Steamhammer (band)
Encyclopedia
Steamhammer was a blues-rock
band from Worthing
, England
. The band was founded in 1968 by Martin Quittenton
(guitar) and Kieran White
(vocals, guitar, harmonica). The first stable lineup consisted of Quittenton, White, Martin Pugh
(guitar), Steve Davy (bass), and Michael Rushton (drums).
on one of his tours of England. The band's first album, the eponymous Steamhammer
(aka Reflection), was released in 1969. It included covers of "You'll Never Know" by B. B. King
and "Twenty Four Hours" by Eddie Boyd
as well as original songs by White, Quittenton, and Pugh. Session musicians Harold McNair
(flute) and Pete Sears
(piano) also played on the album.
This album was not commercially successful, but the band became a popular live act, especially in West Germany
. In the summer of 1969, Quittenton and Rushton left the band, and Steve Jolliffe
(saxophone, flute) and Mick Bradley (drums) joined the band.
This version of the band recorded the album Mk II
, released in 1969. It consisted entirely of original songs, and the musical style had more jazz
and progressive rock
influences. Jolliffe left the band in 1970. The remaining band members recorded the album Mountains, which was released in 1970. This album included a cover of "Riding on the L & N" by Lionel Hampton
and seven original songs.
In 1971, White and Davy left the band, and Louis Cennamo
(bass) joined the band. This lineup, along with session vocalist Garth Watt-Roy, recorded the album Speech
, which was released in 1972. It consisted of three long, mostly instrumental songs.
Bradley died of leukemia
on February 8, 1972, aged 25. A memorial concert took place at London
's Marquee Club
on March 14, with appearances by fellow bands Atomic Rooster
, Beggars Opera
, If
, and Gringo). Steamhammer carried on for a while with a new drummer, John Lingwood, and a lead singer, Ian Ellis (ex-Clouds
). The new line-up debuted at London's Imperial College on May 3, followed by a Europe
an tour in May and UK tour in June with American vocalist/guitarist Bruce Michael Paine replacing Ellis. In June 1973, it was announced that they would now perform as Axis, playing their first gig under that name at the Marquee on June 15. Quittenton rejoined, but the band split towards the end of 1973.
and later worked with Jim McCarty
in Stairway. White recorded a solo album, Open Door, which was released in 1975. White died in 1995 following an unsuccessful fight against cancer. Quittenton played guitar and co-wrote songs, including Maggie May
and You Wear It Well
on albums by Rod Stewart
. Jolliffe joined Tangerine Dream
in 1978 and played on the album Cyclone. Pugh appears to have been inactive in music after 1975, he did emerge to play guitar on sessions with American rock & roll band, 7th Order
on their debut CD, The Lake of Memory - released in 2007.
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
band from Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The band was founded in 1968 by Martin Quittenton
Martin Quittenton
Martin Quittenton is a British guitarist and composer. He played in the blues rock band Steamhammer, formed in 1968. Their debut album Steamhammer was released in 1969 with keyboardist Pete Sears as a special guest....
(guitar) and Kieran White
Kieran White
Kieran Raymond White was a British vocalist and guitarist. He sang and played in the blues-rock band Steamhammer, formed in 1968. Their debut album Steamhammer was released in 1969, on which he co-wrote many of the songs and also played harmonica. He left the band in 1971...
(vocals, guitar, harmonica). The first stable lineup consisted of Quittenton, White, Martin Pugh
Martin Pugh
Martin John Pugh is a British guitarist who came to prominence after joining blues-rock band Steamhammer in 1968, staying with that band through five years and four albums. Their debut album, Steamhammer, was released in 1969 and yielded a minor hit single in Europe, "Junior's Wailing"...
(guitar), Steve Davy (bass), and Michael Rushton (drums).
Career
This version of the band acted as backing band for Freddie KingFreddie King
Freddie King , thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert...
on one of his tours of England. The band's first album, the eponymous Steamhammer
Steamhammer (album)
Steamhammer was the debut album issued in 1969 by the British blues-rock band Steamhammer. Steamhammer was chosen as legendary blues guitarist Freddy King's backing band whenever he toured England...
(aka Reflection), was released in 1969. It included covers of "You'll Never Know" by B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
and "Twenty Four Hours" by Eddie Boyd
Eddie Boyd
Edward Riley Boyd known as Eddie Boyd was an American blues piano player, born on Stovall's Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States.-Life and career:...
as well as original songs by White, Quittenton, and Pugh. Session musicians Harold McNair
Harold McNair
Harold McNair was a renowned saxophonist and flautist.-Background:...
(flute) and Pete Sears
Pete Sears
Peter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
(piano) also played on the album.
This album was not commercially successful, but the band became a popular live act, especially in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. In the summer of 1969, Quittenton and Rushton left the band, and Steve Jolliffe
Steve Jolliffe
Steve Jolliffe is an English musician.Jolliffe was a member of the blues-rock band Steamhammer between 1969 and 1970, playing saxophone and flute on their Mk II album, the band's second album in 1969....
(saxophone, flute) and Mick Bradley (drums) joined the band.
