Stretch | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Blues rock,pop rock |
| Years active | 1974–79, 2007–present |
| Labels | Anchor,Repertoire |
| Members | Kirby Gregory Elmer Gantry Jim Scadding Justin Hildreth |
| Past members | Paul Martinez Craig Collinge John Wilkinson Jim Russell Hiroshi Kato Dave Evans John Cook Steve Emery Jeff Rich Nicko McBrain Chris Mercer |
Stretch were a 1970s Britishrock band that grew from the collaboration between vocalistElmer Gantry (real name Dave Terry) and guitaristKirby Gregory (real name Graham Gregory). Gantry had been the frontman ofElmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, and Kirby had been a member ofCurved Air.[1]
The band was put together in 1974 with help fromFleetwood Mac managerClifford Davis and drummerMick Fleetwood,[1] to perform as Fleetwood Mac on a U.S. tour because the existing Fleetwood Mac were not in a position to fulfil outstanding contractual obligations. However, Fleetwood did not join the tour as planned, and later denied any knowledge or involvement, and partway through the tour it became obvious to audiences that there was no original member of Fleetwood Mac in the band, and the tour collapsed. Bass playerPaul Martinez claimed, "Mick Fleetwood pulled out at the last minute claiming not to know who we were!"[2][3]
Stretch rose from the ashes of this debacle, and soon had a No. 16 hit single in November 1975 with "Why Did You Do It?",[4] the lyric of which was a direct attack on Mick Fleetwood for his failure to join the band on the ill-fated U.S. tour.[5] In the eventual video for the record, the bass player was Steve Emery who wore a traditionalkeffiyeh head-dress.[6] On the original studio recording, Elmer Gantry sang the vocals, Paul Martinez was on bass, the guitarist was Kirby with Jim Russell on drums and tambourine, the single also featured electric guitar by Hiroshi Kato andhorns by Bud Beadle,Chris Mercer, Mick Eve, Mike Bailey and Ron Carthy.[7] The band followed the single up with the albumElastique, but during the recording of this album, Martinez was sacked.[5]
Drummer Jim Russell left the band before the recording of the second album,You Can't Beat Your Brain for Entertainment, due to musical differences.[5] He was replaced by futureStatus Quo drummerJeff Rich. Two more albums were made, but Gantry left before the last album,Forget the Past. Another blow came in 1979 when manager Davis decided to withdraw his financial input,[5] and the band eventually split up.
In 1999, Italian DJGigi D'Agostino used distorted vocal samples from the first line of the song "Why Did You Do It?", in order to produce his own track "Bla Bla Bla".
Stretch reformed in 2007 to coincide with a "Greatest Hits" collection, and toured in support of theJeff Healey Band.[8]
In 2011, the band released the albumUnfinished Business, an 11-track recording forRepertoire Records including original songs, covers and a new version of "Why Did You Do It?".
In 2012, German producer Ferry Ultra recorded a version of "Why Did You Do It?" featuring Canadian vocalistAshley Slater for the albumFerry Ultra and the Homeless Funkers.[9]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] | AUS [10] | |||
| 1975 | "Why Did You Do It" | 16 | 92 | |
| 1976 | "That's the Way the Wind Blows" | — | — | |
| "Loves Got a Hold on Me" | — | — | ||
| 1977 | "Fixin' to Die" | — | — | |
| 1978 | "Forget the Past" | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
