Lodestone emerged in 1996. The four young men - Jules Hodgson on guitar, John Morgan on the drums, a "bassist" known as Haggis, and a vocalist called Haitham Al-Sayed - comprised a rock group, and they were very good at what they did. Indeed for all I know, they may be still.
Their philosophy was summed up by bassist Haggis: "I've tried loadsa different things and different approaches to get what I want, and this is what I've arrived at as the way I'm gonna get whatever chemical it is that's released in the brain from the music in the strongest way." Obviously they succeeded, because a contemporary reviewer, having heard their first album, enthused that "for solid, ear-blistering, goosebump-inducing sounds, you're gonna be hard pressed to find anyone as close to fulfilling the promise shown by these guys".
Commenting further on the album, the reviewer continues: "Kicking off with the first single, Another Day, we head straight into an uncompromising rap-metal thrash, followed by Down In The Mud, a real snaggle-toothed, caustic affair with biting lyrics and a will to bruise. Crack In The Clouds elevates a harmony and confidence that displays a noticeable, easier approach, before diving down into a funky 70s blues-rock hip-hop groove with Salter's Duck."
No doubt the bassist Haggis would be able to confirm for us, or else deny, that the groove entitled Salter's Duck in Lodestone's album recalls an ingenious device for extracting energy from waves. It was designed by Prof Stephen Salter of Edinburgh University, to whom the idea came, it is said, in 1974.
Salter's Duck is essentially a float, which for maximum efficiency is moulded to a very special shape. The float bobs up and down with each passing wave, and its appearance is such that it closely resembles the nether end of a feeding duck - hence the name. When in operation, a great number of Salter's Ducks are strung out on a long axle, rather like beads on a necklace, and the energy provided by their bobbing motion is harnessed for conversion into electricity.
Like many wave-energy devices, Salter's Duck is very efficient at capturing the energy of the water. But there are other difficulties which have so far discouraged its introduction into widespread use: the capital cost is high; durability is a problem in rough seas; there are environmental and navigational disadvantages to be overcome; and there are difficulties associated with feeding the captured electrical energy into the national grid.
But for a funky 70s hip-hop groove idea, you're gonna be hard pressed to find anything as close to fulfilling its promise as was Salter's Duck.