Argent
Argent in 1973
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Rock[1] progressive rock[2] hard rock[2] pop rock[2]
Years active	1969–1976, 2010-2013
Spinoffs	Phoenix
Spinoff of	The Zombies,The Roulettes
Past members	Rod Argent Bob Henrit Jim Rodford Russ Ballard John Verity John Grimaldi

Argent were a Britishrock band formed in 1969 by formerZombies keyboardistRod Argent. They had three UK Top 40 singles: "Hold Your Head Up", which reached No. 5 and spent 12 weeks on the chart, "Tragedy" (No. 34), and "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" (No. 18). Two of their albums charted in the UK:All Together Now, which peaked at No. 13 in 1972, andIn Deep, which spent one week at No. 49 in 1973.^[3]

Rod Argent put together his eponymous-named band just as his former bandthe Zombies' post-breakup single "Time of the Season" was becoming a worldwide hit in 1969. His new band employed much heavier rhythms and a generally weightier sound, but also continued the minor keys and complex lyrics of the Zombies, often by Argent's writing with former Zombies bassistChris White. Guitarist and vocalistRuss Ballard also developed strong melodies and hit singles, writing a string of FM staples. The band was completed by bassistJim Rodford and drummerBob Henrit.^[1] Lead vocal duties were shared between Ballard and Argent.^[4]

Their first album,Argent, was critically acclaimed, if not a massive seller. It was a solid start and contained the song "Liar", which was subsequently covered byThree Dog Night. 1971'sRing of Hands was their second album and featured the minor hit "Sweet Mary".All Together Now was their third album, released in 1972. It featured the song that they are best remembered for: "Hold Your Head Up", which was a Top 5 hit in both UK and the US charts.^[3][5]

Their next album,In Deep, contained two more hits in "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" and "It's Only Money". 1974'sNexus was dominated by Rod Argent's writing, with Ballard only contributing 4 of the album's 9 songs. The album's centrepiece, "The Coming of Kohoutek", was inspired by that year's appearance of the comet of the same name. Uninspired by this change and seeking a vehicle for his prodigious songwriting, Ballard left after the album's release to pursue a successful career as a solo artist. Ballard's departure was followed by the release of the live albumEncore.

The band regrouped as a quintet with the addition of young virtuoso guitaristJohn Grimaldi and guitarist/vocalistJohn Verity. Both of their final albums,Circus and 1975'sCounterpoints, were poorly received and failed to sell, though their final concert tours were well attended. In 1975, John Grimaldi left the band. While Rod Argent considered whether to continue Argent, the remaining members (Henrit, Rodford and Verity) became Phoenix.

The original Argent lineup reunited at theHigh Voltage Festival inVictoria Park, London on 25 July 2010, and undertook a short five-date concert tour in December 2010, with gigs in Frome, Southampton, Wolverhampton, Leamington Spa, and London.^{[citation needed]}

Argent also reunited for a five-show tour from January to February 2012, before performing one last show at the Waterside Theatre inAylesbury as part of a benefit concert, on 2 June 2013, supportingthe Zombies, on a bill that also includedMarillion membersSteve Hogarth andSteve Rothery.^[6]

Rodford died after a fall on 20 January 2018, at age 76.^[7][8]

• Rod Argent – keyboards, backing and lead vocals (1969–1976, 2010, 2012, 2013)
• Bob Henrit – drums (1969–1976, 2010, 2012, 2013)
• Jim Rodford – bass guitar, backing vocals (1969–1976, 2010, 2012, 2013; died 2018)
• Russ Ballard – guitar, lead vocals (1969–1974, 2010, 2012, 2013)
• John Verity – guitar, lead vocals (1974–1976)
• John Grimaldi – guitar (1974–1976; died 1983)

Argent's biggesthit was the Rod Argent and Chris White composition "Hold Your Head Up", featuring lead vocals by Russ Ballard, from theAll Together Now album, which, in a heavily edited single form, reached No. 5 in the US. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded agold disc.^[9]

The sound of the band was a mix of rock and pop, but also covered moreprogressive rock territory in songs like "The Coming of Kohoutek", aninstrumental from theirNexus album. When Ballard left the band afterEncore, they took an even more progressive/fusion turn with their final Epic albumCircus^[1] and then signed to a new record label (RCA) for the final 1975 albumCounterpoints. By 2005, all albums, including compilations, have been re-released on CD, exceptCounterpoints.

Argent recorded the original version of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", written by Russ Ballard, which was covered byKiss in 1991 under the name "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II", and featured prominently at the end of the filmBill & Ted's Bogus Journey. The song also became a ContemporaryChristian rock anthem and was twice covered by the Christian Rock bandPetra, in 1977 (on the albumCome and Join Us) and again in 1984 (on the albumBeat the System), with new verses.^[10]

Some of Ballard's compositions became hits when they werecovered by other artists, includingRainbow ("Since You Been Gone", from the albumDown to Earth, and "I Surrender", from the albumDifficult to Cure),Kiss,Petra,Hello,Santana, and more recently the Brazilian metal bandOficina G3. The Russ Ballard song "Liar", on Argent's first album, became a hit forThree Dog Night in 1971^[11] and was also released as a single, ten years later, byGraham Bonnet (former Rainbow vocalist, who sang the vocal on "Since You Been Gone"), taken from his debut albumLine-Up.

Fish (former lead singer ofMarillion) recorded a version of "Hold Your Head Up" for his 1993 albumSongs from the Mirror, a selection of his favourite songs.^[12][13] The American bandPhish play an instrumental version of "Hold Your Head Up", usually as a transition into a "joke song" by drummerJon Fishman.^[14] "Hold Your Head Up" was covered in 1987 by the band 20/Twenty and (in the same year) by Australian groupthe Party Boys.^{[citation needed]}Mother Love Bone recorded a cover of "Hold Your Head Up" in 1989. Their version was released on a promotional only 7" vinyl in 1989. It was reissued on 7" vinyl in 2014 as a limited edition Black Friday Record Store Day release on Stardog/Republic Records.^{[citation needed]} The bandJellyfish opened most of their shows with an abbreviated version of "Hold Your Head Up".^{[citation needed]}

• The Best of Argent - An Anthology (Epic, 1976)
• Hold Your Head Up (1978)
• Music from the Spheres (1991)
• Greatest: The Singles Collection (2008)
• Argent: Original Album Classics [A collection of the band's first five albums in miniature album sleeves] (2009)
• God Gave Rock and Roll to You: The Greatest Hits (2010)
• Hold Your Head Up: The Best of Argent (2022)

• 1960s portal

• Media related toArgent (band) at Wikimedia Commons

• English hard rock musical groups
• English pop rock music groups
• English progressive rock groups
• Epic Records artists
• Musical groups established in 1968
• Musical groups disestablished in 1976
• 1968 establishments in England
• 1976 disestablishments in England

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