Ten Years After

Ten Years After

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ten Years After
Origin Nottingham, England
Genres Blues-rock, British blues, hard rock
Years active 1967-1974,1983,1988-present
Labels Polygram, Chrysalis, EMI, CBS
Website http://tenyearsafter.com/
Members
Leo Lyons
Chick Churchill
Ric Lee
Joe Gooch
Former members
Alvin Lee

Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart.[1] In addition they have had twelve albums enter the US Billboard 200,[2] and are best known for their tracks "I'm Going Home", "Hear Me Calling", "I'd Love To Change the World" and "Love Like a Man".

History

After several years of local success in the Nottingham/Mansfield area as a band known since 1962 as The Jaybirds (its core was formed in late 1960 as Ivan Jay and the Jaycats), and later as Ivan Jay and the Jaymen, Ten Years After was founded by Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons. Ivan Jay sang lead vocals from late 1960 to 1962 and was joined by Ric Lee in August 1965, replacing drummer Dave Quickmire, who had replaced Pete Evans in 1962. In 1966 The Jaybirds moved to London, where Chick Churchill joined the group. That November the quartet signed a manager, Chris Wright, and decided to change its name to Blues Trip, Blues Yard (under which they played a show at the Marquee Club supporting the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band), and finally in November 1966, to Ten Years After (in honor of Elvis Presley, an idol of Lee's whose momentous year in rock, 1956, helps to better explain the band's title).[3] The group became the first act booked by the soon-to-be Chrysalis Agency. It secured a residency at the Marquee, and received an invitation to play at the Windsor Jazz Festival in 1967. That performance led to a contract with Deram, a subsidiary of Decca the first band so signed without a hit single. In October, its 1967 self-titled debut album was released.[4]

In 1968, after touring Scandinavia and the United States, Ten Years After released its second album, live Undead, which brought the noteworthy, "I'm Going Home".[4] This was followed in February 1969 by the studio issue, Stonedhenge, a British hit, that included another well known track, "Hear Me Calling" (it was released also as a single, and covered in 1972 by the British glam rock rising stars, Slade). In July 1969 the group appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, in the first event to which rock bands were invited. In August, the band performed a breakthrough American appearance at Woodstock; their rendition of "I'm Going Home" featuring Alvin Lee as lead singer, was featured in both the subsequent film and soundtrack album and catapulted them to star status.[4]

During 1970, Ten Years After released "Love Like a Man", the group's only hit in the UK Singles Chart.[1] This song was on the band's fifth album, Cricklewood Green.[4] The name of the album comes from a friend of the group who lived in Cricklewood, London. He grew a sort of plant which was said to have hallucinogenic effects. The band did not know the name of this plant, so the members called their album Cricklewood Green. It was the first record to be issued with a different playing speed on each side one a three-minute edit at 45rpm, the other, a nine-minute live version at 33rpm. In August 1970, Ten Years After played the Strawberry Fields Festival near Toronto, and the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.[5]

In 1971, the band released the album A Space in Time, which marked a move toward more commercial material.[4] It featured the group's biggest hit, "I'd Love To Change The World".[4] But the band broke up after the 1974 album Positive Vibrations.[4] The members re-united in 1983 to play the Reading Festival,[6] and this performance was later released on CD as The Friday Rock Show Sessions - Live At Reading '83' . In 1988, the members re-united for a few concerts and recorded the album About Time (1989).[4][3] Finally, in 1994, they participated in the Eurowoodstock festival in Budapest.

Alvin Lee has since then mostly played and recorded under his own name. In 2004, the other band members replaced him with Joe Gooch, and recorded the album, Now.[4] Material from the following tour was used for the 2005 double album, Roadworks.[4] Ric Lee is currently in a band called The Breakers, along with Ian Ellis (ex-Clouds).

Band members

  • Alvin Lee guitar, vocals, harp; born Graham Barnes, 19 December 1944, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire.
  • Leo Lyons bass; born David William Lyons, 30 November 1943, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
  • Chick Churchill keyboards; born Michael George Churchill, 2 January 1946, Mold, Flintshire, North Wales.
  • Ric Lee drums; born Richard Lee, 20 October 1945, Cannock, Staffordshire.
  • Joe Gooch guitar, vocals; born 3 May 1977, Highbury, London (joined in 2003).

[3]

Discography

Studio and live albums

Ten Years After 1967
Undead 1968
Stonedhenge 1969
Ssssh 1969
Cricklewood Green 1970
Watt 1970
A Space in Time 1971
Alvin Lee And Company 1972
Rock & Roll Music To The World 1972
Recorded Live (double album) 1973
Positive Vibrations 1974
About Time 1989
Live At The Fillmore East 1970 (double live album) 2001
Now 2004
Roadworks (double live album) 2005
Evolution 2008
Live at Fiesta City (live DVD) 2009

Compilations

  • Double Deluxe (1970)
  • Ten Years After (1971)
  • Classic Performances (1976)
  • Goin' Home (1977)
  • Greatest Hits (1977)
  • Profile (1979)
  • Ten Years After (1980)
  • Timewarps (1983)
  • The Collection (1985)
  • At Their Peak (1987)
  • Universal Music Co. (Classic Rock Gold 2 discs) (1987)
  • Portfolio - A History (1988)
  • The Collection (1991)
  • Essential (1991)
  • Pure Blues (1995)
  • I'm Going Home (1996)
  • Premium Gold Collection (1998)
  • The Best of (2000)
  • Very Best Ten Years After Album Ever (2001)
  • Ten Years After Anthology (2002)

Bibliography

  • The New Musical Express Book of Rock, Star Books, 1975. ISBN 0 352 300744.
  • Paytress, Mark (January 1997). "Ten Years After". Record Collector (221): 84-89.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited.
  2. Allmusic ((( Ten Years After > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums ))).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia, 1st, London: Guinness Publishing Ltd..
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Biography by William Ruhlmann. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 24 October 2009.
  5. Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia, 1st, London: Guinness Publishing Ltd..
  6. Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia, 1st, London: Guinness Publishing Ltd..

External links

This page was last modified 04.11.2009 20:25:05

This article uses material from the article Ten Years After from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.