The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

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The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Also known asSAHB
Origin Glasgow, Scotland
Genres
Years active1972 (1972)–1978 (1978)
Labels Vertigo
Universal International
Atlantic (North America)
Past members Alex Harvey
Zal Cleminson
Chris Glen
Hugh McKenna
Ted McKenna
Tommy Eyre
Julian Hutson-Saxby
Stevie Doherty
Billy Rankin
Max Maxwell
Phil Mount (drummer 1978)

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1972. [1] Fronted by Alex Harvey accompanied by Zal Cleminson on guitar, bassist Chris Glen, keyboard player Hugh McKenna and drummer Ted McKenna (28 November 1949–18 December 2019), their music was a blend of blues rock and hard rock, [2] with cabaret elements. [3] Their stage performances incorporated theatrical elements. The band were popular in continental Europe, and influential in Australia, most notably on AC/DC (particularly their singer Bon Scott) and on the young Nick Cave and his first band The Boys Next Door.

Contents

History

In August 1972, Alex Harvey formed the Sensational Alex Harvey Band (often shortened to SAHB, and pronounced "saab") with Zal Cleminson (guitar), Chris Glen (bass), and cousins Hugh (keyboards) and Ted McKenna (drums), all members of the progressive rock act Tear Gas except Hugh. [4]

They adopted distinctive stage costumes: Harvey wore vaudeville-like clothes and his trademark hooped shirt, while Cleminson assumed the identity of a "mime" in full make-up and green-yellow jumpsuit and Glen wore a dark blue jumpsuit reminiscent of a superhero costume incorporating a lighter blue codpiece. SAHB produced a succession of highly regarded albums and tours throughout the 1970s. The band did not enjoy large-scale success in the United States as it had in the UK, [5] though they did acquire a cult following in certain US cities, notably Cleveland, where the group first played at the Agora Ballroom in December 1974. Thanks to airplay from Cleveland radio station WMMS, songs like "Next" and "The Faith Healer" became popular. [6]

In January 1974, the band went into Advision Studios in London with the American producer Shel Talmy to record a third album. By April, the sessions were finished and the album was mixed. However, the band and management had some reservations about the overall sound and decided to scrap the entire album. Talmy returned to Los Angeles with his tapes. Most of the song titles appeared on the official album The Impossible Dream later that year with a different producer, though the songs were dramatically changed.[ clarification needed ] The original recordings formed an album called Hot City, released in 2009 by Major League Productions.

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band had top 40 hits in Britain with the single "Delilah", a cover version of the Tom Jones hit from their Live album that reached number seven in 1975, and with "The Boston Tea Party" in June 1976. [4] The song "Anthem" was a top 30 hit in Australia in 1975. [7]

Harvey left the group late in 1975; the other members continued with the name "SAHB (without Alex)". They recorded a new album, Fourplay , in February 1977. [4] The album steered towards a solid pop-rock with some slight prog influences. Harvey re-joined the group in mid-1977, while Hugh McKenna left. In 1978, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band recorded Rock Drill , with Tommy Eyre replacing Hugh McKenna, and disbanded shortly afterwards. [4] Harvey died of heart failure on 4 February 1982 in Belgium. [4]

Reunions

In 1992, Glen, Cleminson and Ted McKenna banded together to form "The Party Boys" which featured guest vocalists such as Fish, Dan McCafferty and Stevie Doherty with the Stone The Crows keyboard player Ronnie Leahy. [4] This band lasted about one year before deciding to recruit keyboard player Hugh McKenna and finally reform as SAHB. A live album, Live in Glasgow 1993, was released, with Doherty on vocals. [4] This line-up of SAHB disbanded in 1995, before reforming in 2002 for a tribute night to Frankie Miller at The Barrowlands in Glasgow, with the ex-Nazareth guitarist Billy Rankin on vocals. After a year, "Mad" Max Maxwell replaced Rankin.

SAHB released another live album in 2006, Zalvation , which was their first official release since Rock Drill in 1978, and an autobiography called SAHB Story, written by the former tour manager and author Martin Keilty. The band performed numerous tours and festivals across the UK, Europe and Australia before disbanding again in 2008, after the departure of Cleminson on guitar. The band performed a handful of shows that were pre-booked with the guitarist Julian Hutson Saxby but after that, they decided to move on to separate projects.

