Kirby Gregory

Last updated

Kirby Gregory
Birth nameGraham Patrick Gregory
Also known asKirby
Born (1953-03-11) 11 March 1953 (age 70)
Origin Wallingford, Berkshire, England
Genres Rock, blues
Instrument(s) Guitar
Years active1969present
Labels Warner Bros., Anchor, Hot Wax, Repertoire

Graham Patrick "Kirby" Gregory, [1] often credited simply as Kirby (born 11 March 1953 in Wallingford, Berkshire, England) [2] is an English musician best known for playing with rock bands Curved Air and Stretch. He now works in the field of addictions counselling.

Contents

Musical career

Gregory began playing guitar aged seven and moved to London in 1969 with bass guitarist Steve Emery. They formed a band called Armada, and recruited vocalist Elmer Gantry before breaking up. [3] In 1972, Gregory joined progressive rock band Curved Air and played on their 1973 album, Air Cut . He also played on one track on the archival release, Lovechild . [4]

After leaving Curved Air, Gregory and Gantry became part of a group of musicians who were assembled by Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis, with the alleged consent of drummer Mick Fleetwood, in order to perform as Fleetwood Mac on a tour of the United States in 1974. Problems between the members of Fleetwood Mac had resulted in them being unable to fulfil their concert obligations. [5] Fleetwood has since denied any role in recruiting the musicians. After it became clear that Fleetwood himself was not going to be involved, audiences quickly realised that this hastily assembled group was not the band they had paid to see, and the tour collapsed after a few weeks. However, Gregory and the other band members stayed together and formed Stretch later that year.

Gregory wrote the hit single "Why Did You Do It?" about the bogus Fleetwood Mac episode, for Stretch and it reached No. 16 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1975. [3] [6] Stretch recorded several albums before splitting up in 1979.

Gregory recorded a solo album Composition on the UK Hot Wax Records label (not the US label of the same name) in 1978, and subsequently played on ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist Danny Kirwan's final album Hello There Big Boy! in 1979. He also took part in a recording session with Thin Lizzy vocalist Phil Lynott. [7] Gregory and Gantry re-united briefly in 1982 and recorded material with Sweet drummer Mick Tucker and bass player Nigel Ross-Scott but nothing was officially released.

In 2007, Gregory and Gantry reformed Stretch and toured in support of the greatest hits album, Why Did You Do It: The Best of Stretch.

In 2013, Gregory rejoined Curved Air.

Addictions counselling

In 1990, Gregory became involved in addictions counselling and in 1999 he joined Action on Addiction, a UK-based charity that works with people affected by drug and alcohol addiction. He is currently Director of Client Services at the charity and at its subsidiary The Spider Project, and has spoken at major conferences on addiction. He is also a Cognitive Analytic Psychotherapist and an Association of Cognitive Analytic Therapy Accredited Supervisor. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleetwood Mac</span> British-American rock band

Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac was founded by guitarists and vocalists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer and drummer Mick Fleetwood. Bob Brunning was hired as a temporary bass guitarist before John McVie joined the line-up in time for their eponymous debut album. Danny Kirwan joined as a third guitarist and vocalist in 1968. Keyboardist and vocalist Christine Perfect, who contributed as a session musician starting with the band's second album, married McVie and joined Fleetwood Mac as a full member in 1970, becoming known as Christine McVie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsey Buckingham</span> American guitarist (born 1949)

Lindsey Adams Buckingham is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has released seven solo studio albums and three live albums. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Buckingham was ranked 100th in Rolling Stone's 2011 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Buckingham is known for his fingerpicking guitar style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine McVie</span> British musician (1943–2022)

Christine Anne McVie was an English musician, singer and songwriter. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists of Fleetwood Mac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Fleetwood</span> British actor and musician (born 1947)

Michael John Kells Fleetwood is a British musician, songwriter and actor. He is the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of the group's bassist John "Mac" McVie to form the name of the band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Walker</span> English rock singer (born 1945)

David Walker is an English singer and guitarist who has been front-man for a number of bands; most notably The Idle Race, Savoy Brown and Humble Pie, he also served briefly with Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath.

<i>Tusk</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Tusk is the twelfth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released as a double album on 19 October 1979 by Warner Bros. Records. It is considered more experimental than their previous albums, partly as a consequence of Lindsey Buckingham's sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of post-punk. The production costs were initially estimated to be about $1 million but many years later were revealed to be about $1.4 million, making it the most expensive rock album recorded to that date.

