The blues came screaming down from the misty highlands in 1969 under the savage execution of Maggie Bell’s Stone the Crows.Finally Janis Joplin had a rival that could whisper, convulse, and climax as she raped the soul guitar of ex Silhouette’s Les Harvey. The high energy of their earthy blues first took root in 1967 […] Continue reading →

If ever England was to impose knighthood upon a beat ensemble then undoubtedly the choice would be The Zombies, namely ex-grammar schoolboys, Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent. Strongly dominated by Rod’s keyboard the Zombies powered homed into the charts with countless hit singles displaying a minor key coupled with an understated jazz scale. Blunstone’s voice […] Continue reading →

Roy Harper was a law unto himself -establishing himself as a flower warrior who took the responsibility of gauging the rising tide of the revolution with his fingerstyle poetry. Roy bled the system and washed the streets with shades of red that changed colour with every season. A leader in philosophy and a brilliant songwriter […] Continue reading →

The first crawl of Giant Crab was kickstarted by ex Emperors guitarist Ernie Oroscoe. Ernie & the Emperors debut bill was opening for the Isley Brothers at ‘Earl Warren Showgrounds’. The ‘Peppermint twist’ era gave way to acid days with Ernie and his brothers Raymond & Ruben forming Giant Crab with the brothers Fricia. The Crab’s final claws […] Continue reading →

Harvey Mandel (‘Snake’) was plucked straight from the Fillmore dressing room to replace Henry Vestine for the Canned Heat performance, later to perform at the famed ‘Woodstock festival’. Harvey stayed with the band for one year and featured on three albums, the most prolific being the 1970 Future Blues that included guest pianist Dr. John […] Continue reading →

German band Kin Ping Meh chose their name in Chinese language. The Mannheim quintet that rose from the ashes of the German jazz group Take Five and The Thunderbirds comprised Werner Stephan (lead vocals), Joachim Schafer (guitar, piano, vox), Fritz Schmitt (organ, piano), Torsten Herzog (bass) & Kalle Weber (drums). In the early years Kin […] Continue reading →

Help Yourself transpired in 1969 as backup for Malcolm Morley, under the management of ‘Famepushers’. The completed Help Yourself comprised ex Monday Morning Glory Band Richard Treece (guitars/vox) ex Sam Apple Pie Dave Charles (drums/vox), ex Growth Ken Whaley (bass) & ex Sam Apple Pie Malcolm Morley (guitars/keyboards/vox). Help Yourself recorded their self titled 1971 […] Continue reading →

Wild Turkey on the Tull menu The age of Tull had come to pass through three seminal albums This Was, Stand Up and Benefit, strongly surcharged by bassist Glen Cornick. Glenn, a veteran of early sixties groups Vikings / Hobos and Executives left Jethro Tull just before they entered the global arena with their Aqualung […] Continue reading →

Sweet Smoke were in essence a mystical jazz band that started in the mid sixties in Brooklyn New York. The group first known as Ice Company played their first regular gigs in St Thomas in the Virgin Islands until renamed as the controversial Sweet Smoke of the Happy Plant Pipeful. They eventually opted for the […] Continue reading →

Junco Partners formed in 1964 as part of the Robert Stigwood Agency. The Mod group took over from the Animals at ‘Club A’ Gogo’ and ‘Downbeat Club’ but first gained notoriety backing Howling Wolf and Freddie King on their UK tour. In tow with the tour (1965) Junco put out a cover of Jerry Ragavoy’s […] Continue reading →