Hummingbird | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Genres | Rock |
Years active | 1974-1977 |
Labels | A&M |
Past members | Bobby Tench Max Middleton Clive Chaman Bernie Holland Conrad Isidore Robert Ahwai Bernard Purdie |
Hummingbird were a British rock band, formed in 1974 by Bobby Tench of The Jeff Beck Group. The band recorded three albums which were released by A&M Records in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe [1] and employed Ian Samwell as their producer. [2] The original line-up included members of the second Jeff Beck Group, vocalist and guitarist Bobby Tench, [3] keyboardist Max Middleton, bassist Clive Chaman, drummer Conrad Isidore and second guitarist Bernie Holland. [4]
At the start of sessions for their first album they were joined by Jeff Beck for a brief period but he did not contribute to the album and left to work on his own project. [5] After the first album Bernie Holland was replaced by guitarist Robert Ahwai and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie [6] replaced Isidore [4] on the next two albums, vocalists Madeline Bell and Liza Strike were brought in to complement the band.
The Gramophone music magazine commented that "the members of Hummingbird are the cream of British session musicians, more acclimatised than most to playing rock at all intellectual levels". [7]
Albums
Singles
Geoffrey Arnold Beck was an English guitarist. He rose to prominence as a member of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to an instrumental style with focus on an innovative sound, and his releases spanned genres and styles ranging from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion and a blend of guitar-rock and electronica.
The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music.
John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III was an American musician. As a bass guitarist and vocalist he was best known for his powerful vocal ability and his fast runs, fluid agility and ground-breaking sound on his Fender Precision bass. He was one of the pioneers of using distortion with his bass to help it cut through the mix with the low-powered amps of his time which also imparted a very sharp-edged sound to it. He was a frequent collaborator with drummer Carmine Appice; the duo performed in such bands as Vanilla Fudge, Cactus and the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice.
Rough and Ready is the third studio album by the Jeff Beck Group and the first of two by the second Jeff Beck Group. Released in 1971 by Epic Records, it featured more of a jazz, soul and R&B edge to counter Beck's lead guitar. As a songwriter, Beck contributed more pieces to Rough and Ready than he had before, or ever would again. Beck enlisted Bobby Tench as vocalist and it is also the first time keyboardist Max Middleton is heard. Other members of this line up are drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Clive Chaman.
Beck, Bogert & Appice was a rock supergroup and power trio formed by English guitarist Jeff Beck, evolving from the Jeff Beck Group. It included bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, Americans who had played together in Vanilla Fudge and Cactus.
Streetwalkers were an English rock band formed in late 1973 by two former members of rock band Family, vocalist Roger Chapman and guitarist John "Charlie" Whitney. They were a five piece band which evolved from the Chapman Whitney Band.
Ian Ralph Samwell was an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the writer of Cliff Richard's debut single "Move It", and his association with the rock band America, with whom he had his biggest commercial success with their hit single, "A Horse with No Name". He also worked with rock bands, such as Small Faces, The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, John Mayall and Hummingbird.
David Maxwell Middleton is an English composer and keyboardist. Trained as a classical pianist, Middleton also had a strong affinity for jazz. He is known for his work on the Fender Rhodes electric piano and the Minimoog synthesiser, and for his percussive playing style on the Hohner Clavinet. He started his professional music career by playing keyboards for Jeff Beck and is best known for his work on Beck's Blow by Blow (1975).
Jeff Beck Group is the fourth and final studio album by the Jeff Beck Group and the second album with the line up of Jeff Beck, Bobby Tench, Clive Chaman, Max Middleton and Cozy Powell. The album was produced by Steve Cropper and often referred to as the Orange Album, because of the orange which appears prominently at the top of the front cover.
Red Card was the third and most successful studio album by the UK rock group Streetwalkers, which made the #20 in the UK album charts. The album features the lineup of Roger Chapman, Charlie Whitney, Bobby Tench of The Jeff Beck Group and Hummingbird, Nicko McBrain, who later played drums with Iron Maiden and bassist Jon Plotel. This groove-heavy album was released in the UK by Vertigo and in the United States by Mercury during 1976 and remains a much respected album by many.
Clive Chaman is a UK-based bass guitarist and session musician, born in Trinidad and Tobago.
Robert Tench was a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger.
The Gass was a rock band formed in May 1965 by Robert Tench, Godfrey McLean, and Errol McLean. They were managed by Rik Gunnell and Active Management. The band fused melodies with soul, Latin influences, blues and progressive rock often employing complex rhythms with an eclectic mix of other influences.
Stratavarious is an album by Ginger Baker, released by Polydor in 1972. Baker had many associations with an eclectic mix of musicians brought together under numerous band titles bearing his surname. Stratavarious is the only album that was released under the name of Ginger Baker without other associated names. The lineup on Stratavarious included Bobby Tench, vocalist and guitarist from The Jeff Beck Group, who plays guitar under the pseudonym Bobby Gass and the Nigerian pioneer of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti who appeared at concerts with Baker at this time.
Juju (1970) was the first album recorded by the rock band Gass and featured guitarist Peter Green, who had just left Fleetwood Mac at this time. The album was released by Polydor and withdrawn soon after it was released to retail outlets and re-issued entitled Gass
Catch My Soul is a rock musical produced by Jack Good, loosely adapted from Shakespeare's Othello. The character of Iago had originally been played by Jerry Lee Lewis in the US production which had closed in 1968. The UK production of the show was a showcase for the talents of Lance LeGault, P. P. Arnold, P.J. Proby and an introduction to the rock musician Robert Tench and the band Gass.
This page lists the albums recorded by the rock band Hummingbird, which was formed by Bobby Tench and included other former members of The Jeff Beck Group. All three albums were produced by Ian Samwell.
Widowmaker is the debut album by the English hard rock band Widowmaker, which was released in February 1976. Widowmaker reached #196 in US and featured an eclectic mix of blues, country, folk and hard rock.
Catch My Soul. A live recording of the original cast was recorded with the original UK cast of Jack Good's Catch My Soul-The Rock Othello. It featured the rock band Gass who had been the house band for the UK stage production.
Not a Little Girl Anymore is a studio album by English singer Linda Lewis, first released in 1975. It was Lewis’ fourth album and it peaked at number 40 in the UK album chart. The album features, along with the lighter songs such as the cover of Cat Steven’s "(Remember the Days of) The Old School Yard" and the gentle pastiche "My Grandaddy Could Reggae", more sultry numbers such as "This Time I’ll be Sweeter" and "It's in His Kiss". Her album made clear the intention of re-branding the singer, moving her towards a more adult audience.