The V.I.P.'s
Encyclopedia
The V.I.P.'s were a British
R&B
musical ensemble
formed in Carlisle, Cumberland
, (North West England
) in late 1963, out of an earlier outfit known as The Ramrods, who had formed in Carlisle in 1960. After a change of personnel in April 1967, the band changed their name to Art, and released the album Supernatural Fairy Tales
.
(lead vocals) (ex Dino and the Danubes, The Dakotas, The Ramrods); Greg Ridley
(bass guitar
) (ex Dino and the Danubes, The Dakotas); Frank Kenyon (rhythm guitar
) (1963–67) (born 12 October 1945, Carlisle) (ex The Teenages, The Ramrods); Jimmy Henshaw (lead guitar
) (1963–67) (born James Henshaw, 20 October 1941, in Newarthill
, near Motherwell
, North Lanarkshire
, Scotland
died 1 May 2007, Carlisle) (ex The Ramrods); Keith Emerson
(electric organ
) (1966–1967); Luther Grosvenor
(lead guitar) (1967); Walter Johnstone (drummer
) (1963–67) (born 11 March 1943, Carlisle) (ex The Teenages, The Ramrods); and Mike Kellie
(drummer) (1967).
When Emerson left in early 1967, Harrison, Ridley, Grosvenor and Kellie changed their name to 'Art', and released one album
, Supernatural Fairy Tales
, produced by Guy Stevens
, before becoming Spooky Tooth
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
musical ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
formed in Carlisle, Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, (North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
) in late 1963, out of an earlier outfit known as The Ramrods, who had formed in Carlisle in 1960. After a change of personnel in April 1967, the band changed their name to Art, and released the album Supernatural Fairy Tales
Supernatural Fairy Tales
Supernatural Fairy Tales is the only LP by Art, a re-named band formerly known as The V.I.P.'s. The album contains mostly band compositions plus a cover of The Young Rascals' "Come on Up" and Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth"....
.
Career
The band members at various times were: Mike HarrisonMike Harrison (musician)
Mike Harrison is an English musician, most notable as a principal lead singer of Spooky Tooth and as a solo artist. He has also been the lead singer in the The V.I.P.'s, Art and the Hamburg Blues Band, among others...
(lead vocals) (ex Dino and the Danubes, The Dakotas, The Ramrods); Greg Ridley
Greg Ridley
Alfred Gregory 'Greg' Ridley was one of the more visible rock bassists in England, and a founding member of the successful rock band Humble Pie...
(bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) (ex Dino and the Danubes, The Dakotas); Frank Kenyon (rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
) (1963–67) (born 12 October 1945, Carlisle) (ex The Teenages, The Ramrods); Jimmy Henshaw (lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
) (1963–67) (born James Henshaw, 20 October 1941, in Newarthill
Newarthill
Newarthill is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated roughly three miles north-west of the town of Motherwell. It has a population of around 7,800. The Member of Parliament for the local area is Pamela Nash. The Member of the Scottish Parliament for the local area is Michael McMahon...
, near Motherwell
Motherwell
Motherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
, North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
died 1 May 2007, Carlisle) (ex The Ramrods); Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
(electric organ
Electric organ
In biology, the electric organ is an organ common to all electric fish used for the purposes of creating an electric field. The electric organ is derived from modified nerve or muscle tissue...
) (1966–1967); Luther Grosvenor
Luther Grosvenor
Luther James Grosvenor is an English rock musician, who played guitar in Spooky Tooth, briefly in Stealers Wheel and, under the pseudonym "Ariel Bender", in Mott the Hoople and Widowmaker....
(lead guitar) (1967); Walter Johnstone (drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
) (1963–67) (born 11 March 1943, Carlisle) (ex The Teenages, The Ramrods); and Mike Kellie
Mike Kellie
Mike Kellie is an English drummer. Most notably, he has played in Spooky Tooth and The Only Ones. Kellie has also played with Peter Frampton and in various bands with Chris Wood....
(drummer) (1967).
When Emerson left in early 1967, Harrison, Ridley, Grosvenor and Kellie changed their name to 'Art', and released one album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Supernatural Fairy Tales
Supernatural Fairy Tales
Supernatural Fairy Tales is the only LP by Art, a re-named band formerly known as The V.I.P.'s. The album contains mostly band compositions plus a cover of The Young Rascals' "Come on Up" and Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth"....
, produced by Guy Stevens
Guy Stevens
Guy Stevens worked in a number of different roles in the British music industry including producer and manager. He gave the rock bands Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople their distinctive names....
, before becoming Spooky Tooth
Spooky Tooth
Spooky Tooth are an English rock band principally active, with intermittent breakups, between 1967 to 1974. In recent years, the band has been reconstituted at various points, and continues to perform occasionally.-Career:...
.
Singles
- "She's So Good" / "Don't Keep Shouting At Me" (UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
RCARCA RecordsRCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, 1964) - "Mercy Mercy" / "That's My Woman" (U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
only single, produced by Derek LawrenceDerek LawrenceDerek Lawrence is a record producer, famous for his work for Joe Meek's Outlaws, Deep Purple, Machiavel and Wishbone Ash.Lawrence came in contact with Meek circa at the end of 1963, when he managed a group, Laurie Black and the Men of Mystery, that won a recording session at Joe Meek's studio. He... - "Wintertime" / "Anyone" (as The Vipps, CBSCBS RecordsCBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
) - "I Wanna Be Free" / "Don't Let It Go" (IslandIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
) - "Straight Down to the Bottom" / "In A Dream" (Island)
- "Sunshine Help Me" (Island - as 'Art')
Compilation albums
- CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
compilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
: The Complete V.I.P.s (double albumDouble albumA double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
, 28 tracks) (Repertoire RecordsRepertoire RecordsRepertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 60s and 70s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen....
)