Atomic Rooster – The Devil’s Answer

This is another song I noticed on the BBC Life On Mars TV series in the mid-2000s.

Atomic Rooster… Now that is a name. I’ve been in short-term bands with different names such as… “The Flying Junebugs”, “The Cryin ‘Shame” and “Green Swingset” but Atomic Rooster is unique.

Atomic Rooster was an English rock band, originally composed of former members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history keyboardist, Vincent Crane was the only constant member and wrote the majority of their material.

The band was founded by the late British blues pianist Vincent Crane, originally with British drummer Carl Palmer, after Crane left The Crazy World of Arthur Brown which he had co-founded in 1966. During 1970 they formed Atomic Rooster as decided in New York, and the band’s first gig was headlining at the Lyceum, London, with Deep Purple as support. The first Atomic Roster single was “Friday the 13th”, and the first album was Atomic Ro-o-oster.

Their history is defined by two periods: the early-mid-1970s and the early 1980s. Their genre in music is difficult to define since they went through radical changes in a very short time during the life of the band. However, their best-known era represented a more hard rock/progressive rock sound, exemplified by their only hit singles… Tomorrow Night peaked at #11 in the UK and The Devil’s Answer peaked at #4… both in 1971.

The Devil’s Answer

People are looking but they don’t know what to do
It’s the time of the season for the people like you
Come back tomorrow, show the scars on your face
It’s a clue to the answer we all chase

Three, five and seven lift the heaviest load
reach the top of the heaven that’s fallen below
Devil may care but you wish for the best can’t you see there’s an answer that lies there
Come all you sinners and keep with the time
can we see all the faces that have fallen behind
Don’t make the reason it’s a secret for you

There’s a clue to the answer we all know
There’s no clue to the answer we all know
People are looking but they don’t know what to do
It’s the time of the season for the people like you
Come back tomorrow, show the scars on your face

It’s a clue to the answer we all chase
It’s a clue to the answer we all chase

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

52 thoughts on “Atomic Rooster – The Devil’s Answer”

      2. Did you see the BBC or the American version? The BBC version is the one I love…the American version never hit me the same. The BBC lasted for 16 episodes…came to an end…and then it was a sequel about the eighties…Ashes to Ashes

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      4. They were saying in 2022 that they will make a Life on Mars sequel with John Simm…I’ll watch… I watched the American one but favored the BBC version…Gene Hunt was one of the most interesting tv characters I’ve ever seen. An Anti Hero…supreme…
        Oh this song plays when Sam plays soccer with his dad. I learned a lot of new songs from that show.

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    2. I thought maybe you might have remembered this one…I didn’t know it until Life On Mars….yea that video to Fire…bizarre to say the least.

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  3. Oh yes! Now you’re talking!

    A copper-bottomed classic cut. I loved it back in 1971 and I love it now.

    Something about that glorious brassy riff reminds me of The Who’s 5:15 and the drumming puts me in mind of The Who’s The Real Me.

    Glad you appreciate Life On Mars. The character of Gene Hunt is not a caricature – there really were many people like him around.

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    1. Oh Gene Hunt…the BBC Gene Hunt…was one of my favorite tv characters ever. He was Archie Bunker on steroids… I read in the UK where women loved that character…you wouldn’t think that but they did.
      I love this song…I thought you would like this one!

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      3. Talking of which, my wife and I were walking through the grounds of a stately home a couple of years ago and who should walk by but Philip (Gene Hunt) Glenister, dressed in nineteenth-century garb. He was filming a TV series called Belgravia (look it up).

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      4. That is so cool Paul. I’ve seen him in interviews and he seems like a really cool guy…so does John Simms for that matter.

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    1. Jim…I don’t know how much you watch tv…but if you ever get a chance to see Life On Mars…the BBC version…watch it. A modern cop gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973…it only lasts 16 episodes.

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      1. I just looked it up and it says that I can stream Life on Mars by renting or purchasing on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu. I could rent it on Amazon Instant Video one day.

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      2. Cool…America made a version…don’t go to that one…it’s not bad but the English one is best. The Cockney is hard to understand at times but its great.

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      4. See…I don’t know the difference. I’ve watched it around 4 times…and by the second time I used sub titles…I didn’t need them for the most part but for the rest I did. I learned a lot about early seventies culture over there…like “a box a musical box”… Camberwick Green. I even watched a few episodes .

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      6. Paul I’ll leave you alone about this after this…what was the beer/alcohol in the can that you had to use a can opener to get in? I think the number 7 was in the title but I can’t remember.

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    1. I thought of three bloggers when I wrote this…and you were one of them. I thought you all would know these guys. I was late to the part on them but Life On Mars introduced me to a lot of music I didn’t know.

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  6. I’ve heard their name (it is one you remember when you notice it) but not the music, so like Jim says , thanks for introducing us to it. I think I remember you writing about ‘Life on Mars’ a few years back- sounds quite good but I’ve not seen it.

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    1. Dave…the show is really good…if you get a chance watch it! If you took a modern cop and sent him to 1973…it’s a lot of fun from there.

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      2. Yes! I agree with that. Books also…if Dylan likes this artist…I’ll try…and usually I do. I agree…people we trust that steers you in the right direction.

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  8. This is new to me but, the Carl Palmer connection is sweet, though he was only on the first album. I did a little digging. The Devil’s Answer is a lost damn child. Issued as a non-album single, it showed up just before In Hearing Of (1971…third album) was released. It’s not on the UK album but, shows up in the US version with dubbed vocals (Pete French). Re-issues of the first two albums has the original Du Cann/Carl Palmer demo (1970) and “Devil’s Answer” (original single) with different spelling. It doesn’t seem to belong, anywhere.

    The music doesn’t really capture me but, the background stuff, does.

    Correct your blog title. You are missing an “S”.

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    1. I saw it in Life On Mars…I learned a lot of music…thank you…it’s in there now…I looked at it but didn’t notice it…it’s funny though…I’ll tell you why later.

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      2. UK…I don’t like the US version but some do… I think run-sew-read liked both.
        It’s worth a watch! I know!

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