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Supercharge were a 1970s English rock band from Liverpool, founded by singer/saxophonist Albie Donnelly and drummer Dave Irving. In 1977 the band had a number three hit single in Australia with "You've Gotta Get Up and Dance".
Founded in early 1974, by Liverpool tenor-saxophonist, Albie Donnelly (born Albert Edward Donnelly, 12 August 1947, Huyton, Liverpool), and drummer Dave Irving (born David Geddes Irving, 18 November 1946, Crosby, Liverpool) after they had both left the 'In Crowd' cabaret band, Supercharge soon built up quite a cult following in Liverpool at 'The Sportsman', a popular city-centre pub on Sunday and later Monday nights and also at the 'Dove and Olive' at Speke.
Original members included Donnelly (bandleader, vocalist, and tenor saxophonist), Ozzie Yue (guitar/vocals) (born Austin J Yue, 12 August 1947, Liverpool),[ citation needed ] Allen 'Gaz' Gaskell (tenor sax, guitar, harmonica, and vocals), Alan Peters (trumpet), Bob Robertson (baritone sax), Pete Newton (bass guitar), Tony Dunmore (bass) and Dave Irving (drums).
Supercharge also quickly established themselves as a major player on the UK college / university circuit. Their first album Between Music and Madness, which was locally produced, soon followed.
Around 1975, in an attempt to attract a major record label offer, Supercharge began to gig regularly on the London live circuit at venues such as the Hope and Anchor, Islington, the Nashville Rooms, and the Marquee Club. As a result, Supercharge were soon signed by Virgin Records, and with the company's new record producer, Robert "Mutt" Lange, they had a number three hit in Australia with their 1976 single "You've Gotta Get Up and Dance". [1] [2] Personnel on these recordings also included organist Iain Bradshaw. It was also in Australia that their first album, Local Lads Make Good went gold - resulting in a number of successful major tours with a version of the band that included Les Karski on guitar.
These live UK gigs often featured celebrated live sound engineer Chrys Lindop, and included the infamous comedy track 'She Moved The Dishes First', which Donnelly claims they wrote so they could mess about a bit while the band were replacing broken guitar strings. This track also achieved notoriety when it was picked up and played regularly by Radio Caroline.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, although their record sales were disappointing, Supercharge still managed to achieve a reputation as one of the UK's best live bands. This included Supercharge's opening set for Queen at the 1976 Hyde Park Festival. However, it was becoming clear to Donnelly that Virgin did not really know what to do with them, and they eventually parted company sometime during the punk era.
Despite their reputation as a killer band live, Richard Branson decided that after two albums without major success that he would only offer Donnelly / Karski a continuous deal. The rest of the band became redundant, and ironically months later the Local Lads album went gold in Australia. However, the deed had been done, and Donnelly resorted to taking a scratch band to do the hit tour in Australia much to the chagrin of the original guys who had put all the hard studio and roadwork in to get the band where it was.
The next chapter in Supercharge's history was the invasion of Europe, which began at the end of the 1970s-early 1980s. By now the band also featured Andy Parker on vocals and saxophone. Other members (at one time or another) included Mike Snow - trumpet; Dick Hansen - trumpet; John Burke - trumpet Tony Winders - guitar; Phil Loughran - guitar; Tony Judge - piano; Steve Snow - trombone; Paul Ambrosius - bass/vocals; Dave Dover - bass; Kenny Shearer - bass; Dave 'The Frug' Hormbrey - drums; Tony Lunney - drums.
Albums during this period included Body Rhythm (1979), Now Jump (1980), and King Size (1982). Body Rhythm featured a track written (and sung) by Supercharge's producer, "Mutt" Lange, called "We Both Believe in Love", which later became the Huey Lewis & the News Top-10 hit "Do You Believe in Love".
In late 1983, the Liverpool band Juke (Allen 'Gaz' Gaskell - tenor saxophone, guitar, harmonica, bass, vocals; Mickey Kearns - baritone sax; guitar; vocals; Bob Hardy - bandleader, keyboards, guitar, vocals; Dave Sheppley - guitar, bass, vocals; Paddy Chambers - guitar, vocals; Steve Grant - drums, vocal) struck a deal with Donnelly and his then manager, "Memo" Rhein, to work together for the next twelve months as Supercharge '84. This version of the band was so successful that at the end of 1984, Donnelly and Rhein persuaded them to stay on for a further five months.
