Blodwyn Pig were a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
–
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
groupIn music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band* Dansband* Fife and drum...
founded by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter
Mick AbrahamsMichael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull. He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968, but conflicts between Abrahams and Ian Anderson over the musical direction of the band led Abrahams to leave once the album was finished...
, after he left
Jethro TullJethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the songs, vocals and flute work of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and guitarist Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969....
in 1968 due to a falling-out with Tull leader
Ian AndersonIan Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the head of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
.
Abrahams' falling-out with Anderson was said to have originated in differences between the two on original material—Abrahams wishing to stay close to Jethro Tull's blues and jazz roots, Anderson wishing to develop less overt blues and jazz material—and Abrahams' unwillingness to work seven days a week (the latter according to
Circus magazine).
He left Jethro Tull after their debut
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
,
This WasThis Was is the first album by the rock band Jethro Tull. Recorded at a cost of only £1200 GBP, the album received generally favourable reviews and sold well upon its release...
, was released, and formed Blodwyn Pig with
Jack LancasterJack Lancaster is a British composer, record producer and musician.In the late 1960s, Lancaster co-founded the British rock group Blodwyn Pig with Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams...
(
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
),
Andy PyleAndy Pyle is an English bass guitarist. He played with The Kinks from 1976–1978. Prior to that, he was in Blodwyn Pig and Savoy Brown . Later, he played with Wishbone Ash .-Career:...
(
bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
), and
Ron BergRon Berg is an English drummer best known as the longtime drummer with Blodwyn Pig. He has also played with Savoy Brown and Juicy Lucy. Category:Year of birth missing...
(
drumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of music instruments, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of...
s); future
YesYes are an English progressive rock band that was formed in London in 1968. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess. Yes blends symphonic and other 'classical' structures with their own brand of...
and
Flash-Flash:Flash was an English progressive rock group, formed by former Yes guitarist Peter Banks and vocalist Colin Carter in August 1971. Bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough completed the line-up....
guitarist
Peter BanksPeter Banks is an English guitarist. He was one of the original guitarists with the progressive rock band, Yes.-Early career:...
became one of several guitarists to succeed Abrahams after he left to form his own band for a time.
With Abrahams and Lancaster in the lead, Blodwyn Pig
recordedSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
two albums,
Ahead Rings OutAhead Rings Out was the debut album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1969. The band had been formed in 1969 by Mick Abrahams, the former guitarist of Jethro Tull, and sales of Ahead Rings Out rivalled those of Jethro Tull's next album, Stand Up, reaching No...
in 1969 and
Getting To ThisGetting To This was the second album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1970. The album was the band's last until a brief reunion in the 1990s: Peter Banks joined from Yes after the recording of Getting To This, but the band split up at the end of 1970.-Track listing:#"Drive Me" –...
in 1970.
Blodwyn Pig were a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
–
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
groupIn music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band* Dansband* Fife and drum...
founded by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter
Mick AbrahamsMichael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull. He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968, but conflicts between Abrahams and Ian Anderson over the musical direction of the band led Abrahams to leave once the album was finished...
, after he left
Jethro TullJethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the songs, vocals and flute work of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and guitarist Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969....
in 1968 due to a falling-out with Tull leader
Ian AndersonIan Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the head of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
.
Career
Abrahams' falling-out with Anderson was said to have originated in differences between the two on original material—Abrahams wishing to stay close to Jethro Tull's blues and jazz roots, Anderson wishing to develop less overt blues and jazz material—and Abrahams' unwillingness to work seven days a week (the latter according to
Circus magazine).
He left Jethro Tull after their debut
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
,
This WasThis Was is the first album by the rock band Jethro Tull. Recorded at a cost of only £1200 GBP, the album received generally favourable reviews and sold well upon its release...
, was released, and formed Blodwyn Pig with
Jack LancasterJack Lancaster is a British composer, record producer and musician.In the late 1960s, Lancaster co-founded the British rock group Blodwyn Pig with Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams...
(
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
),
Andy PyleAndy Pyle is an English bass guitarist. He played with The Kinks from 1976–1978. Prior to that, he was in Blodwyn Pig and Savoy Brown . Later, he played with Wishbone Ash .-Career:...
