Rock and Roll

In the latter months of 1967, four shaggy wannabe's congregated in the Southern UK town of Luton, Bedfordshire. From the debris of the disillusioned and disintegrated John Evan Band and McGregor's Engine, the naïve, untutored talents of Ian Anderson, Mick Abrahams, Glenn Cornick and Clive Bunker formed the original Jethro Tull line-up.

This early combo had many different names which usually changed every week in order to get re-booked in the clubs where they aspired to find fame and fortune. Their agent, who had studied history at college, came up with the name Jethro Tull (an eighteenth century English agricultural pioneer, who invented the seed drill).

As the group became tighter, they landed the job of house band at London's famous Marquee club and made their recording debut in March of 1968 with "Sunshine Day". This commercially minded single, erroneously credited to Jethro Toe, merely hinted at developments about to unfold.

By the spring of '68, they had built a following as the new face of the blues-based British underground music scene. Lines stretched around the block on a Thursday night when they performed at the Marquee. Ian Anderson would typically join the line as if to buy a ticket himself, wearing the shabby hand-me-down overcoat which was to become his trademark for the next few years. Often, he would be seen with a Woolworth's carrier bag containing flute , harmonicas, alarm clock and hot water bottle, in strange precursor role of the Aqualung/tramp persona. His exaggerated gestures, long, wiry hair, ragged coat and distinctive, one-legged stance cultivated a compulsive stage personality to the extent that, for many spectators, Jethro Tull was the name of this extroverted frontman and the other musicians merely his sidemen.

Following appearances in Hyde Park and at the Sunbury Jazz and Blues Festival in the summer of '68, the band gained wider public recognition with the release of their first album "This Was" which, while paying homage to the blues heritage which they all revered, hinted at the broader influences which were to become apparent in the post-Mick Abrahams times to follow.

After the personal and musical differences which marked the then acrimonious separation, Mick Abrahams left to form the briefly successful Blodwyn Pig. The remaining Tull members embarked, with the then unproven addition of replacement Martin Barre, on the recording of the landmark album "Stand Up" at the beginning of 1969.

Happily, the new record proved to be a great success, and lead the way to new opportunities in Europe and the USA. Ian Anderson's music writing came of age with this album and the influences of classical, jazz, folk and ethnic music forms made the eclectic result an early landmark for the band.

After achieving the position of Number one album in the UK charts, Tull, initially in the shadow of Led Zeppelin and others, began the explosive ascent to the lofty heights of U.S. stardom, culminating during the next three years in the cover stories of Time and Rolling Stone magazines, five nights at the Forum in Los Angeles and three nights at Madison Square Gardens, New York.

A few hit singles livened up the band's career, among them, "Living in the Past", written during the first U.S. tour early in 1969, to keep warm the reputation back home in the UK.

However, it was the albums as a whole which provided the strength for the developing Jethro Tull, containing as they did, not one, but usually several classic rock radio-friendly tracks to keep the band's profile high between concert tours and new releases.

"Benefit", "Aqualung", and the so-called concept albums "Thick As A Brick" and "A Passion Play" confirmed the progressive rock tag which complemented other terms like "Art-rock", "Blues-rock", "Folk-rock", and "Hard-rock", depending on the critics' personal views of the often-complex musical thought trains of flautist and singer, Ian Anderson.

Jeffrey Hammond replaced Glenn Cornick on bass, Barriemore Barlow took over the drum chair from Clive Bunker, and the addition of old school chum, John Evan on piano, made easier the transition from the blues band of '68 to the band of the mid-seventies who sounded like...well, just sounded like Jethro Tull.

The first rock act since the Beatles to perform at Shea Stadium, New York, Tull laid claim to the live concert throne in North America. Not without its share of critical abuse, Tull pushed on with difficult and sometimes controversial themes, often falling into a knowing self-parody and employing humour to lighten up the occasionally bombastic and overly serious subject matter.

With two number one albums in the USA and other world-wide chart and sales success behind them, the band began to remove itself from the more commercially-driven side of recording and touring. Through the latter 70's and into the 80's, they produced several records and tours which, although not replicating their earlier numerical successes, proved throughout the world the enduring artistic credibility of a band continually able to reinvent itself.

"Warchild", "Too Old to Rock and Roll: Too Young to Die", "Minstrel in the Gallery", "Songs from the Wood", and "Heavy Horses" saw the popularity of the band extend into parts of the world where rock music had not before been encouraged and the Tull legend from Buenos Aires to Budapest took root, eventually to be rewarded by the many tours in places where other acts feared, or simply did not care, to tread.

