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Spooky Tooth | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Carlisle, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Past members | Luther Grosvenor Mike Harrison Mike Kellie Greg Ridley Gary Wright Andy Leigh Henry McCullough Alan Spenner Chris Stainton John Hawken Steve Thompson Bryson Graham Ian Herbert Mick Jones Keith Ellis Chris Stewart Val Burke Mike Patto Joey Albrecht Michael Becker Steve Farris Shem von Schroeck Mark Andrews |
Spooky Tooth were an Englishrock band formed inCarlisle in 1967. The band were principally active between 1967 and 1974, and re-formed several times in later years.
Prior to Spooky Tooth, four of the band's five founding members had performed in the band Art (formerly known asthe V.I.P.'s). Following the dissolution of Art, the members of that band's final line-up (guitaristLuther Grosvenor, vocalistMike Harrison, drummerMike Kellie and bassistGreg Ridley) joined forces with American keyboardist/vocalistGary Wright in October 1967 and formed Spooky Tooth. Wright was introduced to the members of Art byChris Blackwell, the founder ofIsland Records renowned for promotingprogressive rock,roots reggae and dub music.[2]
Their debut,It's All About, was released in June 1968 on Island Records[3] and was produced byJimmy Miller, who was also behind the boards forSpencer Davis Group,Motörhead,Traffic,the Rolling Stones andBlind Faith.
The second album,Spooky Two (March 1969), also produced by Miller, gained some attention in the rock press but, like the debut, failed to sell.[3] It was the last album release by the original lineup and included their now classic version of theLarry Weiss penned "Evil Woman" and "Better by You, Better than Me", which was covered byJudas Priest on their releaseStained Class (1978).
Ridley joinedHumble Pie in 1969 and was replaced by Andy Leigh for the albumCeremony (December 1969).[3]The experimental nature ofCeremony received mixed reviews and despite the project being instigated by Gary Wright,[4] the album is considered by him to have ended the band's career. The record is described by another as being "one of the great screw-ups in rock history".[4] As Wright describes it, "...We did a project that wasn't our album. It was with this French electronic music composer namedPierre Henry. We just told the label, 'You know this is his album, not our album. We'll play on it just like musicians.' And then when the album was finished, they said, 'Oh no no — it's great. We're gonna release this as your next album.' We said, 'You can't do that. It doesn't have anything to do with the direction ofSpooky Two and it will ruin our career.' And that's exactly what happened."[5]
Wright left the band following the release of the album. Harrison, Grosvenor and Kellie remained and recordedThe Last Puff (July 1970) with members ofJoe Cocker's Grease Band (guitaristHenry McCullough, keyboardistChris Stainton and bassistAlan Spenner).[3]
In the autumn of 1970 the band embarked on a European tour that was undertaken with a line-up of Harrison, Grosvenor, Kellie, keyboardistJohn Hawken (ex-Nashville Teens) and bassist Steve Thompson. After this, the group disbanded, though Harrison and Wright reformed Spooky Tooth in September 1972 with a different line-up.[3]
You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw was the first album by the reunited band, released in May 1973 onIsland Records. Founding guitarist Grosvenor did not rejoin the band, as he had teamed up withMott the Hoople, adopting the stage name ofAriel Bender. Grosvenor was succeeded byMick Jones, while founding drummer Kellie was replaced byBryson Graham. The bassist was Ian Herbert, then Chris Stewart.
For their next album,Witness (November 1973), original drummer Mike Kellie returned in place of Graham. Wright remained the dominant songwriter at this stage of the band's history. But co-lead singer Harrison left following the album's release andMike Patto was the new vocalist, alongside Wright, when they recordedThe Mirror (October 1974), which also included new bass player Val Burke and Bryson Graham back on drums. But the album's failure led to Wright leaving once again for a solo career and the group disbanding in November 1974.[6]
Jon Milward summarized the band inThe Rolling Stone Record Guide in 1979: "If ever there was a heavy band, Spooky Tooth had to be it. Featuring two vocalists prone to blues-wrenching extremes, and an instrumental attack comprising awesomely loud keyboards and guitars, Spooky Tooth came on like an overwhelming vat of premedicated goo." Noting their lack of commercial success, Milward concluded that the group "would remain the right band at the wrong time."[7]
Mick Jones went on to formForeigner in 1976.[3]
Grosvenor later played withStealers Wheel and joinedMott the Hoople in the 1970s (replacingMick Ralphs who left to formBad Company), adopting the nameAriel Bender.[3] In 2005, he founded the Ariel Bender Band, with which he still occasionally performs.[8] In 2018 and 2019, he toured with a reformed Mott the Hoople.
Kellie later joinedthe Only Ones in the late 1970s also performing with them in 1980s. The band reformed in 2007.[9]
Ridley became a member ofHumble Pie. On 19 November 2003 he died in Alicante, Spain, ofpneumonia and resulting complications. He was 62.[10]
Wright began to develop an international solo career in the 1970s and had a hit with "Dream Weaver".
Harrison, Grosvenor, Ridley and Kellie reunited as Spooky Tooth at points in 1997 and 1998, which resulted in an album,Cross Purpose, released in February 1999.
Harrison played and recorded with theHamburg Blues Band and appeared on their CDTouch (2002).[11]
In June 2004, Harrison, Wright and Kellie were again re-united as Spooky Tooth with Joey Albrecht (guitar) and Michael Becker (bass) for two concerts in Germany, resulting in a DVDNomad Poets (2007).
In 2006, Harrison released his first solo album in over thirty years,Late Starter.
In February 2008, the latest incarnation of Spooky Tooth, featuring Harrison, Wright and Kellie, along with guitarist Steve Farris fromMr. Mister and Shem von Schroeck (bass), played a series of European dates. On 29 May 2009, this same lineup (with drummer Tom Brechtlein replacing Kellie) played at Island Records' 50th Anniversary atShepherd's Bush Empire, before touring Germany that June.
In 2012, Mike Kellie started work on a solo album.[12] Kellie died on 18 January 2017 at the age of 69 after a short illness,[13][14][15] and Mike Harrison died on 25 March 2018 at the age of 72.[16]
Wright died on September 4, 2023, at his home in California at the age of 80. In his final years, he had been suffering from both Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.[17][18][19]
The band were featured in the 1970 documentaryGroupies.[citation needed]
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| 1967 – 1969 | 1969 – 1970 | 1970 | 1970 |
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| 1970 – 1972 | 1972 – 1973 | 1973 – 1974 | 1974 |
Disbanded |
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| 1974 – 1998 | 1998 – 1999 | 1999 – 2004 | 2004 |
Disbanded |
| Disbanded |
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| 2004 – 2008 | 2008 – 2009 | 2009 | 2010 – 2020 |
Disbanded |
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| Disbanded |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| International | |
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| National | |
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