Graham Bond | |
|---|---|
 Bond, c. 1970 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Grahame Bond |
| Born | Graham John Clifton Bond (1937-10-28)28 October 1937 Romford, England |
| Died | 8 May 1974(1974-05-08) (aged 36) Finsbury Park station, London, England |
| Genres | Rhythm and blues,blues-rock,blues,jazz |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards, saxophone, vocals |
| Years active | 1960s–1974 |
| Labels | Decca |
| Website | grahambond.org |
Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the Englishrhythm and blues boom of the 1960s.
Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, under-appreciated figure of early British R&B",[1] along withCyril Davies andAlexis Korner.Jack Bruce,John McLaughlin andGinger Baker first achieved prominence in his group,the Graham Bond Organisation. Bond was voted Britain's New Jazz Star in 1961.[2][3] He was an early user of theHammond organ/Leslie speaker combination inBritish rhythm and blues[4] – he "split" the Hammond for portability – and was the first rock artist to record using aMellotron.[4] As such he was a major influence upon later rock keyboardists:Deep Purple'sJon Lord said: "He taught me, hands on, most of what I know about the Hammond organ."[5]
Bond was born inRomford,Essex, England. Adopted from aDr Barnardo's home,[4] he was educated at theRoyal Liberty School inGidea Park, East London, where he learned music.[4] His first jazz gig was in 1960 with the Goudie Charles Quintet, staying for a year.
He first gained national attention as ajazzsaxophonist as a member of theDon Rendell Quintet, then briefly joinedAlexis Korner'sBlues Incorporated[6] before forming the Graham Bond Quartet, a jazz group, with musicians he met in the Korner group,Ginger Baker ondrums andJack Bruce ondouble bass,[6] together withJohn McLaughlin onguitar and himself on saxophone. Tracks from this 1962-63 GBQ lineup can be heard on the albumSolid Bond.
Deciding to switch to blues, as it was gaining popularity in England, and keeping the rhythm section of Bruce and Baker from the jazz quartet while addingDick Heckstall-Smith on saxophones, Bond now instead played the Hammond organ and sang. This lineup becameThe Graham Bond Organisation (GBO), and released their first album,The Sound of '65, in February of that year. Their second albumThere's A Bond Between Us (October 1965), is considered the first recording of rock music that uses aMellotron.[7]
The group was plagued by substance abuse problems, particularly Bond's, as well as the relentless bickering between Baker and Bruce. Due to his declining situation, Bond entrusted running of the band to Baker, who then used that power to fire Bruce, which saw the band continue, albeit with declining success as a trio. Baker would leave soon after to start his own band, with the first invite going toEric Clapton, at the time guitarist with the UK's premier blues band,John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Clapton accepted, with the caveat that Jack Bruce be added as vocalist and bassist. Meanwhile, the Organisation carried on as a trio withJon Hiseman on drums, but Bond's mental and physical health continued to deteriorate, until the band eventually dissolved in 1967. The group's lack of commercial success is generally put down to Bond being "unable to find a commercially successful niche. Some jazz fans regarded Bond's band as too noisy and rock-based, while the pop audience found his music complicated and too jazzy".[4] Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman went on to formColosseum, recording Bond's song "Walkin' in the Park" fortheir first album.[4] According toJohn Steel, in that same period over the 1960s, Bond gave the rock bandThe Animals their name before they hit fame after seeing them perform at the Club a'Gogo inNewcastle.[8]
After the break-up of the Organisation, Bond continued to exhibit mental disorders, with manic episodes and periods of intensedepression, exacerbated by heavy drug use.[4] Moving to America, he recorded two albums and performed session work forHarvey Mandel andDr. John, among others, but he returned to England in 1969.[4] Hw then formed the Graham Bond Initiation with his new wife Diane Stewart, who shared his interest inmagick, and in 1970 Holy Magick, which recorded a self-titled album andWe Put Our Magick on You. He was also re-united with old band members while playing saxophone inGinger Baker's Air Force and spending a short time in the Jack Bruce Band.[4]Solid Bond, a double-album compiling live tracks recorded in 1963 by the Graham Bond Quartet (Bond, McLaughlin, Bruce and Baker) and a studio session from 1966 by the Graham Bond Organisation (Bond, Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman) was released that same year.
In 1972, Bond teamed up withPete Brown to recordTwo Heads are Better Than One.[4] He also recorded an album with theJohn Dummer Band in 1973, although this was not released until 2008. After the near-simultaneous collapse of his band and his marriage, Bond then formed Magus with British folk-singerCarolanne Pegg and bassist Pete Macbeth, which disbanded around Christmas 1973 without recording. During that same period, Bond discovered American singer-songwriter-guitarist Mick Lee, and they played together live but did not record. Plans to includeChris Wood ofTraffic never materialized due to Bond's death.[citation needed]
Bond's financial affairs were in chaos, and the years of lack of commercial success and the recent demise of Magus had badly hurt his pride.[citation needed] Throughout his career he had been hampered by severe bouts ofdrug addiction, and he spent January 1973 in hospital after anervous breakdown.[citation needed] According toHarry Shapiro, in his biographyThe Mighty Shadow, Bond was considered as a possible replacement forPatrick Moraz inRefugee.[citation needed] On 8 May 1974, Bond was run over by a train atFinsbury Park station and died at the age of 36. Most sources list the death as asuicide. Friends agree that he was off drugs, although becoming increasingly obsessed with theoccult (he believed he wasAleister Crowley's son).[9]
In 2015, Bond's work was the focus of a two-hour special on theDr Boogie radio show.[10]
