Widowmaker were a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
hard rock group, active from 1975 to 1977. They were considered by many to be a
supergroup and released two albums. Although their influences appeared to offer vast creative possibilities, musical and personality differences led to their break-up. The legacy of Widowmaker is captured on the compilation ''Straight Faced Fighters'' (2002) released by
Castle, which includes tracks from both of their albums.
History
The band was formed by former
Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fai ...
and
Spooky Tooth guitarist
Luther Grosvenor
Luther James Grosvenor (born 23 December 1946) is an English rock musician, who played guitar in Spooky Tooth, briefly in Stealers Wheel and, under the pseudonym Ariel Bender, in Mott the Hoople and Widowmaker.
Grosvenor was born in Evesham ...
, also known as Ariel Bender. The original line-up featured vocalist
Steve Ellis from
Love Affair, guitarist
Huw Lloyd-Langton
Richard Hugh "Huw" Lloyd-Langton (6 February 1951 – 6 December 2012) was an English musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band HawkwindStrong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canongate, , p. 466 at various times. ...
from
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
, Australian bassist Bob Daisley of
Chicken Shack and drummer
Paul Nicholls who had played with
Lindisfarne.
A few months after they had begun rehearsing at
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...
's Manticore Studios in London, the quintet were signed to
Jet Records
Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum.
History
...
owned by
Don Arden
Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman. He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Move, Black Sabbat ...
.
A single release "On the Road" followed, in February 1976 and their debut album ''
Widowmaker'' was released in the same year.
The line-up for ''Widowmaker'' was augmented in the
studio by vocalist and guitarist
Bobby Tench
Robert Tench (born 21 September 1944) is a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger.
Tench is best known for his work with Freddie King and Van Morrison, as well as being a member of The Jeff Beck Group, Humble Pie, Street ...
from
Streetwalkers and
Hammond player
Zoot Money
George Bruno Money (born 17 July 1942) is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was draw ...
. ''Widowmaker'' reached #196 in US and featured an eclectic mix of blues, country, folk and hard rock.
Widowmaker toured the UK with Nazareth (band), Nazareth and in June 1976 they took part in a series of nationwide stadium all-day concerts under the name of ''The Who Put The Boot In'' alongside leading Rock music, rock acts such as Little Feat, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band,
Streetwalkers and The Who, who were the headline act.
Ellis left the band after a tour of North America with Electric Light Orchestra and was replaced by vocalist John Butler and the band recorded their second album ''Too Late to Cry (Widowmaker album), Too Late to Cry''.
Daisley joined Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow and Widowmaker broke up after the release of ''Too Late to Cry'' (February 1977).
Discography
*''
Widowmaker'', Jet 2310 432 (1976)
*''Too Late to Cry (Widowmaker album), Too Late to Cry'', (1977)
*''Straight Faced Fighters'', (2002) (compilation, includes previously unreleased radio sessions)
Singles
Taken from the album ''
Widowmaker''
*"On the Road"/"Pin a Rose on Me", Jet JET 766 (1976)
*"When I Met You"/"Pin a Rose on Me", Jet JET 767 (1976)
*"Pin a Rose on Me"/"On the Road", Jet JET 782 (1976) – UK No.53
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
English rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1975
Musical groups disestablished in 1977