Edgar Broughton Band
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2007) |
Edgar Broughton Band | |
---|---|
Also known as | The Edgar Broughton Blues Band |
Origin | NEMS |
Past members |
|
Website | edgarbroughton |
The Edgar Broughton Band were an English
Career
The band started their career as a blues group under the name of The Edgar Broughton Blues Band, playing to a small following in the region around their hometown of Warwick. However, the band soon began to lean towards the emerging psychedelic movement, dropping the 'Blues' from their name as well as their music.
In 1968, the Edgar Broughton Band moved to Notting Hill Gate, London, seeking a recording contract and a wider audience, and were picked up by Blackhill Enterprises. Blackhill landed them their first record deal, on EMI's progressive rock label Harvest Records, in December 1968. Their first single was "Evil"/"Death of an Electric Citizen", released in June 1969, which was also the first single released by Harvest.
The first single was followed by the Edgar Broughton Band's first album, Wasa Wasa. Wasa Wasa retained a heavily blues influenced sound that was hard-driven and propelled by Edgar Broughton's gritty vocal style, which was similar to that of Captain Beefheart and Howlin' Wolf.[1] The Broughtons entered into an attempt to capture their live sound on record by organising a performance at Abbey Road on 9 December 1969. Only one track was released at the time: a rendition of "Out Demons Out", an adaptation of The Fugs' song "Exorcising the Demons Out Of the Pentagon", which had become the band's set-closer and anthem. The rest of the recording was lost until its rediscovery and release in a remixed form in 2004 as Keep Them Freaks a Rollin': Live at Abbey Road 1969.
The band's touring attracted some controversy from their series of free concerts at locations such as children's playgrounds, and from a number of cases of
The Edgar Broughton Band kept recording, releasing the live performance of "Out Demons, Out!" as a single (b/w "Momma's Reward (Keep Those Freaks a Rollin')") and following it, in June 1970, with the album Sing Brother Sing.[3] This was accompanied by the single "Up Yours!" (b/w "Officer Dan"), a polemic on the 1970 General Election declaring their intention to drop out. The song featured a string arrangement by David Bedford.
Their next single, "
In 1971, the band decided that existence as a
The album was followed by the release of the
With the success of their third album, the Edgar Broughton Band relocated to
In 1975 the band signed to
However, Edgar and Steve Broughton together with Grant regrouped as The Broughtons to release
After this the band dissolved again; recording no more studio material but touring infrequently throughout the 1980s and 1990s. A mini-tour in 1989 included a gig at The Oval in London. The band reformed properly once again in 2006, with Edgar's son Luke joining on keyboards and guitar, after the re-issue of their back catalogue had stimulated new interest in their work. They had a mini tour of England and Germany then completed a European tour in 2007, including an appearance at the German Burg Herzberg Festival . The Edgar Broughton Band disbanded once again in 2010, with Edgar Broughton opting to continue to perform as a solo artist. Steve Broughton died on 29 May 2022.[5]
Personnel
- Edgar Broughton – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion, bass (1968–1976, 1978–1982, 1989, 2006–2010)
- Steve Broughton- drums, percussion, vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards (1968–1976, 1978–1982, 1989, 2006–2010)
- Arthur Grant – bass, vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion (1968–1976, 1978–1982, 1989, 2006–2010)
- Victor Unitt – guitars, keyboards, vocals (1971–1973)
- Digger Davies – lead guitar (1975)
- Richard Moore – guitar, vocals (1975) Norway tour
- John Thomas – guitars, bass, vocals (1975–1976, 1979–1981)
- Terry Cottam – guitars, vocals (1976)
- Tom Nordon – guitars, vocals (1978–1982)
- Richard de Bastion – keyboards, vocals (1978–1981)
- Pete Tolson – guitars (1978–1979)
- Duncan Bridgeman – keyboards (1981–1982)
- Dennis Haynes – keyboards, vocals (1981–1982)
- Philip James Manchester – keyboards (1981)
- Luke Broughton – keyboards, guitars, vocals (2006–2010)
- Andrew Taylor – guitars, vocals (2006–2008)
- Dave Cox – guitars (2008–2010)
Discography
Studio albums
- Wasa Wasa (1969)
- Sing Brother Sing (1970) – No. 18 UK[6]
- Edgar Broughton Band (1971) – No. 28 UK[6]
- In Side Out (1972)
- Oora (1973)
- Bandages (1976)
- Parlez-Vous English? (1979) (as The Broughtons)
- Superchip (1982) (subtitled 'The Final Silicon Solution?')
Compilations
- A Bunch of 45s (1975)
- The Legendary Edgar Broughton Band (1984)
- Out Demons Out: The Best of the Edgar Broughton Band (1986)
- As Was: The Best of the Edgar Broughton Band (1988)
- Classic Album and Single Tracks 1969–73 (1992)
- The Very Best of the Edgar Broughton Band – Out Demons Out! (2001)
- Bandages & Chilly Mornings (2006)
- The Harvest Years 1969–1973 (2011). 4-CD boxset.
The Edgar Broughton Band has also appeared on several Harvest Records compilations:
- Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air (1970)
- The Harvest Bag (1971)
- Harvest Sweeties (1971)
- Harvest Heritage 20 Greats (1977)
- Harvest Festival (1999)
Live albums
- Live Hits Harder (1979)
- Chilly Morning Mama – Live (1998)
- Demons at the Beeb, Live (2000)
- Keep Them Freaks a Rollin': Live at Abbey Road 1969 (2004)
- Live at Rockpalast 2006 (2008)
- Live at The Monarch (2014)
Singles
- "Evil" / "Death of an Electric Citizen" (1969)
- "UK[6]
- "Up Yours!" / "Officer Dan" (1970)
- "Apache Drop Out" / "Freedom" (1971) – No. 33 UK[6]
- "Hotel Room" / "Call Me a Liar" (1971)
- "Gone Blue" / "Someone" / "Mr. Crosby" (1972)
DVDs
- Live at Rockpalast (2006) – performance by the band for German television.
See also
- List of anarchist musicians
- List of Peel Sessions
References
- ^ Jason Ankeny. "Edgar Broughton". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ Peacock, Steve (28 August 1971). "Edgar Broughton in the Talk-In". Sounds. Spotlight Publications. pp. 14–15.
- ^ "Official Charts - Edgar Broughton Band". Official Charts. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ "Edgar Broughton Band". United-mutations.com. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ Ewing, Jerry (30 May 2022). "Steve Broughton, of the Edgar Broughton Band, dead at 72". loudersound. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ ISBN 1-904994-10-5.