Alvin Lee
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ALBUMS:
(up to 1976) |
| 1 |
ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM |
(Chrysalis 1054) |
1973 |
| 2 |
IN FLIGHT (dbl) |
(Chrysalis 1069) |
1974 |
| 3 |
PUMP IRON! |
(Chrysalis 1094) |
1975 |
NB: (1) with Mylon Lefevre.
45:
(up to 1976) |
| 1 |
World Is Changing/Riffin' |
(Chrysalis CHS 2020) |
1974 |
Guitarist Alvin Lee's career was transformed by his legendary appearance at the 'Woodstock' festival. He was born on 19 December 1944 in Nottingham and his first band was a beat outfit called The Jail Breakers. After The Jail Breakers, Alvin played with local Nottingham band the Atomites where he met Leo Lyons. They, along with lead singer Ivan Jay, formed Ivan Jay and The Jaymen which later became The Jaycats and finally The Jaybirds. In 1966, the band expanded its personnel and changed name to Ten Years After, one of the UK's top blues-rock groups. Having made a solo album with American Mylon Lefevre in 1973, whilst Ten Years After were still very much a going concern, Lee later formed his own Alvin Lee Band comprising Mel Collins (sax), Tim Hinkley (keyb'ds), Neil Hubbard (gtr) and Ian Wallace (drms). They recorded the live but almost inevitably patchy double album In Flight, at the Rainbow Theatre in London, one month before Ten Years After's last UK concert at the same venue. Former Blodwyn Pig bassist Andy Pyle was recruited for Pump Iron! and Bryson Graham replaced Wallace on drums but the end result wasn't convincing. Lee has fronted various Alvin Lee Bands and Ten Years After reformations since but his finest moment remains that 'Woodstock' appearance.
For more information check the following website:- http://tenyearsafter0.tripod.com/
Barry Lee Show
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| Personnel: |
| MIKE DYBLE |
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| TONY DYBLE |
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| ANGUS JARVIS |
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| BARRY LEE |
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| ROGER REYNOLDS |
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| 45s: |
| 1 |
Everybody Knows My Name/Don't Call Me |
(Columbia DB 8237) |
1967 |
| 2 |
I Don't Want To Love You/Over And Over |
(Columbia DB 8299) |
1967 |
| 3 |
I Won't Cry Anymore/Kathy Come Home |
(Columbia DB 8350) |
1968 |
| 4 |
Wasn't It Good While It Lasted/One In A Million |
(Parlophone R 5704) |
1968 |
This band formed in 1963 in Aylsham, Norfolk as Barry Lee and The Planets. They played a range of music from pop to soul and ballads and changed their name to the Barry Lee Show around the time they signed to EMI. They later changed name again to The Performing Lees and Barry left them to go solo in 1972. The remaining members continued as The Brothers Lee.
Compilation appearances include: I Don't Want To Love You on 60's Back Beat (LP).
Fingers Lee (and The Upper Hand)
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| Personnel incl: |
| FINGERS LEE (FRED CHEESMAN) |
piano |
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| IAN PATTERSON |
bs |
A |
| PETE PHILIPS |
drms |
A |
| 45s: |
| 1 |
Friendly Undertaker/Little Bit More |
(Fontana TF 619) |
1965 |
| 2 |
I'm Gonna Buy Me A Dog/I Can't Drive |
(Fontana TF 655) |
1966 |
| 3 |
Bossy Boss/Don't Run Away |
(Columbia DB 8002) |
1966 |
NB: (3) as Fingers Lee and The Upper Hand.
Fingers Lee was actually Fred Cheesman, who'd earlier played with Screaming Lord Sutch. Ian Patterson was Ian Hunter who went on to play with Mott The Hoople and recorded solo material. Lee and Patterson also recorded as At Last The 1958 Rock 'n' Roll Show. These three 45s were bluesy beat efforts.
Compilation appearances include: Midnight Race from a French 45 on Incredible Sound Show Stories, Vol. 9 (LP).
Leapy Lee
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| ALBUM: |
| 1 |
LITTLE ARROWS |
(Decca DL 75076) |
1968/9 |
| 2 |
LEAPY LEE |
(Decca DL 75237) |
c1970 |
NB: (1) and (2) US only releases.
