Jazz-rock band Quantum Jump had no interest in writing hit singles when they formed in 1973. Led by keyboardist and vocalist Rupert Hine – best known for producing Rush, Saga, Kevin Ayers and others – their musical interests lay elsewhere.
Nevertheless, they wound up at Number 5 in 1979 with their irreverent song The Lone Ranger, which is most memorable for featuring the longest word in the English dictionary: Taumata-whaka-tangi-hanga-kuayuwo-tamate-aturi-pukaku-piki-maungahoronuku-pokaiawhen-uaka-tana-tahu-mataku-atanganu-akawa-miki-tora.
It’s the name of a hill in New Zealand and becomes a catchy tongue-twister under Hine’s command. And while The Lone Ranger was by no means the longest prog single of all time – it lasts under three minutes – it endured a proggily difficult route to the top 10.
“We actually recorded it in 1974, as part of our self-titled debut album,” Hine told Prog in 2009. “But thanks to a lot of legal problems, it wasn’t released until 1976.”
Radio One DJ Tony Blackburn made it his single of the week, which boded well, until the BBC banned it just as it reached the top 30. “The Beeb objected to both homosexual and drug references.”
“Drugs? The ‘offending’ line in question was, ‘He smoke pipe of peace with Tonto / Put his mask on back to fronto.’ As for the gay references... let’s face it, The Lone Ranger might have been the first celebrity gay icon! You never saw him with women. So when we said, ‘Maybe masked man he a poofter’ it was justified!”
It took a real-life gay icon to rescue the song. Kenny Everett was one of the biggest names in British entertainment, and when he got his own TV show in 1978, he used The Lone Ranger as its theme tune. Naturally enough, it was re-released the following year, but in a heavily modified form.
“I completely reconstructed much of it, actually,” said Hine, who died in 2020. “I took the guitar part at the start and put it on the end, but in a backwards form. I also added on Spaghetti Western effects. Second time around, it reached Number 5 and we sold over half a million copies.”
Roger Glover suggested I produce myself. I had no clue what to do. But other acts started to ask me to produce them
That doesn’t mean anyone should regard Quantum Jump as one-hit wonders, he argued. “We never ever wanted a hit, so to us it was all irrelevant.”
And if anyone doubts Hine’s credibility as a prog artist, his experience as a producer speaks volumes for him. But as he told Prog in 2011, he’d never planned to land such a role.
“I signed to Purple Records, and I had Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover produce my first album, Pick Up A Bone [1971]. As he wasn’t available to do the next one, [Unfinished Picture, two years later], Roger suggested I produce myself. To be honest, I had no clue what to do. But other acts started to ask me to produce them.”
He recalled the positive experience of Kevin Ayers’ 1974 LP The Confessions Of Dr Dream And Other Stories: “I was a big fan of Kevin’s – I especially loved the original Soft Machine line-up. He was a thorough delight. But I never got the chance of collaborating with him again, because he went off in another musical direction.”
Hine also enjoyed working with Genesis co-founder Anthony Phillips on 1977’s Wise After The Event and 1978’s Sides. “We had the same management, which is how I got involved. I tried to get Anthony a sound that would provide a wider audience. I’m not sure I succeeded; but he was wonderful to work with.”
Rush were an absolute joy – so much talent
While he struggled to find common ground with Dave Greenslade for 1976’s Cactus Choir, Hine found musical soulmates in Saga. “What they wanted was the intensity and strangeness I got on my 1981 album, Immunity, which they loved. We hit the jackpot with Worlds Apart, their biggest selling album in America, and then I did Heads Or Tales two years later.”
Another fan of Immunity – which included guest appearances by Phil Collins, Marianne Faithfull and others – was Rush drummer Neil Peart, who targeted Hine for a production role with the Canadian giants. “But it took until Presto [1989] for it to happen, and then I did Roll The Bones [1991],” Hine remembered. “They were an absolute joy – so much talent.”