This version of the band recorded the album Mk II
Mk II (album)
Mk II was the second album of the British blues-rock band Steamhammer.- Background :Not selling as many records as they had hoped, Steamhammer nevertheless became a top European open-air attraction, mainly due to their excellent live performance...
, released in 1969. It consisted entirely of original songs, and the musical style had more jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
influences. Jolliffe left the band in 1970. The remaining band members recorded the album Mountains, which was released in 1970. This album included a cover of "Riding on the L & N" by Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
and seven original songs.
In 1971, White and Davy left the band, and Louis Cennamo
Louis Cennamo
Louis David Cennamo was bass guitarist with an early line up of The Herd, the original line-up of Renaissance and later Colosseum, Steamhammer, Armageddon and Illusion . He also worked with Jim McCarty in Stairway. The song "Bullet", on the first Renaissance album, includes an extended...
(bass) joined the band. This lineup, along with session vocalist Garth Watt-Roy, recorded the album Speech
Speech (album)
Speech was the fourth and last album of the British blues-rock band Steamhammer.In 1971, Kieran White and Steve Davy left Steamhammer, and bassist Louis Cennamo joined guitarist Martin Pugh and drummer Mick Bradley. This lineup, together with session vocalist Garth Watt-Roy, recorded this album,...
, which was released in 1972. It consisted of three long, mostly instrumental songs.
Bradley died of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
on February 8, 1972, aged 25. A memorial concert took place at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
on March 14, with appearances by fellow bands Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...
, Beggars Opera
Beggars Opera (band)
Beggars Opera were a progressive rock band from Glasgow, Scotland, formed in Glasgow in 1969 by guitarist Ricky Gardiner. The line-up consisted of Ricky Gardiner , Alan Park , Martin Griffiths , Marshall Erskine and Raymond Wilson...
, If
If (band)
If was a progressive rock band formed in Britain in 1969.Referred to by Billboard as "unquestionably the best of the so-called jazz-rock bands", in the period spanning 1970-1975, they produced 8 studio-recorded albums and did some 17 tours of Europe, the US and Canada.-History:They toured...
, and Gringo). Steamhammer carried on for a while with a new drummer, John Lingwood, and a lead singer, Ian Ellis (ex-Clouds
Clouds (60s rock band)
Clouds were a 1960s Scottish rock band that disbanded in October 1971. The band consisted of Ian Ellis , Harry Hughes and Billy Ritchie .- Early days: The Premiers :...
). The new line-up debuted at London's Imperial College on May 3, followed by a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an tour in May and UK tour in June with American vocalist/guitarist Bruce Michael Paine replacing Ellis. In June 1973, it was announced that they would now perform as Axis, playing their first gig under that name at the Marquee on June 15. Quittenton rejoined, but the band split towards the end of 1973.
Post-Steamhammer
Pugh and Cennamo went on to play in Armageddon. After that band broke up, Cennamo joined IllusionIllusion (UK band)
Illusion were a British band formed in 1977. They released two albums, Out of the Mist and Illusion on Island Records. Their music was classically-inspired, sophisticated, and polished...
and later worked with Jim McCarty
Jim McCarty
Jim McCarty is an English musician, best known as the drummer for The Yardbirds and Renaissance.-Early life:...
in Stairway. White recorded a solo album, Open Door, which was released in 1975. White died in 1995 following an unsuccessful fight against cancer. Quittenton played guitar and co-wrote songs, including Maggie May
Maggie May
"Maggie May" is a song written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton and recorded by Stewart in 1971 for his album Every Picture Tells a Story....
and You Wear It Well
You Wear It Well
"You Wear It Well" is a song written by Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, performed by Stewart. It utilizes an arrangement markedly similar to that of "Maggie May", one of Stewart's hits from the previous year....
on albums by Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
. Jolliffe joined Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
in 1978 and played on the album Cyclone. Pugh appears to have been inactive in music after 1975, he did emerge to play guitar on sessions with American rock & roll band, 7th Order
7th Order (band)
7th Order is an American progressive rock & roll band whose debut "extended play" CD release, The Lake of Memory, was issued on the Big Island Sounds label....
on their debut CD, The Lake of Memory - released in 2007.
Singles
- "Junior's Wailing" (single version)/ "Windmill" (1969)
- "Autumn Song" / "Blues For Passing People" (1969)
- "Mountains" / "I Wouldn't Have Thought" (1971)
Albums
- SteamhammerSteamhammer (album)Steamhammer was the debut album issued in 1969 by the British blues-rock band Steamhammer. Steamhammer was chosen as legendary blues guitarist Freddy King's backing band whenever he toured England...
(also known as Reflection) (1969) - Mk IIMk II (album)Mk II was the second album of the British blues-rock band Steamhammer.- Background :Not selling as many records as they had hoped, Steamhammer nevertheless became a top European open-air attraction, mainly due to their excellent live performance...
(1969) - Mountains (1970)
- SpeechSpeech (album)Speech was the fourth and last album of the British blues-rock band Steamhammer.In 1971, Kieran White and Steve Davy left Steamhammer, and bassist Louis Cennamo joined guitarist Martin Pugh and drummer Mick Bradley. This lineup, together with session vocalist Garth Watt-Roy, recorded this album,...
(1972)