Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

boom of the 1960s. Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, under-appreciated figure of early British R&B", along with Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner. Jack Bruce, John McLaughlin and

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

first achieved prominence in his group, the Graham Bond Organisation. Bond was voted Britain's New Jazz Star in 1961. He was an early user of the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

/ Leslie speaker combination in British rhythm and blues Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 69 – he "split" the Hammond for portability – and was the first rock artist to record using a Mellotron. As such he was a major influence upon later rock keyboardists: Deep Purple's Jon Lord said "He taught me, hands on, most of what I know about the Hammond organ".

Biography

Bond was born in

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Adopted from a Dr Barnardo's home, he was educated at the Royal Liberty School in Gidea Park, East London, where he learned music. His first jazz gig was in 1960 with the Goudie Charles Quintet, staying for a year. He first gained national attention as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist as a member of the Don Rendell Quintet, then briefly joined Alexis Korner's Blues IncorporatedNewman, Richard: 'John Mayall Bluesbreaker', Sanctuary Music Library, Castle Communications plc 1995 p121 before forming the Graham Bond Quartet, a jazz group, with musicians he met in the Korner group,

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

and Jack Bruce on

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, together with John McLaughlin on

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and himself on saxophone. Tracks from this 1962-63 GBQ lineup can be heard on the album ''Solid Bond''. Deciding to switch to Blues, as it was gaining popularity in England, and keeping the rhythm section of Bruce and Baker from the jazz quartet whilst adding Dick Heckstall-Smith on saxophones, Bond now instead played the Hammond organ and sang. This lineup became the The Graham Bond Organisation (GBO), and released their 1st album, '' The Sound of '65'' in February of that year. Their 2nd album ''There's A Bond Between Us'', October 1965, is considered the first recording of rock music that uses a Mellotron. The group was plagued by substance abuse problems, particularly Bond's, as well as the relentless bickering between Baker and Bruce. Due to his declining situation, Bond entrusted running of the band to Baker, who then used that power to fire Bruce, which saw the band continue, albeit with declining success as a trio. Baker would leave soon after to start his own band, with the first invite going to Eric Clapton, at the time guitarist with the UK's premier blues band, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Clapton accepted with the caveat that Jack Bruce be added as vocalist and bassist. Meanwhile, the Organisation carried on as a trio with Jon Hiseman on drums, but Bond's mental and physical health continued to deteriorate, until the band eventually dissolved in 1967. The group's lack of commercial success is generally put down to Bond being "unable to find a commercially successful niche. Some jazz fans regarded Bond's band as too noisy and rock-based, while the pop audience found his music complicated and too jazzy". Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman went on to form

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

, recording Bond's song "Walkin' in the Park" for their first album. According to John Steel, in that same period over the 1960s, Bond gave the rock band

The Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

their name before they hit fame after seeing them perform at the a’Gogo in Newcastle. After the break-up of the Organisation, Bond continued to exhibit mental disorders, with manic episodes and periods of intense depression, exacerbated by heavy drug use. Moving to America, he recorded two albums and performed session work for Harvey Mandel and Dr. John among others, but he returned to England in 1969. He then formed Graham Bond Initiation with his new wife Diane Stewart, who shared his interest in magick, and in 1970 Holy Magick, which recorded a self-titled album and ''We Put Our Magick on You''. He was also re-united with old band members while playing saxophone in Ginger Baker's Air Force and spending a short time in the Jack Bruce Band. ''Solid Bond'', a double-album compiling live tracks recorded in 1963 by the Graham Bond Quartet (Bond, McLaughlin, Bruce and Baker) and a studio session from 1966 by the Graham Bond Organisation (Bond, Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman) was released that same year. In 1972 he teamed up with Pete Brown to record ''Two Heads are Better Than One''. He also recorded an album with the John Dummer Band in 1973, although this was not released until 2008. After the near-simultaneous collapse of his band and his marriage, Bond then formed Magus with British folk-singer Carolanne Pegg and bassist Pete Macbeth, which disbanded around Christmas 1973 without recording. During that same period, he discovered American singer-songwriter-guitarist Mick Lee, and they played together live but never recorded. Plans to include Chris Wood of

Traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

never materialized due to Bond's death. Bond's financial affairs were in chaos, and the years of lack of commercial success and the recent demise of Magus had badly hurt his pride. Throughout his career he had been hampered by severe bouts of

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, and spent January 1973 in hospital after a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. According to Harry Shapiro, in his biography ''The Mighty Shadow'', Bond was considered as a possible replacement for Patrick Moraz in

Refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

. On 8 May 1974, Bond was run over by a train at Finsbury Park station and died at the age of 36. Most sources list the death as a

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 ...

. Friends agree that he was off drugs, although becoming increasingly obsessed with the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

(he believed he was

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

's son). In 2015 his work was the focus of a two-hour special on the Dr Boogie radio show.

Discography

as The Graham Bond Organisation

* '' The Sound of '65'' (1965) * ''There's a Bond Between Us'' (1965) * ''Rock Generation'' Vols. 3 & 4 (1972, live recordings at Klooks Kleek 1964)

Other Bond-led Recordings

* ''Solid Bond'' 1963-1966 (Warner Bros 1970) * ''Wade In The Water (Classics, Origins & Oddities)'' 1963-1966 (Repertoire Records 4 CD set 2012) * ''Live At The BBC And Other Stories'' 1962-1972 (Repertoire Records 4 CD set 2015) * ''Love Is the Law'' (Pulsar, 1969, as Grahame Bond) * ''Mighty Grahame Bond'' (Pulsar, 1969, as Grahame Bond) * ''Holy Magick'' (Vertigo, December 1970) * ''We Put Our Magick on You'' (Vertigo, October 1971) * ''Two Heads Are Better Than One'' (with Pete Brown, 1972)

In Others Groups

* ''Roarin (with Don Rendell New Jazz Quartet, Jazzland, October 1961)

Bibliography

* Bob Brunning (1986), ''Blues: The British Connection'', London: Helter Skelter, 2002, * Bob Brunning, ''The

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

Story: Rumours and Lies'' Omnibus Press, 2004, foreword of B. B. King * Dick Heckstall-Smith (2004), ''The Safest Place in the World: A personal history of British Rhythm and blues'', Clear Books, – First Edition: ''Blowing The Blues – Fifty Years Playing The British Blues'' * Christopher Hjort, ''Strange brew:

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

and the British blues boom, 1965-1970'', foreword by John Mayall, Jawbone (2007), * Harry Shapiro, ''Alexis Korner: The Biography'', Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster * Harry Shapiro, ''Graham Bond: The Mighty Shadow'', Square One (UK), 1992 * Martyn Hanson: "Playing the Band – the musical life of Jon Hiseman". Temple Music, 2010.

References

External links

Graham Bond OrgGraham Bond Organisation Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Graham 1937 births 1974 deaths 1974 suicides 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers 20th-century English saxophonists Blues Incorporated members Johnny Burch Octet members English blues rock musicians British blues (genre) musicians English male saxophonists British rhythm and blues boom musicians English jazz saxophonists English male singers English rock keyboardists English rock saxophonists Ginger Baker's Air Force members John Dummer Band members People educated at the Royal Liberty Grammar School People from Romford People with bipolar disorder The Graham Bond Organisation members Suicides by train Suicides in Islington