Formed in New Zealand in the late 60s, this blues rock band started out in a similar vein to that which Cream and the Doors mined so successfully. The band grew out of a mid-60s meeting in Auckland of like-minded musicians, including guitarist and vocalist Archie Bowie, guitarists Tony Rawnsley and Harvey Mann, bass player Neil Edwards and drummer Barry Winfield. Known casually as the Magee Street Underdogs, the group underwent personnel changes over the next couple of years during which time they made some singles for Zodiac Records and appeared fleetingly on television’s C’mon. By 1967 the personnel had become vocalist Murray Grindley, guitarists Mann and Lou Rawnsley (brother of Tony), bass player Edwards and drummer Tony Walton. Mann’s departure (he did not like the orthodoxy required by television producers) led to an adjustment of the remaining band members. They made some more recordings, including the popular Sitting In The Rain EP and the Blues Band album, and also toured in a road show version of C’mon.
Now based in Wellington, and with more personnel changes, Edwards was replaced by Dave Orams who was in turn succeeded by George Barris, the band lasted only a few more months. This was 1968 and when the band re-formed later that year it had Grindley, Mann, Lou Rawnsley, and drummer Doug Thomas. The following year, by which time Chaz Burke-Kennedy had replaced Rawnsley, this line-up, too, folded. Through the 70s various combinations of former members and newcomers regrouped, sometimes using the name Underdogs, sometimes not. Most members played with other groups and some also formed and briefly led their own bands. Grindley in particular did well with some solo hits in the early 70s and also 1982’s ‘Shoop Shoop Diddy Wop Cumma Cumma Wang Dang’, as Monte Video, which was placed number 2 in New Zealand and number 11 in Australia. Some of the Underdogs’ early material was released on vinyl under different titles on obscure labels, but most of their recordings were reissued on CD in 2000. (by allmusic.com)
Here´s their debut album from 1968.
Lovers of John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers (note the Eric Clapton tribute paid on the sleeve of this album) will love this album. The Underdogs formed in 1964 and shared the scene with other greats from the country like The La de Da’s, The Action (NZ band, not to be confused with the UK mod godfathers) and The Pleazers. They spread the rhythm and blues word from their native Auckland through several 45s on the Zodiac label and went through a series of line-up changes prior to the release of their fabulous first long player.
The Underdogs Blues Band LP shows the group’s appreciation for Mayall’s combo – just like The Bluesbreakers’ Crusade LP the Underdogs open their album with a cover of Albert King’s ‘Oh, Pretty Woman,’ one of three ‘Bluesbreakers’ songs covered on the LP. On this first long player the band storm into a world of guitar led rave-ups a la Yardbirds, organ blues grinders and even give a sight to what’s to come next with some incipient heavier sounds a la Cream. (Press release)
Indeed … one od finerst John Mayall cover bands in this time …anf these guys knows how to celebrate this very special British Blues style … listen to the guitar solo on “It´s Hurts Me Too” for example.
A great addition for collectors of the British Blues in the Sixites.
Personnel:
Neil Edwards (bass)
Murray Grindlay (vocals, harmonica)
Lou Rawnsley (guitar)
Tony Walton (drums)
+
unknown organ player
Tracklist:
01. Oh, Pretty Woman (Williams/King) 3.27
02. Snowy Wood (Mayall/Taylor) 3.07
03. Main Line Driver (Grindlay/Rawnsley) 2.18
04. Mary Anne (Grindlay/Rawnsley) 2.00
05. Pauline (Grindlay/Rawnsley) 3.08
06. Pretty Girls (Church/Williams) 2.35
07. Yonder Wall (Traditional) 3.46
08. All Your Love (Rush/Dixon) 3.40
09. Hey Gyp (Leitch) 2.52
10. It Hurts Me Too (London) 3.15
11. Rubber Duck (Green/Dunbar) 2.24
On its own terms, most of this 14-track compilation of 1965-1967 recordings for BBC sessions (all but one of them dating from 1965-1967) is a worthwhile collection of supplementary work by John Mayall’s best Bluesbreakers lineups. If you’re a serious Mayall fan, however, be aware that you might have already bought this material in some form or another in the year or so previous to the release of this CD in early 2007. For the dozen 1965-1967 cuts all appear as bonus material on the 2006 U.K. expanded CD editions of the John Mayall Plays John Mayall, Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, and A Hard Road albums, all of which also include bonus tracks from non-LP singles, studio outtakes, and the like. If for some reason you do want to zero in on the BBC material exclusively, this has some decent live performances with both the Eric Clapton and Peter Green lineups of the Bluesbreakers. (The liner notes also admit it’s likely that the three tracks from October 25, 1965 feature not only Jack Bruce on bass during his brief Bluesbreakers stint, but also guitarist Jeff Kribit (sometimes spelled Geoff Krivit in other sources), who was in the group during a brief spell when Clapton left the band to go to Greece.)
