Brian had already signed an exclusive record deal with Norman Hunt, an ex-military man who wanted to get onto the pop scene. The deal was absurd – there was no advance, and Hunt had total artistic control. Not surprisingly, he didn’t share Brian’s enthusiasm for psychedelia and so released nothing. The band grew increasingly frustrated: they had a considerable following in California, but no record releases, and had to keep coming back to London to play the same old R’n’B set. Brian’s gargantuan drug intake, combined with the lack of band funds caused constant rows and threatened break-ups. Despite all of this, Raspberry Parade managed to record a surprising number of songs – and to a very high standard. Brian was obsessed with record production and had a considerable talent for blagging endless free studio time. In the States he would boast of his Beatles connections; in Britain he would drop names of American bands. By autumn of 1966 the band had recorded enough tracks for their first album ‘Time is Honey’ but had still not even released a single!
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