The Band Plays On

This article is about the hard rock album. For the 1934 American film, see The Band Plays On (film). For the non-fiction book, see And the Band Played On. For the pop song, see The Band Played On.

The Band Plays On
Studio album by Back Street Crawler
Released	October 1975
Genre	Hard rock, blues rock
Length	44:16
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Back Street Crawler
Back Street Crawler chronology
The Band Plays On (1975) 2nd Street (1976)

The Band Plays On is the debut album from Back Street Crawler, fronted by ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. ^[1] Keyboard player Mike Montgomery composed six songs and co-wrote two others on the album, in addition to singing lead vocals on "All the Girls Are Crazy" and "Survivor". He dueted with Terry Wilson-Slesser on "New York, New York" (a Mike Montgomery original, and not the tune made famous by Liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra). Montgomery subsequently left the band and was replaced by John "Rabbit" Bundrick.

The Mike Montgomery songs, "Jason Blue" and "It's a Long Way Down to the Top", had previously appeared on a self-titled 1973 album by Bloontz, in which Terry Wilson, Mike Montgomery and Tony Braunagel had played together prior to the formation of Back Street Crawler. ^[2]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Mike Montgomery; except where indicated

1. "Hoo Doo Woman" (Back Street Crawler) - 4:17
2. "New York, New York" - 4:40
3. "Stealing My Way" (Mike Montgomery, Paul Kossoff) - 4:21
4. "Survivor" - 3:35
5. "It's a Long Way Down to the Top" - 5:58
6. "All The Girls Are Crazy" - 3:33
7. "Jason Blue" - 4:57
8. "Train Song" (Terry Wilson, Tony Braunagel) - 4:36
9. "Rock & Roll Junkie" - 3:17
10. "The Band Plays On" (Terry Wilson) - 5:02

Personnel

Back Street Crawler

• Paul Kossoff - guitar
• Terry Wilson-Slesser - vocals
• Terry Wilson - guitar, bass guitar
• Tony Braunagel - drums
• Mike Montgomery - keyboards, vocals

with:

• Pete Van - baritone saxophone on "Jason Blue" & "Rock & Roll Junkie"
• Eddie Quansah - trumpet, flugelhorn on "Jason Blue" & "Rock & Roll Junkie"
• George Lee - flutes, tenor & soprano saxophones on "Jason Blue" & "Rock & Roll Junkie"

Production

• Produced by Back Street Crawler for Oak Records Ltd & Steve Smith (track 3)
• Engineered by Rod Thear
• Recorded at Ridge Farm Studios (tracks 1-2, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10) & Sawmills (tracks 3, 6)
• Mixed at Olympic Studios, London (tracks 1-2, 4-5, 9-10) & Basing Street Studios, London (tracks 3)
• Remixed at Olympic Studios, London (tracks 6-8)
• Richard Polak - photography

References

1. "Back Street Crawler". The Ann Arbor News . November 30, 1975. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
2. https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/bloontz/

External links

• Terry Wilson-Slesser