. The new blues orientated trio was called… THE BREW. Shortly after joining The Brew, Ferguson told Latimer about an exciting drummer he knew. Andy Ward joined THE BREW at the tender age of 14 and the heart of Camel had begun to take shape.

Ferguson rapidly proved himself to be a great asset with his talent for getting the band attention and gigs. He was also very good at coaxing the promised fees out of promoters, who often protested they didn’t have the money on hand. As a result, THE BREW enjoyed a steady stream of performance dates and recorded their first demo, ‘Crossroads’ in which DJM Records seemed to show interest but the trio were disappointed to learn that it was only in using them as a backing band for another of their artists, Philip Goodhand-Tait.