At various times, David Palmer, John Glascock, Dave Pegg, drummer Doane Perry, and more recently, Andrew Giddings on keyboards and bassist Jonathan Noyce, have brought their unique and valuable contributions to the line-up to join the ever-ready mainstay, guitarist Martin Barre who, like Anderson himself, provided the continuity and legacy of the earlier years.

The loyalty of the long-standing fans and the ongoing enlistment of new converts were to ensure the survival of Tull into the eighties and nineties with "Crest of a Knave" ('87) and "Roots to Branches" ('95) being highlights of those decades, together with the Ian Anderson solo flute album "Divinities" providing the first Billboard Magazine number one chart record since 1973.

With 60 million albums sold and over 2500 concerts played in 40 countries, the band continued to record and perform live, albeit on a lesser scale, using a nucleus of Anderson, Barre and Pegg. "Catfish Rising" in 1991, although a disappointing album, was a return to their blues roots. "Roots To Branches" was a return to the standard Tull progressive rock album, full of complicated time changes, and fiddly new age and Arabian intros and codas.

In his time away from the band, Ian Anderson also became a renowned entrepreneur, owning tracts of land on the west coast of Scotland and the highly successful Strathaird Salmon processing plant.

In 2004 and 2005, Jethro Tull were still touring all across the globe.

One of Britain's most consistently successful groups of the seventies and eighties began life as a glam rock unit in 1968, when Brian May and Tim Staffell, both students at Imperial College, decided they wanted to form a band. Brian placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Ginger Baker type" drummer, and a young medical student named Roger Taylor auditioned and got the job. They called the group "Smile". The band was signed to Mercury Records in 1969, and had their first experience in a recording studio in Trident Studios that year. Staffell had been at Ealing College of Art with Freddie Bulsara, and introduced him to the band.

When "Smile" decided to call it a day in 1970, Staffell went off to join a band called "Humpy Bong", (featuring former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen) and Freddie left his band "Wreckage" to join up with Brian and Roger. Freddie not only legally changed his name to "Mercury", he also changed the band's name to "Queen". John Deacon was asked to audition as their bass player (they had three temporary ones so far in their short history), and in February 1971, Deacon signed on as the fourth member of Queen.

The band rehearsed tirelessly and played several small gigs at Imperial College. Eventually, they were offered the chance to 'test' a new recording studio called "De Lane Lea". In return for trying out the new equipment, they could also make free demo tapes. The demos went well enough that they signed a recording contract and publishing and management agreements with Trident in 1972. They were paid a weekly salary of just £60, and were given time in the studio during off peak hours, to record.

Soon after the failed single, 'Keep Yourself Alive', they issued a self-titled album, which was an interesting fusion of 70s glam and late 60s heavy rock (it had been preceded by a Mercury 'solo' single, a cover of the Beach Boys' 'I Can Hear Music', credited to Larry Lurex). Queen toured extensively and recorded a second album, which fulfilled their early promise by reaching the UK Top 5. Soon afterwards, 'Seven Seas Of Rhye' gave them their first hit single (UK number 10), while "Sheer Heart Attack" consolidated their commercial standing by reaching number 2 in the UK album charts.

In January 1975, Queen left for the USA on their very first headlining tour. Quite a few shows on that tour had to be cancelled, as Freddie had developed a severe throat problem, but he soldiered on and performed as many as possible, although doctors had advised him against it. Also in January 1975, Queen engaged the services of a music business lawyer, Jim Beach, to negotiate them out of their Trident agreements, as Trident were no longer being as supportive and the band were unhappy with the situation.

As fan support grew, the concert scenes where reminiscent of Beatlemania in the sixties, as Queen's live act was embodied in the outrageous theatrics of the satin-clad Mercury, who was swiftly emerging as one of rock's most notable showmen. In May of '75, the single "Killer Queen" reached number five in the U.S. and number one in the U.K.

After touring the Far East, they entered the studio with their producer Roy Thomas Baker and completed the epic "Bohemian Rhapsody", in which Mercury succeeded in transforming a seven-minute single into a mini-opera. The track dominated the charts in the UK, remaining at number 1 for an astonishing nine weeks. The power of the single was reinforced by an elaborate video production, highly innovative for its period and later much copied by other acts.