<i>Rumours</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Rumours is the eleventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. Largely recorded in California in 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. The recording sessions took place in the aftermath of several relationship breakups among the band members in addition to heavy drug use, both of which shaped the album's direction and lyrics.

<i>Fleetwood Mac</i> (1975 album) 1975 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac is the tenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 11 July 1975 by Reprise Records. It was the band's second eponymous album, the first being their 1968 debut album; it is sometimes referred to among fans as the White Album. This was the first Fleetwood Mac album with Lindsey Buckingham as guitarist and Stevie Nicks as vocalist, after Bob Welch departed the band in late 1974. It was also the band's last album to be released on the Reprise label until 1997's The Dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Welch (musician)</span> American musician (1945–2012)

Robert Lawrence Welch Jr. was an American musician who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974. He had a successful solo career in the late 1970s. His singles included "Hot Love, Cold World", "Ebony Eyes", "Precious Love", "Hypnotized", and his signature song, "Sentimental Lady".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curved Air</span> English progressive rock group

Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. Curved Air released eight studio albums, the first three of which broke into the Top 20 in the UK Albums Chart, and had a hit single with "Back Street Luv" (1971) which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go Your Own Way</span> 1976 single by Fleetwood Mac

"Go Your Own Way" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). The song was released as the album's first single in December 1976 on both sides of the Atlantic. Written and sung by Lindsey Buckingham, it became the band's first top-ten hit in the United States. "Go Your Own Way" has been well received by music critics and was ranked number 120 by Rolling Stone magazine on their list of 500 greatest songs of all time in 2010, and re-ranked number 401 in 2021. They also ranked the song second on their list of the 50 greatest Fleetwood Mac songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Weston (guitarist)</span> British guitarist (1947–2011 or 2012)

Robert Joseph Weston was a British rock guitarist, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac in the early 1970s. He also recorded and performed with a number of other musicians, including Graham Bond, Long John Baldry, Murray Head, Sandy Denny, and Danny Kirwan.

<i>Time</i> (Fleetwood Mac album) 1995 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Time is the 16th studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 10 October 1995. This album features a unique line-up for the band, featuring the addition of country vocalist Bekka Bramlett and former Traffic guitarist Dave Mason. It was the second album released after the departure of Lindsey Buckingham in 1987, and the only Fleetwood Mac album since 1974's Heroes Are Hard to Find to not feature any contribution from Stevie Nicks. Additionally, it is the final Fleetwood Mac studio album to feature Christine McVie as an official member.

Black Cat Bones were a British heavy blues rock band that existed with various lineups from 1966 to 1970, when they became Leaf Hound.

The Dakotas are a group of British musicians, which initially convened as a backing band in Manchester, England. Their original vocalist was Pete McLaine who Brian Epstein replaced with the singer Billy J. Kramer, a Liverpudlian who was the lead vocalist for the group during the 1960s. In the U.S., they are regarded as part of the British Invasion.

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, at various times also known as "Velvet Opera", was a British rock band active in the late 1960s. Members of the band, Richard Hudson, John Ford and Paul Brett, would later become members of The Strawbs, Hudson Ford and Stretch.

Stretch were a 1970s British rock band that grew from the collaboration between vocalist Elmer Gantry and guitarist Kirby Gregory. Gantry had been the frontman of Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, and Kirby had been a member of Curved Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Spencer</span> British musician (born 1948)

Jeremy Cedric Spencer is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the band until his abrupt departure in February 1971, when he joined the "Children of God", a new religious movement now known as "The Family International", with which he is still affiliated. After a pair of solo albums in the 1970s, he continued to tour as a musician, but did not release another album until 2006. He released further solo albums from 2012 onwards and has also recorded as part of the folk trio Steetley. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

John G. Perry is an American-born British bass guitarist and singer. He was born in the U.S. to British parents and when he was young, the family moved back to England.

References

  1. [ permanent dead link ]
  2. "Search Results for England & Wales Births 1837-2006". Findmypast.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  3. 1 2 "- S T R e T C H -". Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  4. Kirby Gregory Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine , The Official Curved Air web site.
  5. "How Stretch Bounced Back". Repertoirerecords.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  6. "STRETCH | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  7. "jt's CHRIS P. MANSBRIDGE interview". Trcjt.ca. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  8. "Action on Addiction – The Leadership Team". Actiononaddiction.org.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2013.