Legacy

In 2018, Nick Cave told Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie, "My first band was basically an Alex Harvey cover band. We did "Framed", "Isobel Goudie", "Faith Healer", "Gang Bang", "Next", "Midnight Moses", everything. I wore jeans and a tight cropped t-shirt and our guitarist wore clown make-up like Zal... Our first gig was a Battle of the Bands thing in a country town and we played "Framed" and came second. It's been downhill ever since." [8]

Earlier, while the Sensational Alex Harvey Band was still active, Bob Seger included "Gang Bang" in his set, as documented on his July 8, 1974 show at Ebbets Field in Denver. Seger jokingly introduces it as a love song "ballad."

Robert Smith of the Cure said, "People talk about Iggy Pop as the original punk, but certainly in Britain the forerunner of the punk movement was Alex Harvey. His whole stage show with the graffiti-covered brick walls – it was like very aggressive Glaswegian street theatre." [9]

Discography

Studio albums

Release dateAlbum detailsPeak chart position Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[10] 		AUS
[11] 		SWE
[12]
December 1972 Framed ———
November 16, 1973 Next... 37——
October 4, 1974 The Impossible Dream 1678—
April 1975 Tomorrow Belongs to Me 9——
March 1976 The Penthouse Tapes 14—35
July 1976 SAHB Stories 119833
February 1977 Fourplay ———
March 1978 Rock Drill ———

Live albums

Release dateAlbum detailsPeak chart position Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[10] 		US
[14]
September 1975 Live 14100
1977Alex Harvey Presents: The Loch Ness Monster——
1991BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert——
1995Live on the Test——
1998The Gospel According to Alex Harvey——
2004British Tour '76——
2006US Tour '74——
2009Live at the BBC (Spectrum/Universal 2009)——

Reunion albums

Compilations/other releases

Singles

YearTitle UK
[17] 		AU
[11] 		BE
[18]
1972There's No Lights on the Christmas Tree...---
1973Jungle Jenny---
1973Next...---
1974Anthem-47-
1974Sergeant Fury--
1975 Delilah 7-49
1975Gamblin' Bar Room Blues38--
1976The Boston Tea Party13--
1976 Amos Moses ---
1977 Mrs. Blackhouse ---

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<i>Framed</i> (Sensational Alex Harvey Band album) 1972 studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Framed is the 1972 debut album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. The title track is a cover of a Leiber and Stoller song originally recorded by The Robins. Other tracks include a cover of the Willie Dixon song "I Just Want to Make Love to You", originally performed by Muddy Waters. Both of these songs had appeared on Alex Harvey recordings as far back as the 1963 live recording from Hamburg, released in 1964 as "Alex Harvey and His Soul Band". "Hammer Song" and "Midnight Moses" are two Harvey originals that first appeared on his solo LP Roman Wall Blues in 1969. "Hole In Her Stocking" had been recorded by Alex Harvey in 1970 on the Rock Workshop eponymous release of the same year.

<i>Next</i> (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band album) 1973 studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Next is the second album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, released in 1973.

<i>The Impossible Dream</i> (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band album) 1974 studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

The Impossible Dream was the third album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, released October 4, 1974. The album was released separately on CD but can be hard to find; however, the CD is widely available on a 2-in-1 album, the other album being Tomorrow Belongs to Me. It was the band's first release to chart, peaking at No. 16 on the UK Album Chart. "Anthem" was the last single released by SAHB in the U.S.

<i>Live</i> (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band album) 1975 live album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Live was the first live record by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, released in 1975. It features a cover version of the Tom Jones song "Delilah". Donald A. Guarisco of AllMusic writes "Live is a double-triumph for the Sensational Alex Harvey Band because it functions both as a strong live souvenir for the group's fans and also as a solid introduction to the group's highlights for the novice".

<i>Tomorrow Belongs to Me</i> (album) 1975 studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Tomorrow Belongs to Me is the fourth studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. It was released in 1975 on Vertigo Records. While no A-side singles were released from this album, three compositions were used as B-sides to other SAHB singles: "Soul in Chains", as a live version taken from the subsequent tour, "Shake That Thing" and "Snake Bite". The album's title track was a cover of a key song in the 1966 musical Cabaret and its 1972 film adaptation.

<i>The Penthouse Tapes</i> 1976 studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

The Penthouse Tapes is the fifth studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Unlike previous releases comprising predominantly original compositions.The Penthouse Tapes consists largely of covers, ranging from The Osmonds' "Crazy Horses" and Alice Cooper's "School's Out" to Lead Belly's "Goodnight Irene". Of the three originals, "I Wanna Have You Back" and "Jungle Jenny" open side one; a third, "Say You're Mine", was written by Alex Harvey and appears on side two. The album was released in 1976 on Vertigo Records.