| 45s: |
| 1 |
It's All Happening/In The Meantime |
(Pye 7N 17001) |
1965 - |
| 2 |
King Of The Whole Wide World/Shake Hands |
(Decca F 12369) |
1966 - |
| 3 |
The Man On The Flying Trapeze/My Mixed-Up Mind |
(CBS 202550) |
1967 - |
| 4 |
Boiled Beef And Carrots/My Mixed-Up Mind |
(CBS 3131) |
1967 - |
| 5 |
Little Arrows/Time Will Tell |
(MCA MU 1028) |
1968 2 |
| 6 |
It's All Happening/It's Great |
(Pye 7N 17619) |
1968 - |
| 7 |
Here Comes The Rain/Three Little Words |
(MCA MU 1054) |
1969 - |
| 8 |
Little Yellow Aeroplane/Boom Boom |
(MCA MU 1074) |
1969 - |
| 9 |
Someone's In Love/Best To Forget |
(MCA MK 5001) |
1969 - |
| 10 |
Good Morning/Teresa |
(MCA MK 5021) |
1969 29 |
| 11 |
Tupela Mississippi Flash/Green Green Trees |
(MCA MK 5040) |
1970 - |
| 12 |
If I Ever Get To Saginaw/My Girl Maria |
(MCA MK 5052) |
1970 - |
| 13 |
Helena/Summer Rain |
(Mam MAM 94) |
1973 - |
| 14 |
Rub Your Nose/My Advise To You |
(Mam MAM 110/111) |
1973 - |
| 15 |
Every Road Leads Back To You/Honey, Go Drift Away |
(Bell BLL 1419) |
1975 - |
| 16 |
Love On Borrowed Time/Ode To A Friendly Toad |
(Bell BLL 1456) |
1975 - |
| 17 |
Our Sweet Precious Love/New York City |
(Bell BLL 1475) |
1976 - |
| 18 |
European Flowers Don't Grow In USA/Jane |
(Bell BLL 1486) |
1976 - |
| Reissue 45s: |
| 19 |
Little Arrows/Time Will Tell |
(MCA MCA 167) |
1974 - |
| 20 |
Little Arrows/ |
(Old Gold OG 9169) |
1982 - |
| 21 |
Little Arrows/ |
(Old Gold OG 9794) |
1987 - |
NB: (2) This 45 featured The Kinks.
A comedian (his real name is Lee Graham) whose best remembered for his Little Arrows 45 which has been reissued on three occasions since. He was very friendly with The Kinks and his humour seems to have played a major role in soothing internal pressures in the group. He was almost offered the opportunity to record Sunny Afternoon before Ray Davies changed his mind and decided The Kinks should record it. Eventually Ray wrote, arranged and produced King Of The Whole Wide World for him and got Dave Davies, Pete Quaife and two of Goldie's Gingerbread's (Margo and Carole) to play on it. The song could easily have been a hit but it wasn't. In October 1968 Pepper became his backing group.
(Vernon Joynson/Vladimir Zhigulin)
Mark Leeman Five
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| Personnel: |
| BRIAN 'BLINKY' DAVISON |
drms |
A |
B |
| TERRY GOLDBERG |
organ |
A |
B |
| DAVE HYDE |
bs |
A |
B |
| MARK LEEMAN |
vcls |
A |
| ALAN ROSKAMS |
gtr |
A |
B |
| ROGER PEACOCK |
vcls |
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B |
| 45s: |
| 1 |
Portland Town/Gotta Get Myself Together |
(Columbia DB 7452) |
1965 |
| 2 |
Blow My Blues Away/On The Horizon |
(Columbia DB 7648) |
1965 |
| 3 |
Forbidden Fruit/Goin' To Bluesville |
(Columbia DB 7812) |
1966 |
| 4 |
Follow Me/Gather Up The Pieces |
(Columbia DB 7955) |
1966 |
NB: The Memorial Album (See For Miles SEE LP 317) 1991, also on CD (CD 317), is a recommended compilation of their material.
A popular mid-sixties act around the London clubs, they played a mixture of R&B and jazz and secured a deal with EMI's Columbia label. After their debut disc, Portland Town, which had been produced by Manfred Mann, Leeman was tragically killed in a car crash in June 1965. Roger Peacock came in as a replacement and the group retained Leeman's name in tribute to him. Their second 45, Blow My Blues Away, had been recorded before Leeman's death and featured him on vocals. Their subsequent releases aroused very little interest and the inevitable disintegration came in 1966. Brian Davison was later in The Nice and Roger Peacock later formed Dave Anthony's Moods.
Anyone interested in this band should seek out the See For Miles set which not only includes both sides of their four 45s (including alternate versions of both sides of their debut one) but 15 previously unreleased cuts including 11 from a tape of exciting R&B songs recorded back in 1963 which show what a major force this band would have become had Leeman survived.