Another very fine rarity from my archive … a Blues Session with Mr. Pete “Superdrumming” York:
A Hard Road is the third album (and second studio album) recorded by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, released in 1967. It features Peter Green on lead guitar, John McVie on bass, Aynsley Dunbar on drums and John Almond on saxophone. Tracks 5, 7 and 13 feature the horn section of Alan Skidmore and Ray Warleigh. Peter Green sings lead vocals on “You Don’t Love Me” and “The Same Way”.
Green’s use of thick sustain on this track clearly pointed the way to his use of guitar riffs with elongated, slithery tones on Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross” and “Black Magic Woman,” as well as anticipating some aspects of Carlos Santana’s style. Mayall acquits himself fairly well on this mostly original set (with occasional guest horns), though some of the material is fairly mundane. Highlights include the uncharacteristically rambunctious “Leaping Christine” and the cover of Freddie King’s “Someday After a While (You’ll Be Sorry).” (by Richie Unterberger)
is worth the price of admission alone. In fact the sustained opening note of “The Super-Natural” is worth the entry fee.
Cuby + Blizzards, also known as Cuby & the Blizzards, were a Dutch blues group, founded in 1964 by vocalist Harry Muskee and guitarist Eelco Gelling. During the 1960s, the band’s mixture of sound, drawing upon a variety of genres which included blues and rock and roll, gave them a pioneering sound which was completely different from any other Dutch band in the same period. The spelling of the name varies, with ‘Cuby’ also written as ‘QB’ and the ampersand (&) also written as ‘and’ or ‘+’ and the ‘and’ sometimes left out. The spelling ‘Cuby + Blizzards’ was used on the first albums.
For many discerning fans, Nine Below Zero far outpaced the Jam wannabes that doomed Britain’s so-called mod revival era. They even opened for the Who, whose favorite producer, Glyn Johns, oversaw this second A&M album. (Like other 1979-era revivalist bands, the group has re-formed on an intermittent basis.) Nine Below Zero show themselves as sharp players with plenty of hooks up their sleeves. Stix Burkey and Peter Clark whack out a disciplined rhythm attack without fussiness or flourishes, leaving the interplay to singer/harpist Mark Feltham and the main songwriter, lead guitarist Dennis “The Menace” Greaves. Greaves’ tunes successfully execute ’60s R&B toughness, yet are updated enough to grace a teen scooter fanatic’s good books. “One Way Street” is a punchy, doing-it-my-way anthem (“They told me to go by the book/But look at the time that it took”), while the roughhouse R&B of the title track and “Treat Her Right” come across like a speedier Yardbirds. The feel’s that close, but Greaves and cohorts have the skill to pull it off. The group expresses their bluesier side on “Ain’t Comin’ Back” and the slow-burning “Sugar Mama,” and also dips back into ’50s-style roots rave-ups with a credible cover of “Rockin’ Robin.”
John Mayall Plays John Mayall is the debut album by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, released in 1965, Decca LK 4680. This album was recorded live at Klooks Kleek on 7 December 1964. Roger Dean stated in an interview that they ran cables out of the window of the club to the Decca Studio about 100 yards away for this recording. (by wikipedia)
Steamhammer was an English blues rock band from Worthing, England, whose origins were with the blues. The band was founded in 1968 by Martin Quittenton (guitar) and Kieran White (vocals, guitar, harmonica). The first stable line-up consisted of Quittenton, White, Martin Pugh (guitar), Steve Davy (bass), and Michael Rushton (drums).
Blues Jam at Chess/Fleetwood Mac In Chicago/Blues Jam In Chicago Vols. 1 & 2 was the result of a recording session in early 1969, at Chess Records in Chicago (home to Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, et al.) with Fleetwood Mac, then a young British blues band, and a number of famous Chicago Blues artists from whom they drew inspiration. (by wikipedia)
In the 80´s the “British Blues Net” was founded by Robert Bravington and GrahamVickery (better known as Shakey Vick) Many years later the archives of the “British Blues Net” became a part of the “British Blues Archive”.
