Savoy Brown

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Biography

Savoy Brown , originally known as the Savoy Brown Blues Band , are a United Kingdom|British blues rock musical ensemble|band , formed in 1965, in Battersea , South West (London sub region)|South West London . Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown never achieved as much success in their homeland as they did in the United States , where they promoted their albums with non-stop concert tour|touring.

Career

The band was formed and led by guitarist Kim Simmonds , whose dominating personality led to a myriad of personnel changes. Others have attributed the constant lineup adjustments to the "creative accountancy" employed by the band's manager, Harry Simmonds, brother of Kim.Martin "Jet" Celmins and Jeff Watt, http://www.savoybrown.com/band4.html

The original line-up included singing|singer Bryce Portius, keyboardist Bob Hall (boogie-woogie pianist)|Bob Hall , bassist Ray Chappell, drummer Leo Manning and harmonica player John O'Leary (blues harmonica artist)|John O'Leary (O'Leary appeared on record with the band on its initial recordings for Mike Vernon's Purdah label). Portius was one of the first black people|black blues musician s to be a part of a British rock band . This line-up appeared on the band's 1967 debut album, Shake Down (album)|Shake Down , a collection of blues cover version|covers . Two albums followed in 1968, Getting to the Point (album)|Getting to the Point , and Blue Matter (album)|Blue Matter .

In 1969 a single (music)|single , "Train to Nowhere", was released with a vastly different line-up, including singer Chris Youlden , who, with Simmons, took over primary songwriting duties for the band, on A Step Further (album)|A Step Further that year. It was viewed by some as the last gasp of the blues scene in the United Kingdom . They developed a loyal core following in the United States , due to songs such as "I'm Tired", a driving, melodic song from the album. They were one of the bands that UK Decca Records|Decca (US London/Parrot) stuck with through the lean times until they started selling records (it took four or five albums until they started to sell in the United States|U.S. ) In the late 1960s and 1970s, the band managed to penetrate the Billboard Hot 100 . Superstardom perpetually evaded them, perhaps in part because of their frequent line-up changes, but despite that, Hellbound Train (album)|Hellbound Train (1972) was a Top 40 album for them in the U.S. In January 1974, the United Kingdom|British music magazine, NME reported that Stan Webb was joining Savoy Brown, following the break-up of Chicken Shack .

While the band is still active today, touring the world and recording regularly, only Simmonds has stayed since the beginning. Guitarist "Lonesome" Dave Peverett , bassist Tony Stevens , and drummer Roger Earl went on to form Foghat . Original member and harmonica player John O'Leary is still active on the British blues circuit with his band Sugarkane. Another singer, Dave Walker , would later join Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath . Their bassists included Andy Pyle , who played with Mick Abrahams from Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull in Blodwyn Pig then later with The Kinks and Gary Moore . Andy Silvester had played with Wha-Koo and Chicken Shack. Savoy Brown also provided an outlet for keyboardist and guitarist Paul Raymond (musician)|Paul Raymond , who later went on to join UFO (band)|UFO . Drummer Bill Bruford played three live gigs between 12 and 15 January 1968, but was then fired for "fiddling about with the rhythm".

Savoy Brown contributed the song "A Man Alone" for the soundtrack to the film|movie Kickboxer 2 .

In 2008, "Train to Nowhere" was used in, and figured as a clue, in the television program|TV series CSI: NY , in Season 4, Episode 10 - “The Thing About Heroes”.

Their first album for Blind Pig Records , Strange Days , was released in 2003. The band released another record Steel in 2007.
Their most recent album,the highly acclaimed "Voodoo Moon" , is on Ruf Records in 2011. http://www.bmansbluesreport.com/2011/10/voodoo-moon-savoy-brown_24.html#links

Albums

Shake Down (album)|Shake Down – 1967

Getting to the Point (album)|Getting to the Point – 1968

Blue Matter (album)|Blue Matter – 1969 - Billboard 200|U.S. #182

A Step Further (album)|A Step Further – 1969 - U.S. #71

Raw Sienna (album)|Raw Sienna – 1969 - U.S. #121

Looking In (album)|Looking In – 1970 - UK Albums Chart|UK #50; U.S. #39

Street Corner Talking – 1971 - U.S. #75

Hellbound Train (album)|Hellbound Train – 1972 - U.S. #34

''Lion's Share – 1973 - U.S. #151

Jack the Toad – 1973 - U.S. #84

Boogie Brothers – 1974 - U.S. #101

Wire Fire – 1975 - U.S. #153

''Skin 'n' Bone – 1976 - U.S. #206

Savage Return – 1978 - U.S. #208

''Rock 'n' Roll Warriors – 1981 - U.S. #185

Greatest Hits - Live in Concert – 1981

Just Live (recorded 1970) – 1981

Live in Central Park (recorded 1972) – 1985 (Relix Records RRLP 2014)

