The musician Adrian Gurvitz, born in London in 1949, is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. His early bands the Gun, Three Man Army and the Baker Gurvitz Army (with Cream drummer Ginger Baker) were major influences in British hard rock and he was once placed at No. 9 in Melody Maker’s list of “Best Guitarists in the World”
Gurvitz bought and lived in Moss’s Farm in the 1970s, with a life style appropriate to a rock star of the time. He and Ginger Baker would use one of the barns as a recording studio.
Brian Gypps, who spent much of his early life at Moss’s Farm, recalls looking after Gurvitz’s car during his Hempstead days. It was a Pontiac Transam, which must have been an interesting drive when negotiating the track from the farmhouse to the junction with house to Anso Road.
When Gurvitz put the house on the market in 1978 prior to going to the US, the purchase – during the years of gazumping – was a ‘difficult’ one. The new owner had a stand-off with Gurvitz in the Plough one night: he is not a tall man and Gurvitz stood at least 6 ft 3 inches even without the massive curly hair and the four inch platform heels. The pair must have made a comical sight.
Life in the early years was scarcely easier. The house was furnished in psychedelic orange and purple: one of the first tasks was to brick over a wall that was covered in giant palm tree murals. Interesting magazines were found stuffed behind radiators and in the loft. There were also visits from bailiffs and the drugs squad to contend with, as well as a succession of telephone calls from young women.
Several years after the sale, Gurvitz dropped in one day with a female companion, each dressed in floor length fur coats, and announced that he wanted to buy back the house as a weekend retreat. The owners’ response is not recorded.
