Mud are an English

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

band, formed in February 1966. Their earlier success came in a pop and then glam rock style, while later hits were influenced by 1950s

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

, and they are best remembered for their hit

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

Dyna-mite "Dyna-mite" is a 1973 single, written by the songwriting team of Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. It was originally written for the Sweet, who rejected it, and later inherited by the English glam rock band Mud. Chapman and Chinn produced the song as ...

", "

Tiger Feet Tiger Feet is a popular song by the English glam rock band Mud, released in January 1974. Written and produced by the songwriting team of Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, it was the first of three number No. 1 singles for the band, in the UK Single ...

", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974, and "

Lonely This Christmas "Lonely This Christmas" is a Christmas song by the English glam rock band Mud, that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974, selling more than 750,000 copies and reaching Christmas number one. Song Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Ch ...

" which reached Christmas number 1 in December 1974. After signing to Rak Records and teaming up with songwriters/

producers Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes t ...

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the US and UK in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international record c ...

and

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro ...

, the band had fourteen UK Top 20 hits between 1973 and 1976, including three number ones.

History

Mud

1966–1972: the early years

The band was founded by lead guitarist Rob Davis, lead vocalist

Les Gray Thomas Leslie Gray (9 April 1946 – 21 February 2004) was an English musician best known for his work with glam rock pop band Mud (band), Mud. Gray was also known for his distinctive vocal impersonator, impersonation of Elvis Presley, as well ...

, drummer Dave Mount (born 3 March 1947, Carshalton; died 2 December 2006, St Helier Hospital, Carshalton) and bassist Ray Stiles (born 20 November 1946,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

, Surrey). The band released their debut single "Flower Power" on CBS in 1967, but were not immediately successful. Three further singles in 1967/68, "Up the Airy Mountain"/"The Latter Days", "Shangri-La"/"House on the Hill" and "Jumping Jehosophat"/"Won't Let It Go", made no impression on the UK Singles Chart. The band appeared on ''The

Basil Brush Basil Brush is a fictional fox best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts, books, annuals and comic strips. The char ...

Show'' on

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios ...

, and toured as support for Jack Jones.

1973–1976: the golden years

After years of unsuccessful singles, they were signed to

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...

's Rak

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

, and had three

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...

successes in 1973 with "Crazy" (No. 12), "Hypnosis" (No. 16) and "

" (No. 4). At the peak of their career, they also enjoyed British number one singles with "

"; and "

" (1974), an affectionate

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

pastiche; plus " Oh Boy" (1975), a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

of the

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

, which also featured on their album ''Mud Rock Volume 2''. "Tiger Feet" sold over 500,000 copies in the UK and a million copies globally. Like contemporaries

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

, their most successful period came when their records were

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 ...

and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman: in 1975 they had seven singles in the UK Top 40 totalling over 45 weeks on the chart, the most by any artist in 1975. "Oh Boy" was the only number one single produced by Chinn and Chapman that they did not also write. "

" got seasonal airplay on British

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and television, (along with

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

's "

Merry Xmas Everybody "Merry Xmas Everybody" (stylised as "Merry Xmaƨ Everybody") is a song by the British rock band Slade, released as a non-album single in 1973. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and it was produced by Chas ...

" and

Wizzard Wizzard were an English rock band formed by Roy Wood, former member of the Move and co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'' states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings was Paul McCar ...

's "

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", sometimes written as "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day", is a Christmas song recorded by English glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was ...

"). The band also embraced the burgeoning

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

craze, as exemplified on their 1976 single "Shake It Down" which reached No. 12 in the UK chart. After "Tiger Feet" they released "The Cat Crept In" which reached No. 2 in April 1974, which was written to exploit Les Gray's vocal impression of Presley. Their next single "Rocket" reached No. 6 in the UK, after which they released another track from their album ''Mud Rock Volume 1'', a cover of "

In the Mood "In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by Americans, American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was re ...

