Sutja’s Metaphysical circus #9: Ramases – Space Hymns
Sometimes life takes unexpected turns such as spaceships, pyramids, mythology and spiritualism. This might sound a bit strange… something like a Sci-Fi film starring the most known Egyptian gods such as Osiris, Horus, Thoth and Ra but, this is a well thought mixture of elements made by Barrington Frost and Dorothy Laflin also known as Ramases and Selket. As a big fan of Egyptian mythology someday, somehow I ended discovering this beautiful band named Ramases (thank god for the internet) and they blew my mind. Here’s a beautiful story about love, casualty and blind faith.
Barrington and Dorothy met in a very lovely and curious way. She worked in her family restaurant in Felixstowe and she always dreamed about marrying an artist. Someday, she was working at the restaurant and a man walked straight up to her and said:
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time and I’m not going to go away now that I’ve found you”
She was so intrigued… and then, he sang something to her:
“Always stay as sweet as you are, don’t let a thing ever change you”
3 weeks later they were married and they decided to move to London. Once in London, Barrington started as a jazz singer but the money wasn’t enough so, he had to find a job at a HVAC company. After that they moved to Edinburg and the company went bankrupt. One day, Dorothy told him, “Why don’t you open your own company?” and they created their own successful company. In 1966 they moved to Sheffield and the beautiful strange things started to happen. One day, Barrington was walking down the streets and he saw a spaceman reflected in a window. He thought it was himself without any hair so, he decided to shave his head.
At that time they started making music for children and their agent told them to find a name for this project, he suggested: Beauty and the Beast (which was awful, Dorothy said).
One day, Dorothy and Barrington we’re in a book store and she saw a book with a beautiful figure of an Egyptian blonde woman, it was the goddess Selket and she thought that she looked a bit like her so, they decided to buy that book.
When they got back home they opened the book and started reading about Ramases the second and he said: “Ramases II was the first pharaoh who decided to shave his hair.”
She said:
“Oh my god, that’s it, you’re Ramases and I’m Selket.
The first song they recorded was Quasar One (previously called Crazy One) so, they recorded a demo tape, went to New York and they met somebody who seemed interested. This guy told them to met again in Manchester. After the meeting in Manchester they decided to record proper demos in a studio with some members of Hotlegs (later 10cc). Someday after the record sessions, Dorothy and Barrington we’re in his
car listening to the radio and a song with a sound so similar to Ramases was playing in the radio station. They thought, “what is this?”
It was Neanderthal Man by Hotlegs.
After that incident, the manager apologized and offered Barrington and Dorothy a two record album deal with Vertigo/Phonogram. Only one condition to the deal: the members of Hotlegs are going to participate on the album sessions.
Their first album Space Hymns didn’t made much impact because of the bad promotion and a few problems with the backing band Hotlegs. In 1975 they recorded a second album Glass Top Coffin and they couldn’t play it live because of the bigger production. They tried to record a third one but it never happened. Barrington started having a big depression and suggested to his wife Dorothy to commit suicide. She refused to do so, she went to her mother’s house. In 1976 Barrington committed suicide by taking an overdose of Paracetamol.
The perfect recipe: a lovely and deadly cocktail made with ingredients such as love, faith and a world that doesn’t seem to be made for us anymore. Creativity and the need for spiritual awakening. Selket, daughter of Ra and Ramases the Second making love and singing jazz in the middle of the desert. Are you thirsty? What is the noblest thing that a man can do?
Tip: Love can be such a powerful thing but, idealizing things can completely destroy your life. It is good to dream and believe in something but, remember to transform those dreams into real and positive objectives. Work hard, stay as wild as you are and don’t let a thing ever change you.