The follow up album, "A Night At The Opera", was, at the time, one of the most expensive ever recorded, and when it was released in November 1975, it was a massive hit, and gave them their first platinum album. Freddie had designed a band logo for the "Queen" album, which was re-worked and used as the cover for "Night At The Opera". The now-famous 'crest' features the band's star signs - two fairies for Virgo, a crab for Cancer and two lions for the two Leos.

"A Day At The Races" continued the hit streak, while the catchy "Somebody To Love" and "We Are The Champions", both reached number 2 in the UK. Although Queen seemed in danger of being stereotyped as over-produced glam rockers, they successfully brought variety to their singles output with a '50s rock 'n' roll style single called "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and the disco-influenced "Another One Bites The Dust" (both, U.S. number 1 hits). Despite this stylistic diversity, each Queen single seemed destined to become an anthem, as evidenced by the continued use of many of their songs at U.S. sporting venues, especially "We Are The Champions". Meanwhile, "The Game" gave Queen their first U.S. number 1 album in July, 1980. The group's soundtrack for the movie 'Flash Gordon' was another success, but was cited by many critics as typical of their pretentious approach. By the close of 1981, Queen were back at number 1 in the UK for the first time since 'Bohemian Rhapsody' with 'Under Pressure' (a collaboration with David Bowie ).

After a flurry of solo ventures, the group returned in 1984 with the satirical 'Radio Gaga' (UK number 2), followed by 'I Want To Break Free'. A performance at 1985's Live Aid displayed the group at their very best.

Queen's record output lessened during the late 80s, as the members concentrated on other interests. The band released their sixteenth album on May 22nd 1989, entitled "The Miracle". It entered the UK chart at Number One and went on to become a massive worldwide success, reaching Number One in most European countries.

The space between releases did not affect the group's popularity, as was proven in 1991 when 'Innuendo' gave them their third UK number one, and the album of the same name also topped the UK charts. By this time they had become an institution. Faultless musicianship, held together by May's guitar virtuosity and the spectacular Mercury, made Queen one of the great theatrical rock acts.

On November 23rd, 1991, Freddie announced to the world that he had AIDS. The very next day, his fight was over, and he died peacefully at his home surrounded by friends and family. The music world was in shock. Freddie had kept his illness very private, and only those closest to him had been aware of just how close to the end he really was. Fans from all over the world sent flowers and cards, and many even travelled to London to be at Freddie's house. A quiet family cremation service was held three days after his death, conducted in the Zoroastrian faith that Freddie's parents followed so strictly.

'Bohemian Rhapsody' was immediately re-issued to raise money for AIDS research projects, and soared to the top of the British charts. The song also climbed to U.S. number 2 in March 1992, after being featured in the movie "Wayne's World" (it had originally reached number 9 in January 1976). A memorial concert for Mercury took place at London's Wembley Stadium on May 20 1992, featuring an array of stars including Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Guns N'Roses, George Michael, David Bowie and Annie Lennox.

Even though Freddie was gone, Queen never announced an official break-up, so it was with nervous anticipation that a new Queen album called "Made In Heaven", was issued in 1995. Freddie Mercury's vocals were recorded during his last year while at home in Switzerland, and the rest of the band then filled in the instruments. While Mercury must be applauded for the way he carried his illness with great dignity, it is fair to say that May, Taylor and Deacon performed wonders in crafting an album from slightly inferior material. The album carries a dedication to the 'immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury', in recognition of his request that the material be completed and be heard by the public.

While "Made In Heaven" will be the last original Queen album, there is no doubt that the future will see further projects from Roger, John and Brian. To date, Brian May's solo career has enjoyed the highest profile, while Roger Taylor went on to work with his band called The Cross.

In November, 2006, The Official UK Charts Company released a list of the 100 best-selling albums of all time in the UK. Topping the list was the 1981 release, "Queen's Greatest Hits".

Originally, there was an entire band called "Alice Cooper " led by a singer named Vincent Damon Furnier. Under his direction, Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, as well as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and the Stooges, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood, and huge boa constrictors, all coordinated by the heavily made-up Furnier. By that time, Furnier had adopted the band's name for his androgynous onstage personality. While the visuals were extremely important to the group's impact, the band's music was nearly as distinctive. Driven by raw, simple riffs and melodies that derived from '60s guitar pop as well as showtunes, it was rock & roll at its most basic and catchy, even when the band ventured into psychedelic and art rock.
After the original group broke up and Furnier began a solo career as Alice Cooper, his actual music lost most of its theatrical flourishes, becoming straightforward heavy metal, yet his stage show retained all of the trademark props that made him the king of shock rock.

