Climax Blues Band
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The Climax Chicago Blues Band based in Stafford, England was formed in late 1968. The original members were guitarists Derek Holt and Peter Haycock, keyboardist Arthur Wood, bassist Richard Jones and drummer George Newsome. Colin Cooper on vocals and saxophone made up the sextet. In 1970, the band shortened its name to the Climax Blues Band. The band has released eighteen albums and has had Top 40 hits in 1976 in the UK with "Couldn't Get It Right"; and in 1981 in the United States with "I Love You". The two songs were also big American hits; "Couldn't Get It Right" reached #3 on the Hot 100 in 1977, and "I Love You" reached #12 in 1981.
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[edit] Band members
- Vocals
- Guitar
- Lester Hunt - (born 21 February 1956, Stretford, Manchester) - also plays bass guitar, keyboards and vocals.
- Derek Holt - (born 26 January 1949, Stafford) - also backing vocals.
- Pete Haycock (born Peter John Haycock, 4 April 1951, Stafford) - guitarist 1968-1984
- Bass Guitar
- Neil Simpson (born 6 January 1959, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) - also plays seven-string bass-guitar and midi bass-synthesizer.
- John 'Rhino' Edwards (born John Victor Edwards, 9 May 1953, Chiswick, West London). Left to join Dexy's Midnight Runners.
- Derek Holt - moved from rhythm guitar to bass guitar. Wrote and sang the hit "I Love You", but left in 1982 to form the band Grand Alliance.
- Richard Jones - original bass guitarist on the first album. Left for Cambridge University in 1971. Returned from 1975-1977 to keyboards.
- Keyboards
- George Glover - (born 28 October 1947, Stoke-on-Trent). Also back-up vocalist.
- Nicky Hopkins - studio keyboardist replaced Filleul and was in Climax for two albums.
- Peter Filleul - live performance keyboardist until 1980.
- Anton Farmer - Second keyboardist, Anton (nick name 'Humpty') replaced Art Wood in 1969 when the band turned pro and remained with them till 1970 playing on the 'A Lot Of Bottle' album and the single 'Reap What I've Sowed' and shared recording work with Wood.
- Arthur Wood (born 3 August 1929, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent) - original keyboardist late 1968-1973 though he stopped live performances in 1971
- Drums
- Roy Adams (born 17 May 1952, Birmingham) - also does backing vocals.
- Neil McCallum - fills in when needed.
- Jeff Rich (born 8 June 1953, Hackney, London) - left to join Status Quo after two years.
- John Cuffley - replaced Newsome and was with Climax from 1973-1983.
- George Newsome (born George Ewart Newsome, 19 August 1947, Stafford) - original drummer for the first four albums. Left Climax in 1973.
[edit] Trivia
- Both former band members, 'Rhino' Edwards and Jeff Rich, were recruited to join Status Quo in 1986.
- Peter Haycock was a member of Electric Light Orchestra Part II when they recorded and toured their first album in 1990.
- Although Holt's penned "I Love You" was one of their biggest hits (peaking at #12 in the Billboard Hot 100, and staying in the charts for just over six months), the rest of the band hated the song, and refused to play it on tour, or to include it in compilations.[citation needed] The song can be found on the Climax Blues band 2-CD set titled "25 Years 1968-1993".
- "Couldn't Get It Right" was later covered by the Fun Lovin' Criminals on their album Mimosa.
[edit] Album discography
- 1969 The Climax Chicago Blues Band
- 1969 Plays On
- 1970 A Lot Of Bottle
- 1971 Tightly Knit
- 1972 Rich Man
- 197? Climax Blues Band 1969-72
- 1973 FM Live
- 1974 Sense Of Direction
- 1975 Stamp Album
- 1976 Gold Plated
- 1977 Shine On
- 1979 Real To Reel
- 1980 Flying The Flag
- 1981 Lucky For Some
- 1983 Sample And Hold
- 1988 Drastic Steps
- 1993 Blues From The Attic
- 1994 25 Years (1968-1993)
- 2000 Couldn't Get It Right
- 2003 Big Blues (The Songs Of Willie Dixon)
[edit] Major hits
[edit] Singles
- "Reap What I've Sowed" 1970
- "Couldn't Get It Right" - (1977) - #3 U.S., #10 UK [1]
- "I Love You" - 1981 - #12 U.S.
[edit] Album
- Gold Plated - (1976) - # 56 UK.
[edit] References
- The New Musical Express Book of Rock, 1975, Star Books, ISBN 0 352 300744
