the group then added drummer gerry conway, a member of alexis korner's backing group. despite their backgrounds, the band regarded themselves as being a "progressive rock" group rather than playing "folk rock", a term which had not yet come into widespread use. they began recording at ibc studios in london in december 1967, with australian record producer ossie byrne and arranger phil dennys, who had both worked on the bee gees' first hit "new york mining disaster 1941". the songs were recorded as rehearsed, with vocal harmonies and ornate orchestral arrangements overdubbed later. the band released their first single, "nevertheless", written by rosen, in june 1968; it received some airplay in the uk but did not chart. they also appeared on dutch tv, bbc radio, and the bbc tv show "colour me pop".