UK
R&B /Blues/Garage blaster with Jon Lord(Deep Purple)
Keef Hartley(John
Mayall) Mac Poole(Bakerloo) with all the right sounds!!
It's really a legendary LP that was an
enjoyable mixture of club-oriented soul, R&B, and jazz with a
strong organ spice, although it found them falling seriously
behindtheir contemporaries in the British R&B scene
in a crucial respect.
Artwoods
were:
Arthur
Wood-vocals, Derek
Griffiths-guitar, Malcolm
Pool-bass Keef Hartley-drums John
Lord-organ
Formed in London in
1964. Arthur Wood is the elder brother of Ronnie Wood.
Red Bludd's Blusicians had been formed in 163 and
the Artwoods were formed following the departure of Don "Red
Bludd" Wilson who played bass and Red Dunnage the drummer. Jon Lord
came from the Bill Ashton Combo while Art Wood has sung with
Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. Keef had previously
played with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes, replacing a
certain Ringo Starr, and Freddie Starr and the
Midnighters.
The Artwoods gained a reputation as the hardest
working R & B band on the circuit. The live set
consisted of both Chicago Blues standards and original material.
Many appearances were made on the top UK pop TV show Ready,
Steady Go. Originally the groups mimed to songs but, over
time, more and more live performances were allowed. The
Artwoods performed on the first Ready Steady Goes Live. Tom
Jones mimed to It's Not Unusual on the show. The Kinks
and Donovan played live and the Artwoods promoted their
first single ''Sweet Mary''.
The group was very popular in the
clubs around London but they never equaled this on record
despite releasing an LP, an EP and a string of singles. The
only chart single was the 1966 ''I Take What I Want''
although this is not corroborated by The Guinness Book of British Hit
Singles. This was a cover of a Sam & Dave
song.
There was also one EP called ''Jazz in Jeans'' and
an album Art Gallery. There were successful tours of Europe and Poland.
Eel Pie Island was a regular gig with the band playing there
about once a month. This is an island in the Thames which had
to be reached over a small bridge,
theequipment requiring three trips. It was everybody's
dream to walk into the Blue Boar just as their hit of the
moment was playing on the jukebox."
The Artwoods were chosen to
represent the 20th Century at the centenary celebrations of
the State of Monte Carlo. The ball was held in the Casino.
After this, the band traveled to Paris and played next door
to the Moulin Rouge at The Locomotive. The band split in 1967 and, at a
time of psychedelia, there was a name change to St
Valentine's Day Massacre. This was intended to "cash in" on
the thirties-style gangsters craze which had been started by
the film Bonnie & Clyde. Brother Can You Spare a Dime was a
cover of an old Bing Crosby song. Keef Hartley left the band
in 1967 to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
and later formed the Keef Hartley Band. Jon Lord joined
the Flowerpot Men and later moved to Deep Purple. Derek
Griffiths became a session player. Quiet Melon was formed in
July 1969 when the Jeff Beck Group folded. Lead singer Rod Stewart was
left without a band and started hanging out with Ronnie Wood,
his brother Art Wood and Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and
Ian McLagan. Art Wood got them a recording session at
the Fontana studios, where he had a contract and, according to Art,
recorded four songs - Diamond Joe, Engine 4444, Right Around
The Thumb, and Two Steps To Mother. They delivered the tapes
to Fontana who said the tracks weren't good enough and
canceled Art's contract. The group then got a promoter called
Rufus Manning to try and get them a deal but nobody wanted to
know. The group played quite a few gigs but the project soon
folded and Art retired from the music business
to become a Graphic Designer. The remaining members -
Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Ian
McLagan then inherited the name the Small Faces which was
soon shortened to the
Faces.
Main
Registration
Login
