  The roots of The Stitch In Tyme can be traced back to the early 1960s, as the merger of two popular Nova Scotia bands. John Yorke (vocals), Grant Fullerton (guitars), and Bob Murphy (keyboards) were playing in The Untouchables, but wanted to branch out and do something new. They joined bassist Donnie Morris and drummer Pinky Dauvin of The Continentals, and moved to Toronto in 1966.Originally going by the name The Golden Earing, they changed it when they learned a group from The Netherlands was already using it. Within only a few months of moving to Toronto, Bill Gilliland, vice-president of Arc Records, liked the potential of the psychadelic rock sound and agreed to manage them, signing the band to his label. Although they were supposed to be writing material for a full album, which the label was financing, the rock & roll lifestyle of the times was getting in the way. They instead released the single, “Dry Your Eyes” b/w “Point of View” to a lukewarm response, but scored a national hit later that year when they recorded a cover of The Beatles’ “Got To Get You Into My Life” after Arc became Yorkville Records. Yorke was replaced by guitarist/vocalist Bruce Wheaton, who’d once been in The Continentals with Morris and Dauvin, but had been living in Toronto for the last few years bouncing around in different groups, including The Vibrasonics and Chester & The Rogues (later Chester and The Unknowns). They started showing up on several TV shows while they played the local circuit, and became a fixture on CTV’s weekday program, “After 4.” For the next year or so they branched out and started playing throughout eastern Canada, making a few stops along the way in the US. They played at the official opening of Expo ’67, as well as week-long gigs at Ontario Pavilion and at The Garden of Stars on La Rhonde. They recorded their next single in New York in the summer of ’67, “New Dawn” b/w “Don’t Make Promises.” The song was doing well enough they decided to open their own coffeehouse and hang-out joint called The Flick. Situated in the heart of Yorkville, it was opportunity for them to always have a place to play, and it also became a popular venue for other up and coming groups and artists at the time, including Lords of London. By that fall they formed Flick Entertainment Corporation, which was their new record label and publishing company. The band had been writing and recording some material and released “Stop Wastin’ Time.” But when Gilliland and company filed an injunction claiming they’d broken a contract, the song went nowhere. The two parties tried to kiss and make up, but ultimately the band called it quits by the fall of ’68. Dauvin and Fullerton went on to join the first inception of Lighthouse, switching to vocals and bass respectively. Wheaton formed Rockin’ Chair, but when it was going nowhere, he moved back to Nova Scotia and joined SOMA with Murphy and Morris. Murphy then left a short time later and assembled a country band called Big Buffalo. After SOMA’s run was over, Wheaton went on to form Everyday People, releasing one album, and then Molly Oliver, releasing two records. Arc Records meanwhile re-issued “Got To Get You Into My Life” as the a-side of a 45 that featured newcomer Terry Black’s “Little Liar” on the flip side. The Stitch In Tyme got some renewed interest in 1990, when “Got To Get You Into My Life” began popping up on compilation albums. Members of the band have also re-united every now and then for the occasional one-off gig. |
