“I discovered our album by chance when a pub landlord showed me his copy”: They brought steampunk to prog, connected to The Stones and The Who, and didn’t know their only record had been released until 32 years later

Pete Ballam in 2017.

Bram Stoker might have had connections to Roger Daltrey and The Rolling Stones back in the 70s, but they split up before the release of their debut album. In 2017 guitarist Pete Ballam – who died in 2019 – told Prog the story, and revealed what he was trying to do to rectify the situation.

For a short period Bram Stoker seemed to be at the vanguard of the progressive rock movement. The Bournemouth band’s only album, Heavy Rock Spectacular, was recorded in 1970 – and it still sounds pioneering today as it introduced a steampunk slant to the genre.