Climax Blues Band

History[edit]

The band were formed in Stafford, Staffordshire, England, in 1967 by vocalist and harmonica player Colin Cooper (1939–2008), guitarist and vocalist Pete Haycock (1951–2013), guitarist Derek Holt (b. 1949), bassist and keyboardist Richard Jones (b. 1949), drummer George Newsome (b. 1947), and keyboardist Arthur Wood (1929–2005).^[2]


Jones left the group in 1969, and Holt began playing bass.^[3] The band switched labels to Harvest Records in 1970 and subsequent records had a more rock-oriented feel.^[4] John Cuffley replaced Newsome in 1971.


In 1972 the group shortened their name to Climax Blues Band.^[3]


Albums issued in the 1970s include FM/Live (1973), a double set recorded at a concert in New York,^[5] and the studio albums Sense of Direction (1974), Stamp Album (1975) and Gold Plated (1976), featuring the hit single "Couldn't Get It Right".^[3] In the 1970s, the band's concerts in the US were attended by up to 20,000 people.^[6] By 1981 the band was moving towards a pop-rock sound.^[6] Holt and Cuffley left in 1983.


A previously unknown recording of a live performance was released as Climax Blues Band/World Tour 1976 by the Major League Productions (MLP) record label.


The album Sample and Hold was recorded for Virgin Records in 1983 by Haycock, Cooper, and George Glover, with a rhythm section composed of the session musicians Dave Marquee and Henry Spinetti.^[7] A follow-up album was in the works, but Cooper bowed out, citing personal reasons.


Haycock went on to record several solo projects, the first of which was the album Total Climax, with his band, Pete Haycock's Climax; this band toured extensively in Europe, including Communist East Germany, and conducted a well-received tour in Australia. Haycock was later asked by his former Climax Blues Band manager, Miles Copeland, to record an instrumental album, Guitar and Son, and the live album Night of the Guitars (from the tour of the same name) for the I.R.S. No Speak label.


After that tour, Haycock teamed up with the guitarist Steve Hunter and former Climax Blues bandmate Derek Holt to record the album H Factor. He was later recruited by Bev Bevan to become a member of Electric Light Orchestra Part II and recorded and toured with that group from 1990 onwards. He also started his film score career at this time, playing the lead on Hans Zimmer's score to Thelma and Louise. He also performed on the Night of the Guitars tours, which included Holt on bass, keyboards and occasional vocals.


Holt wrote "I Love You", one of the Climax Blues Band's biggest hits. It is included on the Climax Blues Band double album 25 Years 1968–1993, released by the German label Repertoire in 1993. "I Love You" still gets over 20,000 radio plays a year in the US, and was used in Finn Taylor's 2002 film Cherish and in Kevin Smith's 2008 film Zach and Miri make a Porno. In 1983, Holt joined drummer Brendan Day and Nektar guitarist Roye Albrighton to record an album under the name Grand Alliance for the A&M label.


In 1985, Cooper and Glover recruited guitarist Lester Hunt, drummer Roy Adams, and original member Derek Holt to record the Climax Blues Band album Drastic Steps, and this line-up toured in support of the album in the UK, Europe, and America.^[8][6] Neil Simpson replaced Derek Holt in the early 1990s, releasing the live album Blues from the Attic in 1993 and Big Blues in 2004.^[2][9]


Colin Cooper died of cancer on 3 July 2008, aged 68.^[6][10] He was replaced by singer and saxophone and harmonica player Johnny Pugh, who retired in 2012, and was replaced in turn by vocalist Graham Dee and saxophone player Chris Aldridge. Pete Haycock died on 30 October 2013, at age 62.^[5]


As of 2019, the band continued to tour without any remaining original members.^[11]