Climax Blues Band

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Biography

The Climax Blues Band (originally known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band ) were formed in Stafford , England in 1968. The original members were guitarist s Peter Haycock and Derek Holt; keyboardist Arthur Wood; bassist Richard Jones; drummer George Newsome; and lead vocalist and saxaphone|saxophonist Colin Cooper.

In 1970, the musical ensemble|group shortened its name to the Climax Blues Band due to pressure from the United States|American musical ensemble|band , Chicago (band)|Chicago Transit Authority . The music group|band has released at least 17 album s and had a Top 40|Top 10 hit single|hit in the United Kingdom|UK with "Couldn't Get It Right". That song and "I Love You" were United States|American hits as well; "Couldn't Get It Right" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, and "I Love You" peaked at #12 in 1980.

Biography

Led by Cooper, the former frontman of the Rhythm and blues|R& B group the Hipster Image, the Climax Chicago Blues Band was one of the leading lights of the late 1960s United Kingdom|UK blues boom. Prior to the release of 1969's Plays On , Jones left the group, prompting Holt to move to bass. In 1970 they moved to the Harvest Records|Harvest record label|label , at the same time shifting towards a more rock music|rock oriented sound on A Lot of Bottle . Around the release of 1971's Tightly Knit , Newsome was replaced by John Cuffley; upon Wood's exit in the wake of 1972's Rich Man , they continued on as a quartet, also dropping the "Chicago" portion of their name to avoid confusion with the American band of a similar name.

In 1974 the Climax Blues Band issued FM Live , a document of a New York City|New York radio station|radio concert . 1975's Stamp Album was their commercial breakthrough, and 1976's Gold Plated fared even better, spurred on by the success of the hit "Couldn't Get It Right". By the mid 1970s they were drawing crowds of up to 20,000 at U.S. concert s. However, the rise of punk rock effectively stopped the group in their tracks. By 1981 the band had left their blues roots behind and attempted to become a mainstream pop music|pop -rock band. Derek Holt and John Cuffley left in 1983.

Haycock recorded the instrumental Guitar & Son album for ex-Climax Blues manager Miles Copeland III 's record label , No Speak, after parting company with the Climax Blues Band in 1985. He was later recruited by Bev Bevan as a member of Electric Light Orchestra Part II when they recorded and toured from 1990 onwards. He also started his film score career at this time by playing the lead on Hans Zimmer 's score to Thelma and Louise , as well as performing on the Night Of The Guitars tours which also featured Derek Holt on bass, keys and occasional vocals. After several years of additional film score contributions, Haycock released a soundtrack CD to the Hollister Rally DVD in 2005. The CD entitled ''Bikers' Dozen'' featured John Fiddler (of Medicine Head fame). Following that, Haycock's new band, 'Pete Haycock's True Blues (featuring Glen Turner)' enjoyed touring and recording success with a live album , released in 2008.

Holt's songwriter|penned "I Love You" was one of the Climax Blues Band's biggest hit record|hits . It can be found on the Climax Blues Band double album , 25 Years 1968-1993 which was released by the Germany|German record label Repertoire in 1993. "I Love You" still gets over 20,000 radio station|radio hits a year in the U.S. and has recently been included in Kevin Smith 's 2008 film Zach and Miri make a Porno|Zach and Miri Make a Porno . Holt released five solo albums - I Love You , After the Climax , Sunflowers , Hear and Now , Paradise Lost and Full Circle .

"Couldn't Get It Right" was cover version|covered by the Fun Lovin' Criminals on their album Mimosa (album)|Mimosa . Holt revealed in an interview that the song was "about being on the road in America".

After a short period of inactivity, Climax Blues Band minus Haycock but featuring guitarist Lester Hunt recorded the album Drastic Steps and went back to touring extensively around UK, Europe and America. The new lineup soon became established with Colin Cooper, George Glover, Lester Hunt, Neil Simpson and Roy Adams in the early 1990s, releasing the live album Blues from the Attic in 1993 and Big Blues in 2004.

Cooper died of cancer, aged 69, in July 2008. He is survived by his wife and two children. However, the band continues to the present day. Initially, Cooper was replaced by Johnny Pugh, but when illness forced Pugh into retirement he was replaced by Johnny Mars.

Band members

(Founding members listed in bold.)

;Current members

George Glover (born 28 October 1947, Stoke-on-Trent) - keyboards, backing vocals (1980-present)

Roy Adams (17 May 1952, Birmingham , England) - drums (1985-present)

Lester Hunt (born 21 February 1956, Stretford , Manchester ) - guitar, backing vocals (1985-present)

Neil Simpson (6 January 1959, Stoke-on-Trent) - bass (1991-present)

Johnny Mars - vocals, harmonica (2012-present)

;Former members

Colin Cooper (born Colin Francis Richard Cooper, 7 October 1939, Stafford , Staffordshire ) - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar (1968-2008; died 2008)

Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass (1968-1985)

Derek Holt (born 26 January 1949, Stafford) - bass, guitar, keyboards (1968-1983)