Slow Train – 1986 (Relix Records RRLP 2023)

Make Me Sweat – 1988

Kings of Boogie – 1989

Live and Kickin – 1990

Let It Ride – 1992

Bring It Home – 1994

Live at the Record Plant (recorded 1975) – 1998

The Bottom Line Encore Collection (live, recorded 1981) – 1999

The Blues Keep Me Holding On – 1999

''Looking from the Outside - Live '69 & '70 – 2000

Jack the Toad - Live 70/72 – 2000

Strange Dreams – 2003

You Should Have Been There – 2005

Steel – 2007

Too Much Of A Good Thing - 2009

Voodoo Moon - 2011 http://www.bmansbluesreport.com/2011/11/bmans-exclusive-interview-with-kim.html#links

Membership timeline

(†) denotes member is deceased.

Year	Lead Vocals	Guitars	Bass	Drums	2nd Guitar	Keyboards	Harmonica	Percussion	Saxophone	Backing Vocals
1965	Brice Portius	Kim Simmonds	Ray Chappell	Leo Manning	rowspan="2"	Trevor Jeavons	John O'Leary	rowspan="10"	rowspan="10"	rowspan="10"
1965–1967					Bob Hall		John O'Leary
1967						Martin Stone	rowspan="6"
1967	Chris Youlden		Bob Brunning (†)			Martin Stone
1967–1968			Bob Brunning (†)	Hughie Flint		Dave Peverett (†)
1968			Rivers Jobe (†)	Bill Bruford, Roger Earl
1968–1970			Tony Stevens
1970–1971	Dave Peverett		Tony Stevens		Kim Simmonds
1971–1972	Dave Walker		Andy Sylvester	Dave Bidwell	Paul Raymond	Paul Raymond	Kim Simmonds
1972	Dave Walker		Andy Pyle	Dave Bidwell
1972–1973	Kim Simmonds, Jackie Lynton		Andy Pyle	Dave Bidwell, Ron Berg				Barry Murray, Frank Ricotti	Stan Sulzmann	Sue Glover, Sunny Leslie, Jackie Lynton
1973–1974	Kim Simmonds, Miller Anderson, Stan Webb		Jimmy Leverton	Eric Dillon	Miller Anderson, Stan Webb			rowspan="7"	rowspan="18"	rowspan="19"
1974–1975	Kim Simmonds		Andy Rae	Dave Bidwell, Tom Farnell	Paul Raymond	Paul Raymond
1975–1976			Ian Ellis	Tom Farnell	Paul Raymond	Paul Raymond
1976–1978			Ian Ellis	Tom Farnell		rowspan="4"
1978–1985	Ralph Mormon		John Humphrey	Keith Boyce	Barry Paul	Steve Lynch
1985	Kim Simmonds, Speedo Jones		Chris Romanelli		rowspan="5"	Kim Simmonds, Speedo Jones
1985–1986	Jimmy Kunes		Jimmy Dagnesi	Al Macomber	rowspan="5"
1986–1988	Dave Walker, Kim Simmonds				Les Baker, Robert Martin, Bobby Sexton	Shmutza-Hideous
1988–1989	Dave Walker				Robert Martin, Bobby Sexton	Steve Klong
1989–1990	Dave Walker, Kim Simmonds		Lou Kaplan	Pete Mendillo	Rick Jewett	Paul Aronson
1990–1991	Dave Walker, Kim Simmonds		Loren Kraft	Pete Mendillo, Steve Behrendt		Jeff Adams	rowspan="6"
1991–1992	Kim Simmonds, Pete McMahon, Phil McCormack, Joe Whiting		Andy Ramirez	Joe Pierleoni			Kim Simmonds, Pete McMahon
1992–1994	Pete McMahon, Dave Peverett		Jim Heyl	Dave Olson	Hubert Sumlin (†)		Pete McMahon
1994–1999	Nathaniel Peterson		Leo Lyons, Nathaniel Peterson	Tom Compton, Roger Earl	Duke Robillard	David Maxwell	Paul Oscher
1999–2003	Kim Simmonds		Gerry Sorrentino	Dennis Cotton	David Malachowski	Mark Nanni	rowspan="5"
2003–2005				Dennis Cotton	David Malachowski	rowspan="4"
2005–2007				Dennis Cotton, Mario Staiano	rowspan="3"	Ron Keck
2007–2009				Mario Staiano	rowspan="2"
2009–present	Joe Whiting		Pat DeSalvo	Garnet Grimm	Joe Whiting

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1. Chicken Shack

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