They recruited Larry Wallis (guitar, backing vocals) and Tim Taylor (bass), both formerly of The Entire Sioux Nation.
As well as being an offshoot of the birth of the original Pink Fairies incarnation of 1970–1972, Shagrat set the template for Took's solo/frontman career (into which the band eventually mutated).
Took discussed the band retrospectively in the NME and it would much later receive coverage in Rockerilla, Record Collector and Classic Rock[1][2][3][4] The band was named after the Orc Shagrat from The Lord of the Rings and was a contraction of 'Shagrat The Vagrant', the name under which Steve Took had been credited on Mick Farren's album Mona – The Carnivorous Circus.
"'Steve Took' was Steve Took's real name as far as we were concerned, so he decided to take on another persona, 'Shagrat' who was the guy with the slanty eyes, pointed beard and the suede shoes.
"[1] At Strawberry Studios in Stockport, they recorded a session, produced by Wallis's father,[5] consisting of three tracks, "Peppermint Flickstick", "Boo!
They continued to rehearse together[5] sometimes alongside prospective bassists, in preparation for a 13 December 1970 live date at the Roundhouse Christmas Spaced Party event which had been booked and they received approaches from several record labels.
[4] Wallis and Bidwell in early 1971 assisted Took in the recording of a set of four acoustic demos, – "Amanda", "Strange Sister", "Still Yawning Stillborn" and "Beautiful Deceiver".
The trio also rehearsed for possible live performances as an acoustic band, which Wallis recalled involved Bidwell "pounding (the) fuck out of a telephone book.
Following Paul Rudolph's departure from the band, remaining members Duncan Sanderson and Russell Hunter had been working with Took on a rerecording of acoustic Shagrat song "Amanda" as a possible single.
[13] The partnership was renewed in late 2001 when Wallis provided musical backing at Farren's reading of his memoir Give The Anarchist A Cigarrette at London pub Filthy McNasty's.
Interviewed by Charles Shaar Murray in 1972 for the NME, Took commented that record companies "didn't want to buy Steel Abortion or Peppermint Flickstick.