STARRY EYED And Laughing had a pretty eventful day last Thursday. On the way to their gig at Oxford Polytechnic, the group managed to get themselves involved in a road accident. Fortunately, no-one was hurt and their gear came out of the incident unscathed.

Returning to the gig, SEAL’s manager, David Griffiths had a brush with the law when he was breathalysed, but the test proved negative.

Oh yeah, and the group played rather well too.

Since I last saw the band, SEAL have improved radically, and a lot of the credit must go to their newest member, drummer Mike Wexford who added a lot to their sound.

He’s not a flash drummer, and doesn’t play straight Keltner / Gordon licks either. Instead, he decorates his timekeeping with deliberate round-the-kit rolls that add an extra weight to the group’s playing.

If you’ve read about the group before, then you’ll know that they’re heavily influenced by The Byrds, and include in their set, Byrds material.

At Oxford, they opened with “Jesus Is Just Alright” and also featured perfect copies of “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Chimes Of Freedom” – the song which contains the four words which make up SEAL’s name. Tony Poole plays a black and white Rickenbacker 12-string and makes it sound just like McGuinn’s. And he has the nasal drone off pat too. But there’s more to SEAL than merely recreating other people’s material, as three of the four piece band write fairly strong songs, some with a West Coast influence.

There’s their current single, “Money Is No Friend Of Mine” which may be a little weak on record but comes across much stronger on stage. And then there’s that song, “Nobody Home”, which really does sound a lot like the Beatles.

Whether it’s their own material, or other people’s (SEAL also include Jackie De Shannon’s “When You Walk In The Room”) the group play it refreshingly and without any of the jaded attitude that seems to get hold of a lot of new bands before they’ve even recorded their first album.

Although their influences are part American there’s no attempt by SEAL to look as if they’ve just trekked across the Great American expanses and lived through various episodes of “Fear And Loathing”.

There’s no doubt that Starry Eyed And Laughing are an English band, and a rather good one too.