Cupid's Inspiration are a British pop group, active with various line up changes since 1968 when they had two hit singles. The band are currently on the road with original drummer Roger Gray re-joining the veteran line up of Paul Shanahan and Bob Poole with Paul Thomas on vocals.

Career

Originally from Stamford,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, the band were at first called The EndsLarkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 137 (no relation to

The End The End may refer to: Film * The End (1953 film), ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * The End (1978 film), ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1995 film), a List of Canadian films of 1995, Cana ...

). The group scored two

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

on the UK Singles Chart in 1968. "Yesterday Has Gone", originally a hit for

Little Anthony and The Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

, reached No. 4 in July of that year, and "My World" went to No. 33 in October. In 1970, lead singer Terry Rice-Milton the vocalist on the hit singles left, replaced by John Lynch and then Martin Cure, who added several musicians from Leamington to the line-up so none of the hit making band remained after these changes. Rice-Milton had his third hit with "

You're My World "You're My World" is a cover of Italian ballad originally recorded in 1963 as "Il mio mondo" ("My World") by Umberto Bindi, who co-wrote the original version with Gino Paoli. Subsequently, an English version was commissioned, and the lyrics wer ...

" in 1970 (a song that had previously been a hit for

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles "A ...

), while bass player

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later joined

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

. By 1978, the band began writing and recording heavier rock songs. These were performed under a different name, initially '4 Wheel Drive', which they soon changed to 'Chevy', to avoid alienating Cupid's Inspiration fans. They recruited

Steve Walwyn Stephen Martin Walwyn (born 8 June 1956 in Southam, Warwickshire, England) is an English rhythm and blues guitarist, best known for his playing with Dr. Feelgood (band), Dr. Feelgood, but who has also played with Eddie and the Hot Rods, Steve Ma ...

, later of Dr. Feelgood to give a "twin guitar" sound. As 'Chevy' they toured supporting bands such as

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and Gillan. Chevy recorded two BBC In Concert Programmes, issued three singles: "Too Much Loving" / "See the Light", "The Taker" / "Life on the Run" and "Just Another Day" / "Rock On" and one album ''The Taker'', released in September 1980. In the 1990s and early 2000s, some of the original group played reunion shows with other bands from the era. In 2010, Bob Poole returned from 18 years in Germany and together with Paul Shanahan, ex Peppermint Circus vocalist Paul Thomas, and ex Ben E King and Barbara Dickinson drummer Rick Medlock reformed Cupid's Inspiration later replacing Rick Medlock with Roger Gray, the original band drummer who played on all the records who had left in 1972. In September 2012, founder members Terry Rice-Milton and Laughton James, together with Bernie Lee, who was a member during 1968/69, and drummer Tony Peck from The Ends played a reunion concert in their home town of Stamford, which they are hoping to repeat in 2014. The band's hit single, featuring Terry-Rice Milton, "Yesterday Has Gone" (

written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

Teddy Randazzo Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo (May 13, 1935 – November 21, 2003) was an American pop songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, who composed hit songs such as " Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", " Pretty Blue Eyes", ...

and Victoria Pike) has featured on many

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s, including '' Sixties Power Ballads – The Greatest Driving Anthems in the World... Ever!'' (2007) as well as their original album ''Yesterday Has Gone'' (1969).

Members

*Terry Rice-Milton (born Terence Bull, 5 June 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire – lead vocals (to 1970) *Laughton James (born James Laughton, 21 December 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire) –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

ist (to October 1968) *Garfield Tonkin (born John Sharpe, 28 September 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire) – keyboards (to 1969) *Wyndham George (born Geoffrey Wyndham Hart, 20 February 1947, Stamford, Lincolnshire; died 4 June 2022) – guitar (to October 1968) *Bernie Lee (born July 1943,

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

) – lead guitar (October 1968 to 1970) (ex-Umbrella) *

(born Gordon Hionides, 27 April 1946,

Verwood Verwood is a town and civil parish in eastern Dorset, England. The town lies north of Bournemouth and north east of Poole as the crow flies. The civil parish comprises the town of Verwood together with the extended village of Three Legged Cr ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

) – bass (October 1968 to 1969) *Roger Gray (born 29 April 1947, Stamford) –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s (to 1972 and 2014) *David Morris (London) –

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has si ...

(1969 onwards) *Derek Needham (born 10 October 1945,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) – bass (1969–71) *Martin Cure – lead vocals (1970 to 2008) *Paul Shanahan – lead guitar/vocals (1970 to 1985 and 2010 to 2014) *Jim Batty – guitar (1985 to 2008) *Bob Poole – bass guitar/vocals (1970 to 1985 and 2010 to 2014) *Andy Chaplin – drums (1970 to 1981) *Eamonn Carr – guitar/vocals (1972) *Paul Brooke – drums (1981 to 2008) *Keith Hancock – bass (1987 to 2008) *Ted Duggan – drums (1987 to 2008) *Paul Thomas – vocals (2010 to 2014) *Kevan Towning (2017 to present) *Barry Scott (2017 to present) *Rick Medlock – drums (2010 to 2013)

References

External links

The original Cupid's Inspiration, Featuring Terry Rice-Milton

Cupids Inspiration official web site

laughton james cupids inspiration history site.
{{Authority control English pop music groups Musical groups established in 1968 Music in Lincolnshire Stamford, Lincolnshire