Ten Years After | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Nottingham, England |
| Genres | Blues rock[1] |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Members | Ric Lee Samuel C. Lees Craig Fletcher Dave Burgoyne |
| Past members | Alvin Lee Leo Lyons Joe Gooch Chick Churchill Marcus Bonfanti Colin Hodgkinson |
| Website | ten-years-after |
Ten Years After is an Englishblues rock group formed inNottingham in 1966. They had eight consecutive albums in the Top 40 on theUK Albums Chart between 1968 and 1973.[2] They also had twelve albums enter the USBillboard 200.[3] The band are best known for tracks such as "I'm Going Home", "Hear Me Calling", "I'd Love to Change the World" and "Love Like a Man".
The band's core formed in late 1960 as Ivan Jay and the Jaycats. After several years of local success in theNottingham/Mansfield area, they changed their name to the Jaybirds in 1962, and later to Ivan Jay and the Jaymen. Ivan Jay sang lead vocals from late 1960 to 1962 and was joined byRic Lee in August 1965, replacing drummer Dave Quickmire who had replaced Pete Evans in 1962. Roy Cooper played rhythm guitar and sang from 1960 to 1962. The Jaybirds moved to London to backthe Ivy League in 1966.[4]
Chick Churchill joined the group as keyboard player in 1966. That November, the quartet signed a manager, Chris Wright, and changed their name to Blues Trip. Using the name Blues Yard they played one show at theMarquee Club supporting theBonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.Alvin Lee andLeo Lyons again changed their name in 1966 to Ten Years After – in honour ofElvis Presley,[5] one of Lee's idols.[5] (This was ten years after Presley's successful year, 1956.)[4][6] Some sources[7] claim that the name was pulled by Leo Lyons from a magazine, advertising a book,Suez Ten Years After (referring to theSuez Crisis).
The group was the first act booked by the soon-to-be Chrysalis Agency. They secured a residency at the Marquee, and were invited to play at the Windsor Jazz Festival in 1967. That performance led to a contract withDeram, a subsidiary ofDecca – they were the first band without ahit single that Deram signed. In October 1967 they released the self-titled debut albumTen Years After.[8] In 1968, after touring Scandinavia and the United States, they released a second LP, the live albumUndead, with a first version of the song "I'm Going Home".[8]
The group followed this in February 1969 with the studio issueStonedhenge, a British hit that included another well-known track, "Hear Me Calling", which was released as a single (and wascovered by the Britishglam rock bandSlade in 1972). In July 1969, the group appeared at the first instance of theNewport Jazz Festival that rock bands were invited to. On 26 and 27 July 1969, they appeared at theSeattle Pop Festival held at Gold Creek Park. On 17 August, the band performed a breakthrough American appearance at theWoodstock Festival; their rendition of "I'm Going Home" with Alvin Lee as lead singer/lead guitarist was featured in both the subsequent film and soundtrack album and increased the group's popularity.[8] In 1970, Ten Years After released "Love Like a Man", the group's only hit in theUK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 10.[2] It was the first record issued with a different playing speed on each side: a three-minute edit at45 rpm, and a nearly eight-minute live version at33 rpm.[citation needed] The full studio version song appeared on the band's fifth album, their most successful in Britain,Cricklewood Green.[8] In August 1970, they played theStrawberry Fields Festival near Toronto, and theIsle of Wight Festival 1970.[9]
In 1971, the band switched labels toColumbia Records (US) andChrysalis (UK) and released the hit albumA Space in Time, which marked a move toward more commercial material.[8] It featured the group's biggest hit, "I'd Love to Change the World".[8] In late 1972, the group issued their second Columbia albumRock & Roll Music to the World and, in 1973, the live double albumTen Years After Recorded Live. The band broke up after their final 1974 Columbia album,Positive Vibrations.[8]
In the second half of the 1970s and early 1980s, Alvin Lee toured with a new band he called Ten Years Later.
The original Ten Years After reunited in 1983 to play theReading Festival,[10] and this performance was later released on CD asThe Friday Rock Show Sessions – Live at Reading '83.
In 1988, the members reunited for a few concerts and recorded the albumAbout Time (1989) with producerTerry Manning inMemphis.[6][8] They stayed together for their longest continuous period, until 2003, though without releasing new material. In 1994, they participated in theEurowoodstock festival in Budapest.
In 2003, the other band members replaced Alvin Lee withJoe Gooch, and recorded the albumNow.[8] Material from the subsequent tour was used for the 2005 double albumRoadworks.[8] Alvin Lee mostly played and recorded under his own name following his split from the band. He died from complications during a routine medical procedure on 6 March 2013.[11][12][13] Ric Lee is currently[when?] in a band called Ric Lee's Natural Born Swingers, along with Bob Hall. In January 2014, it was announced that Gooch and Lyons had left Ten Years After.[14] Two months later, veteran bass playerColin Hodgkinson and singer/guitaristMarcus Bonfanti were announced as their replacements.[15] In October 2017, the band released its most recent studio album,A Sting in the Tale.[16]
In September 2024, it was announced the lineup of Lee, Churchill, Bonfanti, and Hodgkinson had split and Lee intended to premiere a new lineup in early 2025. In early 2025, this lineup was announced, consisting of Ric Lee, Samuel C Lees, Craig Fletcher, and Dave Burgoyne. This new lineup currently has shows announced in both the UK, and Europe.[17]
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