Both veterans of Birmingham England's early-'60s "Brumbeat" scene,
Mike Sheridan and Rick Price began writing songs together in 1968, just a little bit before
Price received an offer from
Roy Wood of the
Move to join that group. He filled the spot left by guitarist/singer
Trevor Burton when the latter quit the group soon after the release of Blackberry Way. They continued to write together during
Price's tenure with the band, which lasted until 1969, at approximately the same time that
Jeff Lynne joined the band and
Wood conceived the notion of the
Electric Light Orchestra -- during that period,
the Move recorded one
Sheridan/
Price copyright, Lightning Never Strikes, as the B-side of Brontosaurus. In the wake of his exiting
the Move,
Price and
Sheridan ended up being signed together as recording artists to President Records.
They lasted with the label for a year, releasing singles variously as Rick Price Sheridan, Sheridan/Price, and several other permutations, although Sheridan/Price was the name ultimately used for their one official album, This Is to Certify: Gemini Anthology. The tracks were actually credited separately to them within the album, and the exact work of the duo was always a bit confusing, apparently even to the label, which regarded Price as the principal artist. They lasted together officially through 1970, and their output consisted of beautifully melodic pop/rock, reminiscent of the most pop-oriented output of the Move. In 2004, President Records released a double-CD set entitled This Is to Certify, containing the complete recordings of the duo augmented with Price's solo output for the label. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi