Climax Blues Band
| Climax Blues Band | |
|---|---|
 The band in 1974. |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Stafford, England |
| Genres | Blues rock, soft rock |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Harvest Warner Major League Productions (MLP) various others |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | George Glover Roy Adams Lester Hunt Neil Simpson Johnny Mars |
| Past members | Colin Cooper Pete Haycock Derek Holt George Newsome Arthur Wood Richard Jones Anton Farmer Peter Filleul John Cuffley Nicky Hopkins Henry Spinetti Dave Marquee Jeff Rich John "Rhino" Edwards Roger Inniss Johnny Pugh |
The Climax Blues Band (originally known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band) were formed in Stafford, England in 1968. The original members were guitarist/vocalist Peter Haycock, guitarist Derek Holt; keyboardist Arthur Wood; bassist Richard Jones; drummer George Newsome; and lead vocalist and saxophonist Colin Cooper.[1]
In 1970, the group shortened its name to the Climax Blues Band due to pressure from the American band, Chicago Transit Authority.[citation needed] The band has released at least 17 albums and had a Top 10 hit in the UK with "Couldn't Get It Right".[2] That song and "I Love You" were American hits as well; "Couldn't Get It Right" reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, and "I Love You" peaked at No. 12 in 1981.[3]
Contents |
Biography [edit]
Led by Cooper, the former frontman of the R&B group the Hipster Image, the Climax Chicago Blues Band was one of the leading lights of the late 1960s UK blues boom.[4] Prior to the release of 1969's Plays On, Jones left the group, prompting Holt to move to bass. In 1970 they moved to the Harvest label, at the same time shifting towards a more rock oriented sound on A Lot of Bottle.[5] Around the release of 1971's Tightly Knit, Newsome was replaced by John Cuffley; upon Wood's exit in the wake of 1972's Rich Man, they continued on as a quartet, also dropping the "Chicago" portion of their name to avoid confusion with the American band of a similar name.[1]
In 1974 the Climax Blues Band issued FM Live, a document of a New York radio concert. 1975's Stamp Album was their commercial breakthrough, and 1976's Gold Plated fared even better, spurred on by the success of the hit "Couldn't Get It RightLink title". By the mid 1970s they were drawing crowds of up to 20,000 at U.S. concerts.[4] However, the rise of punk rock effectively stopped the group in their tracks.[1] By 1981 the band had left their blues roots behind and attempted to become a mainstream pop-rock band.[4] Derek Holt and John Cuffley left in 1983.
In May 2012, the Major League Productions (MLP) record label released an until then unknown vault recording of a 1976 live performance, Climax Blues Band/World Tour 1976.
After he and the original Climax bandmates went their separate ways in 1984, Haycock went on to record several solo projects, first of which was an album entitled Total Climax, which was recorded by his band, Pete Haycock's Climax. Pete Haycock's Climax toured extensively in Europe, including Communist East Germany, as well as a well-received tour in Australia. After that, Pete was asked by his former Climax Blues Band manager, Miles Copeland, to record an instrumental album for the I.R.S. No Speak label entitled Guitar and Son, as well as the Night of the Guitars live album (from the tour of the same name)[6] After that tour, Haycock teamed up with fellow guitarist Steve Hunter and former Climax Blues bandmate, Derek Holt, to record an album under the name, H Factor. He was later recruited by Bev Bevan as a member of Electric Light Orchestra Part II when they recorded and toured from 1990 onwards. He also started his film score career at this time by playing the lead on Hans Zimmer's score to Thelma and Louise, as well as performing on the Night Of The Guitars tours which also featured Derek Holt on bass, keys and occasional vocals.
Holt's penned "I Love You" was one of the Climax Blues Band's biggest hits.[7] It can be found on the Climax Blues Band double album, 25 Years 1968-1993 which was released by the German record label Repertoire in 1993. "I Love You" still gets over 20,000 radio hits a year in the U.S. and has recently been included in Finn Taylor's 2002 film Cherish, and in Kevin Smith's 2008 film Zach and Miri Make a Porno. Holt released five solo albums - I Love You, After the Climax, Sunflowers, Hear and Now, Paradise Lost and Full Circle.
"Couldn't Get It Right" was covered by the Fun Lovin' Criminals on their album Mimosa.[7] Holt revealed in an interview that the song was "about being on the road in America".[8] In 1986 Colin Cooper recruited guitarist Lester Hunt, and original member Derek Holt returned to the fold to record the Climax Blues Band album Drastic Stepsand toured the UK, Europe and America.[4] The new lineup soon became established with Colin Cooper, George Glover, Lester Hunt, Neil Simpson and Roy Adams in the early 1990s, releasing the live album Blues from the Attic in 1993 and Big Blues in 2004.[1][9]
Cooper died of cancer, aged 69, in July 2008.[4] He is survived by his wife and two children.[7] Cooper's wishes were for the Climax Blues Band to carry on and move forward, with the core members George Glover and Lester Hunt having been at the centre of the band since 1986, plus Roy Adams and Neil Simpson since 1990. Newer singer, saxophone and harmonica player Johnny Pugh retired after a couple of years with the band and, in 2012, Graham Dee took over the lead vocals with Chris Aldridge on saxophone.
Band members [edit]
(Founding members listed in bold.)
- Current members
- George Glover (born 28 October, Stoke-on-Trent) - keyboards, backing vocals (1980–present)
- Roy Adams (17 May, Birmingham, England) - drums (1985–present)
- Lester Hunt (born 21 February, Stretford, Manchester) - guitar, backing vocals (1985–present)
- Neil Simpson (6 January, Stoke-on-Trent) - bass (1991–present)
- Former members
- Colin Cooper (born Colin Francis Richard Cooper,[7] 7 October 1939, Stafford, Staffordshire) - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar (1968–2008; died 2008)[10][11]
- Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass (1968–1984)
- Derek Holt (born 26 January 1949, Stafford) - bass, guitar, keyboards (1968–1983)
- George Newsome (born George Ewart Newsome, 19 August 1947, Stafford) - drums (1968–1973)
- Arthur Wood (born 3 August 1929, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent) - keyboards (1968–1973; died 2005)
- Richard Anthony Chipperfield Jones (born 1949, Stoke-on-Trent) - bass, keyboards (1968–1969, 1975–1977)
- Anton Farmer - keyboards (1969–1970)
- Peter Filleul - keyboards (1970–1975, 1977–1980)
- John Cuffley - drums (1973–1983)
- Nicky Hopkins - keyboards (1978–1979)
- Henry Spinetti - drums (1983)
- Dave Marquee - bass (1983)
- Jeff Rich - drums (1983–1985)
- John "Rhino" Edwards - bass (1983–1985)
- Roger Inniss - bass (1985–1991)
- Johnny Pugh (18 September 1952, Southend-on-Sea) - vocals, saxophone, harmonica (2008–2012)
Lineups [edit]
| Years | Lineup |
|---|---|
| 1968–1969 |
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| 1969–1970 |
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| 1970–1973 |
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| 1973–1975 |
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| 1975–1977 |
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| 1977–1978 |
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| 1978–1979 |
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| 1979–1980 |
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| 1980–1983 |
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| 1983 |
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| 1983–1984 |
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| 1985–1991 |
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| 1991–2008 |
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| 2008–2012 |
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Discography [edit]
Albums [edit]
- The Climax Chicago Blues Band (1969)
- Plays On (1969) U.S. No. 197 Billboard 200 (1 week)
- A Lot of Bottle (1970)
- Tightly Knit (1971)
- Rich Man (1972) U.S. No. 150 Billboard 200 (10 weeks)
- FM Live (1973) U.S. No. 107 Billboard 200 (30 weeks)
- Sense of Direction (1974) U.S. No. 37 Billboard 200 (29 weeks)
- Stamp Album (1975) U.S. No. 69 Billboard 200 (11 weeks)
- Gold Plated (1976) U.S. No. 27 Billboard 200 (44 weeks), UK No. 56 UK Albums Chart[2](1 week)
- Shine On (1978) U.S. No. 71 Billboard 200 (11 weeks)
- Real to Reel (1979) U.S. No. 170 Billboard 200 (6 weeks)
- Flying the Flag (1980) U.S. No. 75 Billboard 200 (16 weeks)
- Lucky for Some (1981)
- Sample and Hold (1983)
- Drastic Steps (1988)
- Blues from the Attic (1993)
- 25 Years 1968-1993 (1994)
- Big Blues (2004)
- Climax Blues Band World Tour 1976 (2011) By Major League Productions
Albums (guesting) [edit]
- Three's a Crowd - Tarney-Spencer Band (1978)
Singles [edit]
- "Using the Power" (1975) U.S. No. 10 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles(1 week)
- "Couldn't Get It Right" (1976) U.S. No. 3 Billboard Hot 100 (22 weeks), UK No. 10 UK Singles Chart[2](9 weeks)
- "Makin' Love" (1978) U.S. No. 91 Billboard Hot 100 (4 weeks)
- "Gotta Have More Love" (1980) U.S. No. 47 Billboard Hot 100 (12 weeks)
- "I Love You" (1981) U.S. No. 12 Billboard Hot 100 (27 weeks)
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d "Biography by Jason Ankeny". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 110. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b "Allmusic ((( Climax Blues Band > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))".
- ^ a b c d e "Obituary by Garth Cartwright". London: Guardian.co.uk. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ "NME biography". NME.com. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ "Vinyl LP Record Collector's Guide: NIGHT OF THE GUITAR WITH STEVE HOWE, LESLIE WEST, ROBBIE KRIEGER, RANDY CALIFORNIA, STEVE HUNTER, PETE HACOCK, ANDY POWELL, TED TURNER, ALVIN LEE 12" MAXI-SINGLE / LP VINYL". Lp-covers.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
- ^ a b c d "Obituary in The Times". London: Timesonline.co.uk. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ "Couldn't Get It Right". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
- ^ "Official website biography". Climaxbluesband.com. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - Retrieved August 2009
- ^ "Colin Cooper: British musician who formed the Climax Blues Band". London: The Times. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
- ^ "Allmusic ((( Climax Blues Band > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))".
- The New Musical Express Book of Rock, 1975, Star Books, ISBN 0-352-30074-4