During the time that Juke and Donnelly were together they managed to clock up well over 200 gigs. Many of these were for Europe's 'Jet-Set', and included the wedding of Tina Onassis (which resulted in the 1984 album Groovers In Paris - which is still Supercharge's top selling rhythm and blues album). Gigs also included parties for Gunter Sachs at the Dracula' Club in St. Moritz; and a New Year's Eve party in Marbella for Adnan Khashoggi.
The next version of Supercharge began performing live in mid-1985, and moved away from the successful horn driven 'Rhythm and Blues-Maximum Show' format of Supercharge '84, and instead featured material written mainly by guitarist/vocalist Colin Frost and pianist Tony Judge. This version of the band also included bassist Brendan O'Connor.
In 1986/7, guitarist Dave Shepley (who had been a member of Juke and had switched to bass in Supercharge '84) and guitarist/vocalist John "Fat Ted" Lewis, helped Donnelly to once again convert Supercharge into a major player on the late 1980s and early 1990s European Jazz and Rhythm and Blues live-scene.
This powerhouse rhythm and blues version of Supercharge (which at various times included: Andy Parker - vocal and tenor saxophone; Steve Snow - trombone; Dick Hansen - trumpet Tony Peers - trumpet; Paul Latham - trombone; Graham Price - bass; John "Fat Ted" Lewis - guitar and vocal; Roy "The Boy" Herrington - guitar; Dave Sheppley- guitar; Lenni Zaksen - tenor saxophone; Terry Kennaugh - guitar; Mal Bowers - keyboards; Paul Hetherington - bass; Tony Lunney - drums) quickly began to pick up a number of major tours with artists such as Chuck Berry and B.B. King, and this soon took the band back to stadiums and bigger concert hall gigs, where they still perform.
Nashville keyboard-player and vocalist Greg Barrett joined in the late 1980s and demonstrated a more soulful side of Supercharge. This version of the band usually included Greg Barrett - keyboards, vocal; Albie Donnelly - tenor saxophone; Paul Owens - baritone saxophone; Dick Hansen - trumpet; Roy "The Boy" Herrington - guitar; Wolfgang "Bolle" Diekmann - bass; Tony Lunney - drums.
Donnelly also began experimenting with smaller outfits around this time, the most popular being Albie Donnelly's Big Three which included Gregory Gaynair on piano and Wolfgang Diekmann on bass.
Since 2000 to date, Donnelly has been fronting a R&B band - with a version of Supercharge that now consists mainly of a number of top German R&B musicians, including Jürgen Wieching on saxophone, and Mike Rafalczyk on trombone and Wolfgang Diekmann on bass.
Donnelly also featured on a CD, Return Cargo. In addition to Supercharge regulars, the recording also features the original Supercharge drummer, Dave Irving.
Over the years Donnelly has been an official endorser for a number of saxophone companies, including Keilwerth and Yamaha; he has also provided a great deal of regular work for a number of Liverpool's top musicians.
Since 2010 the band line-up has been: Albie Donnelly (alto and tenor saxophones, lead vocals), Roy Herrington (guitar, vocals), Jürgen Wieching (baritone and alto saxophones), Mike Rafalcyk (trombone, harmonica), Sascha Kühn (keyboards), Wolfgang Diekmann (bass) and Uwe Petersen (drums); with Ozzie Yue (guitars), Lance Donnelly (drums), Neil Partington (guitars) and Mark Phillips (guitars).[ citation needed ]
Allen 'Gaz' Gaskell has since gone on to form Merseyside-based sextet "Jazz Junction". [3]
The band has tour dates for Germany in June 2022. [4]
All Virgin albums were produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange.
Jubilation is the tenth and final studio album by Canadian/American rock group the Band. Recorded in the spring of 1998 in Levon Helm's home studio in Woodstock, New York, it was released on September 15, 1998. For the first time since the group reformed without guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson, there were more originals than covers. Songs include "Last Train to Memphis", featuring guest guitarist Eric Clapton, Garth Hudson's solo instrumental closer "French Girls", Rick Danko's "High Cotton" and the ode to Ronnie Hawkins, "White Cadillac".
Nucleus was a British jazz-fusion band, which continued in different forms from 1969 to 1989. In 1970, the band won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival, released the album Elastic Rock, and performed both at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Village Gate jazz club.
The Phil Collins Big Band was a side project of English rock drummer, singer and musician Phil Collins, which performed in 1996 and 1998.