". This was released under the band name "Dum" (which is both "Mud" spelt backwards and on a largely instrumental single, hence a pun on "dumb"), but it failed to chart. After the success with "Lonely This Christmas", they cracked the

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

market with "The Secrets That You Keep", which reached No. 3 in February 1975. Around this time Mud wound up their contract with Rak releasing three further singles, " Oh Boy" (their third and final UK No. 1), "Moonshine Sally" (No. 10) and "One Night" (No. 32). Mud also split from Chinn and Chapman in mid-1975 and signed to Private Stock (licensed to

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

in Continental Europe). There they enjoyed three more British Top 20 hits within seven months: "L'L'Lucy" (No. 10), the ballad "Show Me You're a Woman" (No. 8) and the disco-influenced track "Shake It Down" (No. 12). The latter two singles saw them gradually moving away from glam rock, which was now unfashionable. Keyboardist Andy Ball, formerly of

Candlewick Green Candlewick Green were a five-piece English pop group, formed in the 1970s. It is best known for its song, "Who Do You Think You Are" (1974), also recorded by artists such as Jigsaw and Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods. The group's name is an allus ...

, joined Mud in 1975, and was with the band during their time on the Private Stock label. Ball left the band in 1977 and was replaced by Brian Tatum. Their last single to reach the British charts was a cover of the

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

song " Lean on Me" which reached No. 7 in the UK in December 1976.

1977–1980: downfall to disbanding

"Lean on me" was followed by in 1977 Gray's solo version of "

Groovy Kind of Love "A Groovy Kind of Love" is a song written by Toni Wine and Carole Bayer Sager based on a melody by the classical composer Muzio Clementi. The original rendition was recorded by American singing duo Diane & Annita and released as "Groovey Kind of ...

" on

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, which peaked at No. 32 in the UK. Also in 1977, with Private Stock in financial difficulties, the band moved to

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

. Their first single on RCA was "Slow Talking Boy", a

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

song composed by

John Kongos John Theodore Kongos (born 6 August 1945) is a South African singer and songwriter of Greek ancestry, best known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " He's Gonna Step on You Again", on which Happy Mondays based their hit " Step On". His other big hit ...

, and featuring Davis playing a Vox 12-string guitar-mandolin; they performed this song on BBC TV's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'', but without reaping any chart success. Mud's next single, "(Just Try) A Little Tenderness", was their final appearance on any major national chart, stalling at No. 98 in Australia. Three more singles, all cover versions, followed in 1978 before

dropped the band and Gray quit for a solo career. The original band continued for a short while with female lead vocalist Margo Buchanan in Gray's place, releasing a commercially unsuccessful single for Carrere in 1979 titled "Drop Everything and Run". Another single with Margo Buchanan on lead vocals, "Rico", was released in 1980, this time under the band name "Ring" instead of "Mud". The band finally disbanded in 1980.

Aftermath

Following the band's dissolution, Stiles joined the

Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and rh ...

; whilst Davis went on to co-write several highly successful

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

hits for

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

and

Spiller Cristiano Spiller (born 3 April 1975) is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, I ...

featuring

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and ...

. Drummer Mount went into the insurance business. Mount appeared on an episode of ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...

'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

in November 2005, and featured in the "spot the pop star of the past" identity parade segment. He had been married twice and worked as a salesman latterly. His

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

appeared in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspaper. The last performance by the four original members was on 3 March 1990 at Dave Mount's wedding; a

video recording Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...

of which was made by Mount.

1980–2004: Les Gray's Mud

After the original band broke up in 1980, Gray reformed the band as 'Les Gray's Mud'. The initial lineup featured Stuart Amesbury (rhythm guitar) and Cherie Beck (backing vocals) of the

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

-based Cherie Beck Band; together with Dale Fry (bass), Nick Richie (lead guitar) and Rob John (drums); with the latter two being replaced in 1983 by guitarist Tim Fish and drummer Mark Hatwood respectively. Mud played at

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, a ...