George Newsome (born George Ewart Newsome, 19 August 1947, Stafford) - drums (1968-1973)

Arthur Wood (born 3 August 1929, Burslem , Stoke-on-Trent ) - keyboards (1968-1973; died 2005)

Richard Anthony Chipperfield Jones (born 1949, Stoke-on-Trent) - bass, keyboards (1968-1969, 1975-1977)

Anton Farmer - keyboards (1969-1970)

Peter Filleul - keyboards (1970-1975, 1977-1980)

John Cuffley - drums (1973-1983)

Nicky Hopkins - keyboards (1978-1979)

Henry Spinetti - drums (1983)

Dave Marquee - bass (1983)

Jeff Rich - drums (1983-1985)

John Edwards (musician)|John "Rhino" Edwards - bass (1983-1985)

Roger Inniss - bass (1985-1991)

Johnny Pugh (18 September 1952, Southend-on-Sea ) - vocals, saxophone, harmonica (2008-2012)

Lineups

Years	Lineup
1968-1969 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards George Newsome - drums Arthur Wood - keyboards Richard Anthony Chipperfield Jones - bass, keyboards
1969-1970 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards George Newsome - drums Arthur Wood - keyboards Anton Farmer - keyboards
1970-1973 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards George Newsome - drums Arthur Wood - keyboards Peter Filleul - keyboards
1973-1975 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards Peter Filleul - keyboards John Cuffley - drums
1975-1977 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards John Cuffley - drums Richard Anthony Chipperfield Jones - bass, keyboards
1977-1978 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards John Cuffley - drums Peter Filleul - keyboards
1978-1979 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards John Cuffley - drums Peter Filleul - keyboards Nicky Hopkins - keyboards
1979-1980 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards John Cuffley - drums Peter Filleul - keyboards
1980-1983 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass Derek Holt - bass, guitar, keyboards John Cuffley - drums George Glover - keyboards, backing vocals
1983 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass George Glover - keyboards, backing vocals Henry Spinetti - drums Dave Marquee - bass
1983-1985 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar Pete Haycock - vocals, guitar, bass George Glover - keyboards, backing vocals Jeff Rich - drums John Edwards (musician)\|John "Rhino" Edwards - bass
1985-1991 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar George Glover - keyboards, backing vocals Roy Adams - drums Lester Hunt - guitar, backing vocals Roger Inniss - bass
1991-2008 Colin Cooper - vocals, saxophone, harmonica, guitar George Glover - keyboards, backing vocals Roy Adams - drums Lester Hunt - guitar, backing vocals Neil Simpson - bass
2008-2012 George Glover - keyboards, backing vocals Roy Adams - drums Lester Hunt - guitar, backing vocals Neil Simpson - bass Johnny Pugh - vocals, saxophone, harmonica
2012-present George Glover - keyboards, backing vocals Roy Adams - drums Lester Hunt - guitar, backing vocals Neil Simpson - bass Johnny Mars - vocals, harmonica

Discography

Albums

The Climax Chicago Blues Band (1969)

Plays On (1969) United States|U.S. #197 Billboard 200 (1 week)

A Lot of Bottle (1970)

Tightly Knit (1971) United States|U.S. #211 Billboard 200 (5 weeks)

Rich Man (1972) U.S. #150 Billboard 200 (10 weeks)

FM Live (1973) U.S. #107 Billboard 200 (30 weeks)

Sense of Direction (1974) U.S. #37 Billboard 200 (29 weeks)

Stamp Album (1975) U.S. #69 Billboard 200 (11 weeks)

Gold Plated (1976) U.S. #27 Billboard 200 (44 weeks), United Kingdom|UK #56 UK Albums Chart

Shine On (1978) U.S. #71 Billboard 200 (11 weeks)

Real to Reel (1979) U.S. #170 Billboard 200 (6 weeks)

Flying the Flag (1980) U.S. #75 Billboard 200 (16 weeks)

Lucky for Some (1981)

Sample and Hold (1983)

Drastic Steps (1988)

Blues from the Attic (1993)

25 Years (1968-1993) (1994)

Big Blues (2004)

Albums (guesting)

''Three's a Crowd - Tarney-Spencer Band (1978)

Singles

"Using the Power" (1975) U.S. #110 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (1 week)

"Couldn't Get It Right" (1976) U.S. #3 Billboard Hot 100 (22 weeks), UK #10 UK Singles Chart (9 weeks)

"Makin' Love" (1978) U.S. #91 Billboard Hot 100 (4 weeks)

"Gotta Have More Love" (1980) U.S. #47 Billboard Hot 100 (12 weeks)

"I Love You" (1980) U.S. #12 Billboard Hot 100 (27 weeks)

Copyright Citations

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1. Molly Hatchet 2. Glenn Hughes 3. I Love You 4. Tarney-Spencer Band

Undetermined Music Artists

Climax Blues Band

Biography

Biography

Band members

Lineups

Discography

Albums

Albums (guesting)

Singles

References

External links

Copyright Citations