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes are an American musical group from the Jersey Shore led by Southside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They have recorded or performed several Springsteen songs, including "The Fever" and "Fade Away". Springsteen has also performed with the band on numerous occasions and in 1991 guested on their Better Days album. During the band's formative years Steven Van Zandt acted as the band's co-leader, guitarist, songwriter, arranger and producer while other E Streeters including Clarence Clemons, Max Weinberg, Garry Tallent, Ernest Carter, Patti Scialfa and Soozie Tyrell have all performed, toured or recorded with the Jukes. The band's horn section – the Miami Horns – has also toured and recorded with Springsteen. More than one hundred musicians can claim to have been members of the Asbury Jukes, including Jon Bon Jovi who toured with the band as a special guest during 1990. Bon Jovi has also cited the band as an influence and Jukes' Bobby Bandiera and Jeff Kazee have also toured with Bon Jovi. Other notable band members include Mark Pender and Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg who have played regularly with the Max Weinberg 7 on both Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
Caribbean Jazz Project was a Latin jazz band founded in 1993. The original group featured Dave Samuels, Paquito D'Rivera, and Andy Narell. After their second album, D'Rivera and Narell left the group, although both returned as guest stars. Under Samuels' leadership, the group explored different genres of latin jazz with a changing membership and numerous guest artists. The band released nine albums under the Caribbean Jazz Project name and one as the featured backing band for jazz singer Diane Schuur. The final album with Samuels, Afro Bop Alliance, featured the Maryland-based Afro Bop Alliance Big Band led by drummer Joe McCarthy and won the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. McCarthy's latin jazz big band continues to record under its own name, and Samuels retains the group's name.
Roomful of Blues is an American jump blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, "Swagger, sway and swing with energy and precision". Since 1967, the group’s blend of swing, rock and roll, jump blues, boogie-woogie and soul has earned it five Grammy Award nominations and many other accolades, including seven Blues Music Awards. Billboard called the band "a tour de force of horn-fried blues…Roomful is so tight and so right." The Down Beat International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as Best Blues Band.
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period, including Bob Marley & The Wailers, on their first single "Simmer Down." They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.
"Real Real Gone" is a hit single written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1990 album Enlightenment. It has remained a popular live performance tune and Morrison has included it on the set lists at many of his concerts since releasing it.
Naturally is a studio album by jazz singer and guitarist John Pizzarelli, accompanied by Martin Pizzarelli and Ken Levinsky (pianist). Also on the album is a large horn section with Clark Terry, and his father Bucky Pizzarelli on rhythm guitar.
Guess Who is a studio album by B. B. King. It was released in 1972 by ABC Records.
Geraint Meurig Vaughan Watkins is a Welsh singer, songwriter, rock and roll pianist and accordionist. He has backed many notable artists, including Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Paul McCartney, Roy St. John, Shakin' Stevens and most recently Status Quo. He has also pursued a solo career and issued a number of albums under his own name, the most recent of which, Rush of Blood, was released in September 2019.
One Shot Deal is an album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released in June 2008.
Numbers is the seventh studio album by funk band Rufus, released on the ABC Records label in 1979. It was the band's first album without Chaka Khan on lead vocals. Instead, band members Tony Maiden and David "Hawk" Wolinski shared lead vocal duties, with additional female leads by Helen Lowe and Maxayne. The album reached #15 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart, #81 on Pop and included the single release "Keep It Together ".
20/20 is the 22nd studio album by George Benson, released on the Warner Bros. record label in 1985. The lead single by the same name reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA. "You Are the Love of My Life" is a duet with Roberta Flack; it was one of numerous songs used for Eden Capwell and Cruz Castillo on the American soap opera Santa Barbara. Also included on 20/20 is the original version of the song "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" which would later become a smash hit for Hawaiian singer Glenn Medeiros.
Big City Rhythms is a 1999 album by American vocalist Michael Feinstein accompanied by the Maynard Ferguson big band. It was Feinstein's second album for the Concord label, and his first with Maynard Ferguson.
Buddy Rich Plays and Plays and Plays is a big band jazz album recorded by Buddy Rich and released by RCA Records in 1977. The album also marked his last for the label. Plays and Plays and Plays was nominated for the Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards in 1978, but lost to Prime Time by Count Basie.
Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra is a rhythm and blues band led by boogie-woogie pianist Jools Holland.
Snowfall on the Sahara is a studio album by American singer Natalie Cole. It was released by Elektra Records on June 22, 1999 in the United States.
The Kenton Era is a compilation album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton featuring recordings from 1940 to 1954 which was originally released in two limited edition box sets, as fifteen 7 inch 45 rpm discs and four 12 inch LPs, on Capitol in 1955.
Faron's Flamingos were an English band. In spite of having a lack of success due to poor decision making, they remain an important part of the Merseybeat history. They also have the distinction of being the first major example of the Mersey Motown sound with their release of "Do You Love Me".
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