Lee Riders
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| Personnel: |
| MICHAEL CONNOR |
piano, organ |
A |
| ROBERT LEE |
lead vcls, gtr |
A |
| ROY O'TEMRO |
drms, perc, slide gtr |
A |
| MATT PRESBY |
gtr |
A |
| MIKE REILLY |
bs, vcls |
A |
| ALBUM: |
| 1(A) |
THE LEE RIDERS |
(United Artists UAS 29312) |
1972 |
A little known band who deserved a better recognition. Their album which was recorded at Morgan Studios, with the help of the well known session musician B.J. Cole on steel guitar and dobro, is very U.S.-sounding, veering in a country rock direction. It included some fine, very West Coastish bluesy tracks, somewhere between Hot Tuna and Grateful Dead, like Phenomenological Blues, The Moment and Living With My Uncle Sam. Robert Lee was the leader of the band and wrote all the material.
Roy O'Temro also played with Cochise. Mike Reilly and Michael Connor (or O'Connor) went to the U.S., where since 1975 they played with Pure Prairie League.
(Costas Arvanitis)
Brother Lees
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| Personnel: |
| MICHAEL LEE |
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A |
| ROGER LEE |
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A |
| TONY LEE |
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A |
| 45s: |
| 1 |
Why You Hesitating Mama/Let's Do It Together |
(Pye 7N 45138) |
1972 |
| 2 |
Night The Orchestra Sang/Tomorrow |
(Jam JAM 59) |
1973 |
In 1972 these brothers won the second prize in "Search For A Songwriter Contest" by the paper 'Disc And Music Echo'. They came from Adamhort, Norfolk.
John Lee's Groundhogs
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| Personnel: |
| DAVE BOORMAN |
drms |
A |
| JOHN CRUICKSHANK |
vcls |
A |
| PETE CRUICKSHANK |
bs |
A |
| BOB HALL |
piano |
A |
| TONY McPHEE |
gtr |
A |
| 45: |
| 1 |
I'll Never Fall In Love Again/Over You Baby |
(Planet PLF 104) |
1966 |
A R&B band, whose only UK 45 was produced by Bill Wyman and Glyn Jones. Put together to back John Lee Hooker when he toured the UK, they also had a US only 45 Shake It/Rock Me (Interphon IN 7715), and recorded an acetate Someone To Love/Hallelujah (Regent Sound).
Compilation appearances include: Shake It on Maximum R'n'B (CD), Beat It (3-CD) and English Freakbeat, Vol. 1 (LP & CD); Someone To Love on Purple Heart Surgery, Vol. 1 (LP) and Hens Teeth Vol. 2 (CD); I'll Never Fall In Love Again and Over You Baby on The Best Of Planet Records (CD).
See also the Groundhogs.
Left Handed Marriage
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| Personnel: |
| JENNY HILL |
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| BILL RICHARD |
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| PETER TROUT |
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| ALBUM: |
| 1(A) |
ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LEFT HANDED MARRIAGE |
(Private Pressing) |
1967 R5 |
NB: (1) reissued as a limited edition of 1,000 (Tenth Planet TP 022) 1995.
This mega-rarity was recorded by a student band and is significant for being one of the earliest-known privately pressed albums and one of the earliest amalgams of traditional folk and folk-rock. All the songs are self-penned but original copies are horrendously rare.
The band regrouped a few years back without Trout but with Henry Deval and Terry Goulds to record a limited edition (500 copies only CD), Crazy Chain (LHM 1) 1993. It will be of great interest to Queen collectors since it includes three cuts:- Appointment, She Was Once My Friend and I Need Time from a July 1967 session which also featured a certain Brian May on guitar.
Their mega rare privately-pressed album has now been reissued in a limited edition, digitally remastered 1,000 copies vinyl-only format. The reissue includes three previously unissued alternate takes of album tracks, Arthur, Happiness Is You-Shaped, Another Shoulder and That Was The Boy, a previously unreleased cut. Most of the tracks are folk-influenced melodic pop penned by Bill Richards and those on which Jenny Rusbridge takes over lead vocals have the edge.
Legay
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| Personnel: |
| JOHN KNAPP |
gtr, keyb'ds, vcls |
A |
| DAVE McCARTHY |
bs |
A |
| ROBIN PIZER |
gtr, vcls |
A |
| ROD READ |
gtr, vcls |
A |
| MOTH SMITH |
drms |
A |
| 45: |
| 1 |
No-One/The Fantastic Story Of The Steam Driven Banana |
(Fontana TF 904) |
1969 |
This outfit's 45 is now very rare and collectable. They later evolved into Gypsy. The 'A' side, written by Robin Pizer, is a superb slice of psychedelia with great guitar work and good drumming. The 'B' side is also a good pop-psych story song.
Compilation appearances include: No One on Justafixation (LP), Justafixation (CD), Magic Spectacles (CD) and Red With Purple Flashes, Vol. 2 (LP).
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Alvin Lee
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