Originally a trio based around the Sarf London nexus of Croydon, Mitcham, Stockwell et al, the addition of Roche’s rock guitar forced Colcutt to invest in an electric bass just so he could be heard. The result was the birth of Major Surgery whose only release, a limited edition vinyl pressing, has attained cult celebrity. The producer was Malcolm Mills who has gone on to fame and fortune as the chair of Proper Music. This re-issue is very much Mills’ act of love to a band he (and many others) remembers fondly. The power and the passion of course comes from Weller who sails through the knotty lines of ‘Dog and Bull Fight’ and the splendidly manic ‘Hoe Down Up’. But Roche has his moments, none finer than on ‘Foul Group Practises’ or chasing down Weller on the tough, sinuous line of ‘Jubileevit’. But the real star is Marsh who clatters, crashes and generally has a ball throughout. With a cleaned up sound and an extra track, a Rollins-esque reggae romp, ‘Calypso Reg’, The First Cut isn’t just a curio from another time: it captures a fury and directness that underwrote Brit jazz-rock. It’s also a timely reminder of Marsh’s virtues (and what a treasure Weller remains).

Jazzwise spoke to Bruce Collcutt about the album

So what was the vibe in the studio back in the 1970s?

To be honest, I don’t remember too much about it! But I know the recording came out of Malcolm Mills (now chair of Proper music) being so angry about big labels not signing us. He mortgaged the house to do it! We lost contact and it was a real shock when he rang me all those years later to say we were re-releasing it! I didn’t know he’d been so successful in the meantime with Proper.

There were only 500 copies of the original vinyl pressing

And I lost mine! Malcolm recently gave me another one. It was great going into a studio with Don to re-mix it. We took off all that noise reduction treatment and it sounds so much better. Jimmy couldn’t make it to the studio because he was recording elsewhere, a real shame: it’s great he’s still gigging.

But sadly Tony Marsh passed away last year.

The release is a tribute to Tony in a way. After Don decided he didn’t want to go on with the band, it knocked Tony back and he didn’t play for a year. But then he played with Mike Westbrook and all that free stuff. Listening to Major Surgery now is easy listening compared to Tony’s avant-garde stuff! Pete Townsend said the trouble with playing with Keith Moon was that he had to play the rhythm and that struck a chord with me. Certain bass players couldn’t play with Tony; not me, I never had a problem.

What next?

The BBC has tapes we have the rights to so maybe we can do something with them, a follow up! Back then we played around south London where we all lived, the Dog and Bull, The Gun, The Plough and The Swan. But it was always hard to find places to play, there was no Internet then, no marketing and if you didn’t have the Melody Maker behind you, it was hard to get coverage. But we landed gigs at Ronnie’s, opposite Gary Burton, Roland Kirk and George Melly. I knew I was never going to play with a band as good as that again.