(
bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
), and
Ron BergRon Berg is an English drummer best known as the longtime drummer with Blodwyn Pig. He has also played with Savoy Brown and Juicy Lucy. Category:Year of birth missing...
(
drumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of music instruments, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of...
s); future
YesYes are an English progressive rock band that was formed in London in 1968. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess. Yes blends symphonic and other 'classical' structures with their own brand of...
and
Flash-Flash:Flash was an English progressive rock group, formed by former Yes guitarist Peter Banks and vocalist Colin Carter in August 1971. Bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough completed the line-up....
guitarist
Peter BanksPeter Banks is an English guitarist. He was one of the original guitarists with the progressive rock band, Yes.-Early career:...
became one of several guitarists to succeed Abrahams after he left to form his own band for a time.
With Abrahams and Lancaster in the lead, Blodwyn Pig
recordedSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
two albums,
Ahead Rings OutAhead Rings Out was the debut album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1969. The band had been formed in 1969 by Mick Abrahams, the former guitarist of Jethro Tull, and sales of Ahead Rings Out rivalled those of Jethro Tull's next album, Stand Up, reaching No...
in 1969 and
Getting To ThisGetting To This was the second album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1970. The album was the band's last until a brief reunion in the 1990s: Peter Banks joined from Yes after the recording of Getting To This, but the band split up at the end of 1970.-Track listing:#"Drive Me" –...
in 1970. Both reached the lower half of the Top Ten of the
UK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus.To qualify for the UK albums...
and charted in the United States;
Ahead Rings Out displayed a jazzier turn on the heavy blues–rock that formed the band's core rooted in the British 1960s
rhythm and bluesRhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
scene from which sprang groups like
The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds are an English rock band, notable for starting the careers of three of rock's more famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, all of whom were in the top fifteen of Rolling Stones' 100 Top Guitarists list...
,
FreeFree were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968 and best known for their popular song "All Right Now". Lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become lead singer of the rock band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums...
and eventually
Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre...
. Saxophonist–singer Lancaster (who often played two horns at once, like his idol
Rahsaan Roland KirkRahsaan Roland Kirk was a blind American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments...
) was at least as prominent in the mix as Abrahams; some critics thought this contrast bumped the band toward a freer, more experimental sound on the second album.
The
singleIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
"Summer Day" from
Ahead Rings Out failed to
chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, but the quartet became something of a favourite on the underground concert circuit. Largely due to Abrahams's disillusionment with the business side of music, Blodwyn Pig eventually became an on-again, off-again concern; Lancaster at one point became a record producer, and Pyle eventually joined
Savoy BrownSavoy Brown, originally known as the Savoy Brown Blues Band, are a British blues band formed in 1966, in Battersea, South West London. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown never achieved as much success in their homeland as they did in the United States, where they promoted their...
. Over the years since their original formation, Blodwyn Pig reformed several times, usually with Abrahams and Lancaster leading the group, and recorded two more albums in the 1990s.
Discography
- Ahead Rings Out
Ahead Rings Out was the debut album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1969. The band had been formed in 1969 by Mick Abrahams, the former guitarist of Jethro Tull, and sales of Ahead Rings Out rivalled those of Jethro Tull's next album, Stand Up, reaching No...
(IslandIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in England for many years, but is now owned by Universal Music Group and is operated in the United States through The Island Def Jam Music Group and in the UK through Island Records Group...
, August 1969)
- Getting To This
Getting To This was the second album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1970. The album was the band's last until a brief reunion in the 1990s: Peter Banks joined from Yes after the recording of Getting To This, but the band split up at the end of 1970.-Track listing:#"Drive Me" –...
(ChrysalisChrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and an amalgam of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
, April 1970)
- Lies (1993)
- All Tore Down: Live (1994)
- Pig-in-the-Middle (1996)
- All Said And Done Shakedown Records 2004 two-CD
A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
1 DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
boxed setA box set is a compilation of various musical recordings, films, television programs, or other collection of related things that are contained in a box.-Video box sets:...