Amazing rebirth of Plymouth’s great lost rock band The Frozen Tear

The future is looking bright for Plymouth’s great lost rock band The Frozen Tear – 55-years after they broke up.

The psychedelic rockers supported acts such as Fleetwood Mac, The Move, Amen Corner and the Foundations and had their only single, You Know What Has to Be, played by John Peel on Radio One in 1969.

It is now a collectors’ item and was re-released in 2017 after a two page spread on the band in Record Collector.

But now there is a new The Frozen Tear product: a four track EP released by Devon’s In a Spin Vinyl and pressed by Plymouth’s DMS.

The Acetate EP contains four tracks, taken from an old acetate disc rescued by band member Tony Way’s son Rob from a record dealer.

Recorded in 1969, they were supposed to be the band’s next release, but they never reached the pressing plant and the band split in 1971.

The Acetate EP, by Plymouth band The Frozen Tear, released by In a Spin Vinyl in April 2026(Image: William Telford)

A lavish inset with the new seven-inch vinyl has pictures and tells the history of the band and also contains a copy of a rejection letter from The Beatles’s Apple label – another sought after rarity.

The four tracks – You Do Something, Train Comes Train Goes, I Need Someone and Cookie Crumbles – showcase the band’s distinctive blend of blues-infused psychedelia, with two of the tracks never having been released before on any format.

The cover, designed by Bristol’s VertiWorks, shows the four band members as they looked back in 1969 – snapped on a bench in Blockhouse Park.

And all of them are still alive, now aged in their seventies. Two even still live in Plymouth: bassist and singer Tony and rhythm guitarist John Morgan, both aged 74.

Lead guitarist Leeson Burt now resides in Wiltshire and drummer Paul Riley has emigrated to New Zealand, and told PlymouthLive: “Maybe Frozen Tear could come alive again and tour NZ. Wouldn’t that be something.”

Tony said: “Putting out the Acetate EP as it was originally recorded is really nice, satisfying and long overdue.

“With two tracks never having been released before it feels like a completion of the band’s musical output.”

The In a Spin Vinyl team behind the release of The Acetate EP by Plymouth band The Frozen Tear, first recorded in 1969 but newly pressed in 2026. L-R: Jon Way, Rob Way and John Griffiths(Image: William Telford)

John Griffiths, from Exeter, works with Tony’s sons Rob and Jon Way on the In a Spin project, which finds, repackages and re-releases classic lost band’s work from the 1960s and 1970s.

John said: “About a year ago Rob and Jon asked if I would consider doing the Acetate EP and I said ‘absolutely’. I sat down with Tony and found out what he wanted to do. It’s a labour of love.

“The Frozen Tear was a great band and should have done a lot better. They sent their cassette to the Beatles’ offices in London, but it was rejected. They did get a very nice letter back though.”

Tony added: “Not many Beatles’ fans have seen a rejection letter and quite a few are getting excited.

John said the reaction to the record has been very positive, particularly with The Frozen Tear’s first single being so hard to get hold of.

Only 250 copies have been printed and are expected to sell well.

“It’s not about making money but putting stuff out that should be in the public eye,” he said.

Frozen Tear started in 1963 in Plymouth, at that time called the Four-Ways, with Tony saying: “We were doing Shadows’ stuff.”

They changed their name to The Frozen Tear in 1967. John Morgan is no longer involved in music but Tony has had a long career in bands.

He almost joined rockers Uriah Heep in the early 1970s and was in Fab Four-tribute Backbeat from 1994 to 2013, and said: “We went on for longer than the Beatles.” He is currently playing in a three-piece outfit called Revamp.

(Image: William Telford)

In a Spin Vinyl has released 10 singles now from lost classic rock and pop acts. It is also now bringing out a “double b-side” from Irish band The Orange Machine.

Both Real Life Permanent Dream and Dr Crippen’s Waiting Room were on the flipside of the band’s only two singles.

The group were well known in the Emerald Isle and at one time a pre-Thin Lizzy Phil Lynott was a candidate for membership.

Real Life Permanent Dream, by The Orange Machine, released by Devon based In a Spin Vinyl, and pressed by Plymouth’s DMS in April 2026(Image: William Telford)

In a Spin has worked with Plymouth’s DMS for the past two years and Chris Muirhead, production manager, said: “The In a Spin project looked inviting to me and we have been making records ever since.”

The Frozen Tear and The Orange Machine singles are available from https://www.inaspinvinyl.co.uk/

Click here to join PlymouthLive on WhatsApp and we’ll send breaking news and top stories directly to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .