Margaret Bell (born 12 January 1945 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish rock vocalist. She came to fame as co-lead vocalist of the blues-rock group Stone the Crows, and was described as the UK’s closest counterpart to American singer Janis Joplin. Bell was also prominently featured as a guest vocalist on the song “Every Picture Tells a Story” (1971) by Rod Stewart.
From a musical family, she sang from her teenage years, leaving school at the age of fifteen, to work as a window dresser by day and singer at night.[3] Bell was introduced to Leslie Harvey, by his older brother Alex, after getting up on stage to sing with the latter. Leslie Harvey was, at that time, a guitarist with the Kinning Park Ramblers. Bell joined the group as one of the vocalists. After the band split up, Bell moved to the Mecca Band at the Sauchiehall Street Locarno, and later to the Dennistoun Palais Band.
She then rejoined Harvey, forming Power initially known as The Power of Music and eventually The Power. Bell and The Power regularly performed at The Easterhouse Project, run by Archie Hind and Graeme Noble. They also toured United States Air Force bases in Germany in the mid 1960s. Peter Grant, who was managing The Yardbirds at the time, heard Power playing at one of these bases and agreed to produce and manage them, impressed by the vocal ability of Bell and the guitar playing of Harvey. Power was then renamed as Stone the Crows, an expression used by Grant upon hearing this band.
Stone the Crows split up in 1973, after Leslie Harvey’s accidental death from electrocution on 3 May 1972. Harvey had been an integral part of the band and its music.[6] Peter Grant remained as Bell’s manager after the split, and along with Mark London offered to help Bell record a solo album. She subsequently recorded two further albums for Atlantic Records, one produced by Felix Pappalardi and the other produced by Felix Cavaliere. Neither has yet been released. Grant then oversaw her first solo album release Queen of the Night (1974), which was recorded in New York City with record producer Jerry Wexler.
Bell signed to the then newly formed Swan Song Records in 1974, along with Bad Company and Pretty Things, as one of the first signings to the label. Jimmy Page contributed to her second album Suicide Sal (1975). Bell then tried to capture past blues rock glories by fronting Midnight Flyer,[9] who were a popular live act but their sole eponymous album released in 1981 was not a commercial success.
Returning to a solo career, she had her biggest hit in the UK in 1981 duetting with B. A. Robertson on a cover version of “Hold Me” which reached No. 11 in the UK Singles Chart. Bell also performed at many charity gigs during this period.
While working with Stone the Crows, Bell was the subject of a BBC documentary in the 1972 Sounding Out series. Bell sang the end credits theme for the late 1970s ITV detective drama Hazell, with lyrics written by Judy Forrest and music by Andy Mackay. Her song “No Mean City”, written by Mike Moran, was the theme music to the TV crime drama Taggart. She also appeared in a single episode of Taggart called “Evil Eye” in 1990, playing a gypsy fortune teller named Effie Lambie who is murdered early in the episode.
In 1990 she appeared in four episodes of the BBC drama series Your Cheatin’ Heart.
In 2009 she provided the singing voice of rock singer Esme Ford (played by Joanna Lumley) in the episode “Counter Culture Blues” of the ITV series Lewis.
After living in the Netherlands for twenty years, Bell returned to the UK in early 2006 and joined The British Blues Quintet, sharing lead vocals with Zoot Money. Also featuring former Stone The Crows drummer Colin Allen and bassist Colin Hodgkinson, the band quickly became established on the UK and European live blues circuit. Their debut album, Live in Glasgow (2007), was recorded at one of their first gigs, on Glasgow’s Renfrew Ferry in 2006. In addition, Bell toured with Chris Farlowe in the autumn of 2006 and The Manfreds during 2006 and 2008.
In January 2016, the Hamburg Blues Band featuring Maggie Bell and Krissy Matthews, performed at the Quasimodo Club in Berlin, Germany. (wikipedia)
And here is a low budget sampler, produced for the German record market with songs from their late Stone The Crows phase and their two solo albums from 1974 and 1975.
A wonderful opportunity to (re)discover this great singer …
She deserves much, much more recognition!
Personnel:
Maggie Bell (vocals)
+
members of Stone The Crows and much more studio musicians
Tracklist:
01. Wishing Well (Bundrick/Kossoff/Rogers/Kirke/Yamauchi) 3.28
02. Good Time Girl (Allen/Bell/Leahy/Thompson) (*) 3.21
03. Hold On (Kossoff/Kirke) 4.43
04. Suicide Sal (Trengrove/Bell/London/Clifford/Wingfield) 3.38
05. As The Years Go Passing By (Malone) 4.17
06. On The Highway (Harvey/Leahy) (*) 5.29
07. Queen Of The Night (Leahy) 3.58
08. Souvenirs (Prine) 5.23
09. Caddo Queen (Williams/Seals/Dennings) 3.30
10. We Had It All (Fritts/Seals) 2.51
11. After Midnight (Cale) 2.34
12. Sunset Cowboy (Allen/Leahy) (*) 6.34
(*) with Stone The Crows, 1972
The liner notes (in German):
More from Maggie Bell in this blog:
More from Stone The Crows in this blog:
The official website:
The success of Angel Air’s series of Maggie Bell reissues can be easily judged by the Scottish singer’s return to the U.K. after residing for years abroad, a planned autobiography, and her intention of touring. Although critically feted in the U.K., Bell, both solo and with her former band Stone the Crows, never quite achieved the commercial breakthrough everyone had so expected. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, Bell’s recording career was punctuated by a sole Stone the Crows charting album. With that band’s demise in 1973, the soul singer went solo, releasing the (again) critically acclaimed Queen of the Night album, with 1975’s Suicide Sal following. A tougher, more energized set than its predecessor, Sal’s electrifying live feel reflects the incendiary stage shows Bell and her new backing band had been playing in the intervening time between recordings. The two bonus tracks, recorded at a gig later that year, capture their live ferocity. Intriguingly, the funky, fiery title track, an homage to Bell’s Aunt, a music hall star, is one of only two originals on this set. The second, the lavishly bluesy “If You Don’t Know” was penned by band keyboardist Pete Wingfield, and boasts a guesting Jimmy Page on guitar. The storming “Coming on Strong” also has a Bell connection, being co-penned by ex-Crow Colin Allen and Zoot Money.
For Midnight Flyer, 1980 dawned bright. They recorded their superb self-titled debut album and then embarked on a European tour, opening for Bob Seger. Even the departure of keyboardist John Cook after the band left the studio hadn’t slowed Midnight Flyer down. Chris Parren, the perfect replacement, was swiftly enlisted and took to the stage. As 1981 began, Flyer flew back to Europe to support AC/DC, and their album arrived in February while the band bounded back and forth across the Channel, now headlining their own shows. In the autumn, they reunited with the down under bad boys, opening for their U.S. tour. However, the highlight of the busy year came in mid-summer, as Flyer climbed onto the Montreux festival stage and ripped through one of the best shows of their all-too-brief career. Live Montreux July 1981 features the bulk of their show that day, as the band rips through its set, then is joined for two numbers by blues legend Taj Mahal and by the Telecaster master Albert Collins for a further pair. The album kicks off with a rampaging “Hey Boy,” one of five songs from their studio album the band performed, the highlight arguably being their glorious take on “Rough Trade.”
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