Collected works of Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera on the way

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, who featured vocalist Dave Terry, are to have their very first complete career anthology released. Long Nights Of Summer, The Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera Anthology will be released through Grapefruit Records on July 22.

A highly-regarded late 60s UK psychedelic band, Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera are of note to most prog fans because singer Terry, who would later appropriate the name Elmer Gantry, as well as taking to the stage wearing a cape and preacher's hat in the style of the title character in the 1960 film of Sinclair Lewis' novel of the same name, sang with the Alan Parsons Project on 1980's The Turn Of A Friendly Card and 1982's Eye In The Sky albums. he also worked with Jon Lord on 1982's Before I Forget and Cozy Powell on 1981's Tilt. The band also featured John Hudson Ford, who would later join Strawbs.

Long Nights Of Summer, The Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera Anthology features the band's 1968 debut album Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera, which features the band's debut single Flames, which also made an appearance on the 1968 compilation The Rock Machine Turns You On, as well as being covered live by Led Zeppelin, and its 1969 follow-up Ride A Hustler's Dream, as well as a US promo-only mono mix of the debut LP making its first-ever CD appearance.

Pre-order Long Nights Of Summer, The Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera Anthology.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.