<i>SAHB Stories</i> 1976 studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

SAHB Stories is the sixth studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, released in 1976. It features their hit single "Boston Tea Party", as well as a cover of the Jerry Reed song, "Amos Moses". Harvey left the band shortly after this album was released, but returned in 1977. The album was re-released in 1984 on the Sahara Records label.

<i>Fourplay</i> (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band album) 1977 studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Fourplay is the seventh studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and the first of the group's albums to be made without Alex Harvey: the band was identified as "SAHB " on the album cover. Harvey had quit the group and was recording another album called Alex Harvey Presents: The Loch Ness Monster at the time. Most of the group had recorded two albums under the name Tear Gas in the early 1970s, and John Neil Munro states in his 2002 book The Sensational Alex Harvey that they had been planning to record without Harvey for at least a year prior to the split. Harvey helped to select songs for the album and contributed some production assistance. Some songs, such as "Smouldering" and "Outer Boogie" had been road-tested by the group during portions of shows for their 1976 tour of Europe during which Harvey was required to rest. In 2004, Ted McKenna told John Clarkson:

<i>Rock Drill</i> (album) 1978 studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band


Rock Drill is the eighth studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, which was released in Europe in 1977 and in the UK in 1978. The album includes Tommy Eyre on keyboards; the band's original keyboardist Hugh McKenna was absent due to an internal dispute - however, three songs from the album are co-credited to him. McKenna has since recorded his regrets at the dispute, given what lay ahead in the next five years.

<i>Zalvation</i> 2006 live album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Zalvation: Live In The 21st Century is a live album, released in 2006, which served as a The Sensational Alex Harvey Band reunion notwithstanding that Harvey himself had died in 1982. This was the third SAHB album to be made without Alex Harvey, the others being the band's seventh studio album, Fourplay and another reunion album Live in Glasgow 1993. This album features Max Maxwell on vocals, and sees the return of Hugh McKenna to the band, his last appearance being on the Fourplay album, for which he had been vocalist. The album commemorated a reunion tour, but was also intended as a farewell tour; however the tour had been so successful that the band decided to continue. The album release contains 2 CDs and comprises new versions of songs written or covered by the original SAHB. Although four fifths of the group on Zalvation were responsible for 1977's SAHB album Fourplay, no songs from this album are included.

<i>The Mafia Stole My Guitar</i> 1979 studio album by Alex Harvey

The Mafia Stole My Guitar is the second album by Alex Harvey. The earlier Alex Harvey Presents: The Loch Ness Monster was made while the rest of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were recording Fourplay. The Mafia Stole My Guitar was the last album Harvey released during his lifetime; he died in 1982.

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References

  1. ↑ "The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  2. ↑ AllMusic. "The Sensational Alex Harvey Band Biography". AllMusic.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ Donald A. Guarisco. "Next Review". AllMusic.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 1070. ISBN   1-85227-745-9.
  5. ↑ Anastasia Pantsios, "Rock Beat", Cleveland Plain Dealer, 25 July 1980, p. T-34.
  6. ↑ Jane Scott, "Alex Harvey Dies on Boat", Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12 February 1982, p. T-23.
  7. ↑ Jim Barnes and Stephen Scanes, The Book: Top 40 Research – 5th Edition, Barscan, Berowra, 2000, p. 318
  8. ↑ "The Sensational Alex Harvey Band are the uncrowned kings of 70's rock. Do you agree?". The Red Hand Files. February 2020.
  9. ↑ "The Sensational Alex Harvey Band".
  10. 1 2 "SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Australian Chart Books". www.australianchartbooks.com.au. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  12. ↑ "Alex Harvey – Framed". Swedish Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 BPI Certified Awards Search
  14. ↑ Atlantic Album Discography, Part 7: SD-18100 Series (1974–1977). Both Sides Now Publications.
  15. ↑ "Hot City: The 1974 Unreleased Album – Alex Harvey". Allmusic. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "CHART LOG UK: NEW ENTRIES UPDATE : Chart Date: 6 August 2011". Zobbel. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "The Sensational Alex Harvey Band Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "charts.org.nz – The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Delilah". Charts.nz. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
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