When Hereford group Silence teamed up with songwriter Ian Hunter in 1969 to form a group that aimed to be a cross between Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Procol Harum, Mott The Hoople rapidly became one of Britain's most popular live acts, even as a major hit single and album initially proved elusive.In 1972, disillusioned and exhausted, they split before being encouraged to reform by David Bowie and finding immediate chart success with a song he gave them, 'All the Young Dudes'. After two years of hits and internal conflicts, Hunter left and enjoyed a chequered solo career that has lasted to this day, initially in partnership with guitarist Mick Ronson until his death in 1993. The rest of the group subsequently shortened their name to Mott and then British Lions, the latter a collaboration with former Medicine Head front man John Fiddler, although they failed to re-establish themselves despite several solid months of touring on both sides of the Atlantic.As Ian wrote, 'Rock'n'roll's a loser's game'. They won, they lost, but during the 1970s released some inspired, highly individual music, that went on to inspire and be championed by many other acts, most notably Queen, The Clash and Def Leppard.
John Van der Kiste has published over seventy books, mostly on historical biography and music, including titles about The Beatles, Jeff Lynne/ELO, Led Zeppelin, Lindisfarne and Steve Winwood. He has also reviewed books and records for the local and national press and fanzines and co-founded and edited the 70s fanzine Keep on Rockin'. He has performed with groups, run mobile discos, and written booklet notes for CD reissues from EMI and other labels. An occasional musician and songwriter, he also co-wrote one track on Riff Regan's Milestones (2015) and played harmonica on London's The Hell for Leather Mob (2020). He lives in Devon, UK.
In the early-1960s, a generation of British youngsters – mostly in their mid-teens and generally still at school – were forming their own skiffle or beat groups. While the Hereford area could never claim to have placed itself as firmly on the map as Liverpool, London, Manchester or Birmingham, it still boasted a few combos (with ever-changing personnel) in the decade’s first years. Lead guitarist Pete Watts fronted The Sandstorms, who later became The Anchors, by which time they’d acquired drummer Terry (Terence Dale) Griffin: sometimes known as ‘The little snigger buffin’, or ‘Buffin’ for short. Further name and personnel changes saw The Anchors become Wild Dog’s Hell Hounds in 1963, The Soulents in early-1964 and The Silence in 1965. Les Norman led another local group – The Buddies – on vocals and rhythm guitar, with Mick Ralphs on lead guitar and vocals, though when asked whether he played rhythm or lead, he would modestly insist that he didn’t know: ‘I just play guitar’. Vocalist Stan Tippins replaced Les, and their bassist Des Grubb moved on, with Cyril Townsend and then Pete Watts taking up the vacancy. The Buddies then became The Problem, with the usual ever-shifting lineup. The Problem was just one of several names they would resort to when travelling to and from Germany and Italy, as they sometimes had to leave under difficult circumstances that meant returning under a different name would be advisable. In 1966 they became The Doc Thomas Group with Stan, Mick and Pete – the latter now playing bass – joined by Dave Tedstone on guitar, and Bob Hall on drums.
Like many other British groups working the pub and club circuit, their repertoire was built largely on pop versions of soul hits such as ‘I Got You’, ‘She Was Really Saying Something’, ‘Rescue Me’, ‘I’ll Be Doggone’ and ‘Barefootin’’. Gigs in mainland Europe – mainly in Hamburg and Italy – led to a couple of residencies and, more importantly, a record contract with the Italian Interrecord label. In October 1966, they entered a studio in Milan and taped several cover songs taken from their setlist. Two of the numbers – ‘Just Can’t Go To Sleep’ (a Ray Davies song from the first Kinks album) and ‘Harlem Shuffle’ – appeared on a single and, a year or two later, an album including ten other tracks from the same session. For a while, some of the group were also part of The Shakedown Sound, backing Jimmy Cliff – a Jamaican singer brought over to England by Chris Blackwell, who, as the head of Island Records, would shortly play an important part in their career. Organist Terry Allen was part of this group, and in 1968, The Shakedown Sound – now comprising Stan, Mick, Pete, Dale and Terry – became Silence.
They were now writing and playing more original material, influenced largely by progressive rock and West-Coast-influenced psychedelia. An agency based in Swansea had booked the group plenty of gigs in South Wales, and they were building up a good following. But the agency withdrew its support when the group said they no longer wanted to play only cover versions, so they moved to London to further their ambitions. Hungry for success, they recorded some demos and pitched them to EMI, Polydor and Immediate, but without any luck. Calling themselves The Archers, they next tried Apple Records, but like before, got no further.
In May 1969, Free, who had just released their first album, were thought to be on the point of splitting in two, with vocalist Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser planning to leave and form their own band, while guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke planned to replace them with new members. Guy Stevens – head of A& R at Island Records – placed an ad inMelod