Furnier formed his first group, the Earwigs, as an Arizona teenager in the early '60s. Changing the band's name to the Spiders in 1965, the group was eventually called the Nazz (not to be confused with Todd Rundgren's band of the same name). The Spiders and the Nazz both released local singles that were moderately popular. After discovering there was another band called the Nazz in 1968, the group changed its name to Alice Cooper. According to band legend, the name came to Furnier during a ouija board session, where he was told he was the reincarnation of a 17th-century witch of the same name. Comprised of vocalist Furnier, guitarist Mike Bruce, guitarist Glen Buxton, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith, the group moved to California in 1968. In California, the group met Frank Zappa and his manager Shep Gordon who signed Alice Cooper to their new label, Straight Records.

Alice Cooper released their first album, "Pretties for You" in 1969. "Easy Action" followed early in 1970, yet it failed to chart. The group's reputation in Los Angeles was slowly shrinking, so the band moved to Furnier's hometown of Detroit. For the next year, the group refined their bizarre stage show. Late in 1970, the group signed with Warner Brothers and began recording their third album with producer Bob Ezrin.

With Ezrin's assistance, Alice Cooper developed their classic heavy-metal crunch on 1971's "Love It to Death ", which featured the number 21 hit single "Eighteen"; the album peaked at number 35 and went gold. The success enabled the group to develop a more impressive, elaborate live show, which made them highly popular concert attractions across the U.S. and eventually the U.K. "Killer", released late in 1971, was another gold album. Released in the summer of 1972, "School's Out" was Alice Cooper's breakthrough record, peaking at number two and selling over a million copies. The title song became a Top Ten hit in the US and a number one single in the UK. "Billion Dollar Babies", released the following year, was the group's biggest hit, reaching number one in both America and Britain; the album's first single, "No More Mr. Nice Guy," became a Top Ten hit in Britain, peaking at number 25 in the U.S. "Muscle of Love" appeared late in 1973, yet it failed to capitalize on the success of "Billion Dollar Babies".

After "Muscle of Love", Furnier fired the rest of Alice Cooper, retaining the name for a solo career; the rest of the band released one unsuccessful album under the name Billion Dollar Babies. In the fall of 1974, a compilation of Alice Cooper's five Warner albums, entitled "Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits", became a Top Ten hit.

For his first solo album, Cooper hired Lou Reed's backing band from Rock 'N' Roll Animal -- guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, bassist Prakash John , keyboardist Joseph Chrowski , and drummer Penti Glan, as his supporting group. "Welcome to My Nightmare" , Alice Cooper's first solo album, was released in the spring of 1975. The record wasn't a great departure from his previous work and it became a Top Ten smash in America, launching the hit acoustic ballad "Only Women Bleed." Its follow-up, 1976's "Alice Cooper Goes to Hell", was another success, going gold in the U.S. After "Alice Cooper Goes to Hell", Cooper 's career began to slip, partially due to changing trends and partially due to his alcoholism. Cooper entered rehabilitation in 1978, writing an album called "From the Inside" (1978) about his treatment with Bernie Taupin, Elton John's lyricist. During the early '80s, Cooper continued to release albums and tour, yet he was no longer as popular as he was during his early '70s heyday.

Cooper made a successful comeback in the late '80s, sparked by his appearances in horror films and a series of pop/metal bands that paid musical homage to his classic early records and concerts. "Constrictor", released in 1986, began his comeback, but it was 1989's "Trash" that returned Cooper to the spotlight. Produced by the proven hit maker Desmond Child, "Trash" featured guest appearances by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and most of Aerosmith. The record became a Top Ten hit in Britain and peaked at number 20 in the U.S., going platinum. "Poison", a ballad featured on the album, became Coopers first Top Ten hit since 1977.

The Coop has also made many a movie and television appearance -- alongside such stars as Helen Hayes, Mae West, and Gene Wilder, among others -- including, most notably, "Wayne's World," "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare," "Roadie," "John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness," and "Something Wilder."

His Guardian Records release "A Fistful Of Alice," was a paint-blistering live album recorded in Mexico that features special guests Slash, Rob Zombie, and Sammy Hagar, and is guaranteed to break leases and shatter noise by-laws every time it's cranked up to full volume.

Also in release is "Prime Cuts: The Alice Cooper Story," a 90 minute home video shockumentary of Alice's career. This was followed in 1999 by the long-awaited release of the definitive multi-CD box set, "The Life & Crimes of Alice Cooper," an authoritative and comprehensive chronicle of Alice's entire musical history.