Steampacket | |
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| Origin | London |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1965–1966 |
| Labels | Charly Records |
| Members | Long John Baldry Rod Stewart Julie Driscoll Brian Auger Vic Briggs Ricky Fenson Micky Waller |
Steampacket (sometimes shown asSteam Packet)[1] was a Britishbluesband[2] formed in 1965 byLong John Baldry withRod Stewart,Julie Driscoll, and organistBrian Auger.
A musical revue rather than a single group,[3][4] Steampacket was formed in 1965 byLong John Baldry after the break-up of his previous group the Hoochie Coochie Men.[5] It includedRod Stewart who had been with Baldry in the Hoochie Coochie Men, vocalistJulie Driscoll, organistBrian Auger, guitaristVic Briggs, Richard Brown akaRicky Fenson on bass guitar andMicky Waller on drums. They were managed byGiorgio Gomelsky,[6] who had previously been involved withthe Rolling Stones andthe Yardbirds.
Steampacket played at various clubs, theatres and student unions around the country, including supporting the Rolling Stones on their 1965 British tour.[7][8] Because of contractual difficulties, however, they never formally recorded a studio or live album. Tracks from some demo tapes they recorded at a rehearsal in theMarquee Club were released in 1970 on the French label BYG asRock Generation: Volume 6 - The Steampacket (Or the First Supergroup).[9] The same material was later re-released under other titles, includingFirst of the Supergroups: Early Days andThe First Supergroup: Steampacket Featuring Rod Stewart, to cash in on Stewart's success.[10][11]
Stewart left in early 1966, followed by Long John Baldry a few months later, and the group disbanded soon after. Long John Baldry then joinedBluesology which included a then unknownElton John on keyboards,[12][13] before pursuing a solo career, having a number 1hit record in theUK Singles Chart in 1967 with "Let the Heartaches Begin".Julie Driscoll,Brian Auger andVic Briggs formedTrinity, with Briggs departing later in 1966 to joinEric Burdon and The Animals. Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity had a UK hit in 1968 with "This Wheel's on Fire". Rod Stewart later sang withthe Jeff Beck Group, theFaces and as a solo artist. There is an urban legend thatPeter Green andMick Fleetwood, later ofFleetwood Mac, played with Steampacket. In fact Steampacket, with the exception of Rod Stewart's departure, had the same personnel from its inception to its disintegration. The group that Green and Fleetwood played in alongside Rod Stewart wasShotgun Express.[14]
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