Title:  National Disaster
Company: Decca
Catalog: XBY 846 504
Year: 1967
Country/State: Holland / UK / Germany
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: Dutch pressing

In mid-1967 a series of festering musical and personal disagreements saw keyboardist Hans van Eijck, bass player Rob “Polle” Eduard, and UK singer/guitarist Ray Fenwick collectively kicked out of The Tee Set. With the addition of former Don't drummer Martin Hage the quartet wasted no time getting over their professional setback. Adopting the non-too-subtle name After Tea, within a matter of months they'd been signed to Decca and were enjoying a top-20 Dutch hit with the single 'Not Just a Flower In Your Hair' b/w 'The Time Is Night' (Decca catalog number AT 10 288).  


Based on the success of their debut 45, Decca management wasted no time rushing the group into the studio to record an album. Produced by Bert Schouten, 1967's "National Disaster" offered up a an entertaining blend of mid-1960s freakbeat, pop, psych, and rock influences. Largely written by van Eijck and Fenwick the song titles pretty much told you what was going on. If tracks like the earlier single 'Not Just a Flower In Your Hair', ' In the Land of the Bubble Gum Tree' and 'The Time Is Nigh' weren't a reflection of the age of love, peace and lots of illicit substances, I don't know what was. Sure it was hopelessly dated (probably within a matter of months of being released), but hearing a lyric like 'throw away your LSD' (off of 'The Time Is Nigh') had to make you laugh. Equally good were the band's occasional stabs at blue-eyed soul ('National Disaster'), and more conventional rock ('Long Ago'). Hard to believe, but in spite of van  Eijck's heavily accented vocals, the combination of trippy studio effects (phasing, offbeat tempos, etc.) and some surprisingly strong material made for an album that stood up well against better know UK and US competitors.  

- Opening up with some slashing fuzz guitar from Fenwick and van Eijck's stabbing organ chords, 'Gotta Get You in My Garden Girl' was definitely a mid-1960s timepiece, but what a great slice of flower-power/psychedelia. Anyone who thought the genre only belonged to American and English bands need only listen to this one to see the error in their ways. One of the album highlights.   rating: **** stars
- 'A Lot to Do' found the band adding a Donovan-styled folk-rock edge to the mix. I'm not a huge Donovan fan and normally songs with tribal percussion and flute solos don't do much for me, but I have to admit that this number was actually quite good.   rating: *** stars
- Kicked along by the hardest rocking cello I've ever heard, every time I hear 'Not Just a Flower in Your Hair' I imagine lines of hippies dancing in drug induced ecstasy. The kids chorus was a nice touch, though I've always wondered what the Dutch chorus translated as.    rating: *** stars
- As much as I love sunshine pop, 'In the Land of the Bubblegum Tree' was simply way over-the-top. Sounding like some third rate children's fairytale, slapping the lead vocal with one of those 1930s-styled effects (the poor guys sounded like he was drowning in a small swimming pool), made this one sound like a bad Monty Python sketch. Hideous.    rating: * star
- The keyboard propelled 'I'll Push You for an Answer' found the band taking a step back towards a more mainstream rock sound. Imagine a Dutch version of The Animals at their most commercial and you'll get a feel for this one. Okay, but nothing special.    rating: ** stars
- Again showcasing van Eijck's keyboards, 'Don't Waste Your Love on Me' was a nice, mid-tempo ballad with sort of a strange sea-shanty feel to it. rating: ** stars
- The title track was an interesting change of pace; the band opting to take a stab at blue-eyed soul. True van Eijck's heavily accented vocals were initially a little off-putting, but 'National Disaster' had a great melody and it had one of those irresistible choruses. Very nice.    rating: **** stars
- A precursor to future musical directions, 'Long Ago' featured a much heavier organ and guitar-propelled sound. Unlike much of the collection that sported a very '1967' sound and feel, this performance was the closest they came to a hard rock performance, the results being surprisingly impressive. Shame they didn't do more of this.    rating: **** stars
- Complete with manic, treated vocals and children's chorus (always loved the dorky '"la, la, la, la"), this one sounded like something The Small Faces might have done in the midst of a week long acid trip.. The time capsule lyrics were hysterical ("take your LSD and throw it away, because meditation is the thing for today".    rating: *** stars
- 'Play That Record' was a conventional commercial ballad. The basic melody was actually quite pretty, but van Eijck seemed uncomfortable in the song's vocal range and the heavy instrumentation didn't really help this one.    rating: ** stars
- 'Been a Sad Day' was another change of pace with the band trying their hand at a blues-influenced number. It didn't do much for me the first couple of times I listened to it, but ultimately van Eijck's scat vocals (it sounded like he'd simply run out of lyrics), won me over.   rating: *** stars
- Showcasing van Eijck's stabbing keyboards and one of his best vocals, 'It's Too Late' found the band returning to a heavier rock sound.   rating: *** stars

Yeah, it wasn't perfected and hasn't dated all that well, but the set has a certain nostalgic charm and anyone into summer-of-love innocence would probably enjoy this one.

"National Disaster" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Gotta Get You in My Garden Girl (Hans van Eijck) - 2:52
2.) A Lot to Do  (Hans van Eijck) - 2:04
3.) Not Just a Flower in Your Hair  (Hans van Eijck) - 2:41
4.) In the Land of the Bubblegum Tree ( Hans van Eijck - Ray Fenwick) - 2:13
5.) I'll Push You for an Answer ( Hans van Eijck) - 2:10
6.) Don't Waste Your Love on Me ( Hans van Eijck - Langenbach) - 1:27

(side 2)
1.) National Disaster (Ray Fenwick) -  2:04
2.) Long Ago ( Hans van Eijck) - 4:00
3.) The Time Is Nigh ( Hans van Eijck - Ray Fenwick) - 3:27
4.) Play That Record ( Hans van Eijck) - 4:44
5.) Been a Sad Day (Ray Fenwick) - 2:53
6.) It's Too Late ( Hans van Eijck) - 2:29

Unfortunately, during the recording sessions Fenwick's Dutch work permit expired, forcing him to return to the UK where he joined a late-inning version of The Spencer Davis Group. He was quickly replaced by former Baroques and Tee Set alumnus Ferry Lever.  

The revamped band subsequently enjoyed a second top 40 Dutch hit:



- 1968's 'We Will Be There After Tea' b/w 'Lemon Coloured Honey Tree' (Decca catalog number AT 10 299).  

For hardcore fans, there's also a weird promotional 45. Released as part of a promotional campaign supporting the Dutch Desiree jewelry company, "Desiree" was a 'split' single featuring a series of four song snippets divided between After Tea and Roek's Family. The song fragments were intersperced with spoken word narratives espousing the virtues of Desiree engagement rings.


no label - catalog number 68005

"Desiree" Track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Crazy Rocking Daisy (Roek's Family)
2.) The Wedding Song (After Tea)

(side 2)
1.) Long Time Ago (Roek's Family)
2.) Desiree Song (After Tea)

Unfortunately personality clashes with the rest of the band also saw van Eijck bail. He subsequently returned to The Tee Set. Drummer Hage was next to hit the door. He was initially replaced by Pierre van der Linden (of future Focus fame), but van der Linden's stay was equally brief. He was quickly replaced by Ilja Gort.

The collection never saw an American release, but In the UK it was leased to the small London-based Ace of Clubs label which inexplicably elected to add both sides of the band's sophomore 45 ( 'After Tea' and ' Lemon Coloured Honey Tree'), along with re-titling and repackaging the set as "After Tea".