Oxford's

May Ball A May Ball is a ball (dance), ball at the end of the academic term, academic year that takes place at any of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. They are elaborate and lavish formal affairs, requiring black tie or sometimes white tie, w ...

in summer 1983. In 1985, a further lineup change saw Amesbury, Beck, and Fry depart the band; with the new lineup being rounded out by Kevin Fairburn on bass. In 1987, all members with the exception of Gray departed the band, and Gray brought in bassist John Berry, drummer Wole Rothe, and guitarist Syd Twynham as replacements. Rothe and Twynham had both been members of

Liquid Gold Liquid Gold was an English disco group, from Brackley in Northamptonshire. Their biggest success came in 1980 with " Dance Yourself Dizzy", which peaked at number two on the UK chart. Career Liquid Gold was formed by Ray Knott and Ellie Hope, w ...

prior to joining Mud. This lineup lasted until 1998 when Rothe was replaced by Phil Wilson, and the band underwent no further changes until Gray died in 2004.

2005–present: Mud II

Following Gray's death, the three remaining members were given permission by the other founding members of Mud, plus that of Gray's family, to continue using the band's name. Berry, Twynham, and Wilson then rechristened the band 'Mud II' and recruited keyboardist and longterm Mud collaborator Chris Savage. The following year, Berry left (to focus on performing with

) and was replaced by Marc Michalski, creating a lineup of the band which continued until April 2023, when Chris Millward replaced Phil Wilson on drums. Mount died on 2 December 2006, aged 59, from an apparent

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. A short version of "Tiger Feet" was played at the opening ceremony of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

2015–present: Mud revived

Since 2015, founder members Rob Davis and Ray Stiles have been performing together again under the band name 'Mud', alongside Ian Parker, Keith Read and Pete Phipps.

Personnel

Members

;Current members (Mud) * Rob Davis - lead guitar, vocals (1966–1980, 2015–present) * Ray Stiles - bass guitar, lead vocals (1966–1980, 2015–present) * Ian Parker - keyboards and vocals (2015–present) * Keith Read - rhythm guitar and vocals (2015–present) *

Pete Phipps Peter William Phipps (born 5 August 1951) is a rock drummer, singer and songwriter known for his work with Gary Glitter, the Glitter Band, and later Eurythmics, XTC and Denim (band), Denim. He is currently a member of both the Glitter Band and ...

- drums and vocals (2015–present) ;Current members (Mud II) * Syd Twynham - lead guitar, lead vocals (1987-present) * Chris Savage - keyboards (2004-present) * Marc Michalski - bass guitar (2005-present) * Chris Millward - drums, percussion (2023-present) ;Former members (Mud) *

- lead vocals, keyboards (1966–1978, 1980–2004; his death) * Dave Mount - drums, percussion (1966–1980; died 2006) * Andy Ball - keyboards (1975–1977) * Brian Tatum - keyboards (1977–1980) *

Margo Buchanan Margo Buchanan is a Scottish singer-songwriter, composer, musician, and recording artist. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Buchanan is best known for her work as a session backing vocalist. Early years Margo Buchanan was born in Lanark, ...

- lead vocals (1979–1980) ;Former members (Les Gray's Mud / Mud II) * Stuart Amesbury - rhythm guitar (1980–1985) * Cherie Beck - backing vocals (1980–1985) * Dale Fry - bass guitar (1980–1985) * Rob John - drums, percussion (1980–1983) * Nick Richie - lead guitar (1980–1983) * Tim Fish - lead guitar (1983–1987) * Mark Hatwood - drums, percussion (1983–1987) * Kevin Fairburn - bass guitar (1985–1987) * John Berry - bass guitar (1987–2005) * Wole Rother - drums, percussion (1987–1998) * Phil Wilson - drums, percussion (1998-2023)

Lineups

Timeline

Discography

Studio Albums *''Mud Rock Volume 1'' (1974) *''Mud Rock Volume 2'' (1975) *''Use Your Imagination'' (1975) *''It's Better Than Working'' (1976) *''Rock On'' (1978) *''As You Like It'' (1979) *''Mud Featuring Les Gray'' (1982)

References

External links

Mud biography at the Allmusic website

BBC Top of the Pops Mud section

Mud's discography, chart positions

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mud Musical groups established in 1968 English glam rock groups English musical quartets Rak Records artists