Mighty Baby were an English band formed in January 1969 by former members of

the Action The Action were an English band of the 1960s, formed as the Boys in August 1963, in Kentish Town, North West London. They were part of the mod subculture, and played soul music-influenced pop music. History 1963–1964: The Boys The band ...

. They released two

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''Mighty Baby'' (1969) and ''A Jug of Love'' (1971).

History

Following the 1968 departure of singer Reg King from

, keyboardist Ian Whiteman (who had joined in 1967 and then left the following year due to Reg King's unpredictable behaviour) returned to the group, sharing vocal duties with

Alan King Alan King (born Irwin Alan Kniberg; December 26, 1927 – May 9, 2004) was an American comedian, actor and satirist known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of films and televi ...

. Signing a recording contract with Head Records, the band changed its name to Mighty Baby (at the suggestion of Head Records' head John Curd), making its live debut under this name at

the Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circ ...

in January 1969, supporting

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

. Mighty Baby recorded its eponymous debut at

Morgan Studios Morgan Studios (founded as Morgan Sound Studios) was an independent recording studio in Willesden in northwest London. Founded in 1967, the studio was the location for recordings by notable artists and bands such as The Cure, Jethro Tull, the Ki ...

Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...

over two days in March 1969, produced by

Guy Stevens Guy Stevens (13 April 1943 – 28 August 1981) was a British music industry figure whose roles included DJ, record producer and band manager. He was influential in promoting R&B music in Britain in the 1960s, gave the rock bands Procol Harum ...

. The album, a collection of

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

songs, was released in November 1969 by Head Records in the UK, and on

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

in the US. Despite a low budget and the resultant low production values, ''Mighty Baby'' was critically lauded in the underground press; but Head Records was unable to effectively promote and distribute the album. In 2022, ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

''s

Jim Irvin James Lawrence Irvin is an English singer, songwriter, music journalist and podcast host. Irvin was a singer in the English new wave band Furniture, who had a UK hit single, in 1986 with Irvin's " Brilliant Mind". Irvin contributed to ''Melod ...

regarded ''Mighty Baby'' as "one of the great lost albums of the period; a facet of the shape-shifting, dawn-of-prog dynamic shared by contemporaries Traffic and Family; music rooted in R&B but revelling in the opportunity to go anywhere it likes".) Between the recording of their two albums, the band supplemented their

gigging Gigging is the practice of hunting fish or small game with a Trident, gig or similar multi-pronged spear. Commonly harvested wildlife include freshwater Catostomidae, suckers, saltwater flounder, and small game, such as frogs. A gig can refer t ...

income by playing a variety of recording sessions for others, including Robin Scott (''Woman From the Warm Grass''), Andy Roberts,

Keith Christmas Keith Peter Christmas (born 13 October 1946 in Wivenhoe, near Colchester, Essex, England) is an English singer and songwriter. He attended Bath University to read architecture but, because the Architecture School was, at that time, based in K ...

(''Stimulus'' and ''Fable of the Wings''),

Shelagh McDonald Shelagh McDonald (born 1948, Edinburgh) is a Scottish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist who released two albums before her abrupt disappearance in 1971. Nothing further was heard of her until 2005, when she made contact with the ''Scottish ...

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...

, and Gary Farr (''Take Something with You'', ''Strange Fruit''). Mighty Baby was the closing act on the first day of the

Isle of Wight Festival 1970 The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 was a music festival held between 26 and 30 August 1970 at Afton Down, an area on the western side of the Isle of Wight in England. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the islan ...

. Over the course of 1970 four of the five members of the band (Alan King being the exception) became Muslims, adherents of the

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

order; their second album, ''A Jug of Love'', released in October 1971, reflected the spiritual journey they had embarked on, sounding little like its predecessor; contemporary reviews were poor. In 2022, Mojo's Jim Irvin reviewed ''A Jug of Love'' thus: "a low-key masterpiece; six unhurried songs, a beautiful account of a band of musicians achieving long-searched-for musical concord; the closest, perhaps, that a British group has come to the transcendent togetherness of the Grateful Dead." The band's breakup at the end of 1971 was gradually precipitated by irreconcilable differences between group members' Muslim faith and the demands associated with being a secular rock band.

Post-breakup

In the years immediately following the band's breakup at the end of 1971, Martin Stone was a founding member of

Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers were one of the main British pub rock groups of the early 1970s. Later managed by Jake Riviera, who first worked for the band as a roadie, they reached their peak as part of the "Naughty Rhythms Tour" of ...

, Alan King was a founding member of

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

, and Roger Powell, Mike Evans and Ian Whiteman formed the Habibiyya. Leslie Berman claims that it was a meeting between Richard Thompson and the band that introduced Richard and

Linda Thompson Linda Diane Thompson (born May 23, 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show ''Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfrien ...

to the Sufi order. However, Richard Thompson claims to have discovered Sufism independently: although he'd met and worked with members of Mighty Baby before their 1971 breakup, it wasn't until 1972 (after Mighty Baby had broken up) that Thompson encountered Ian Whiteman, Roger Powell and Mike Evans at the first Sufi meeting he attended—after which they did indeed provide further encouragement and fellowship. Mike Evans died on 15 January 2010 in London. He was buried at Woodland Burial Park near

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

. A live concert, recorded at Malvern Winter Gardens in 1970, was released on the Sunbeam label during early 2010. These are from tapes held by Ian Whiteman given to him after the concert. A hitherto unreleased recording from the Glastonbury Fayre 1971 has been included in this document. It has been retrieved from the Radio Geronimo archive. Martin Stone died in 2016. In 2019, the complete recordings of the band were released as ''At a Point Between Fate and Destiny'': a six-CD boxed set, including their first album, with, as bonus tracks, a previously unissued alternate acetate version of the album; ''A Jug of Love'', with as bonus tracks, the Blue Horizon single and the ''Action Speak Louder ...'' tracks; "A Jug of Love Rehearsals", which were previously issued on ''Slipstreams'' (Flashback, 2015) and, as bonus tracks, a 1969 jam and the French Philips single "Day of the Soup", a set of mainly instrumental demos for a "potential", unissued second album and, as bonus tracks, 1970 live recordings; ''Live at Malvern'' (same tracks as ''Tasting the Life – Live 1971''); and ''Live at Glastonbury'', a more complete, cassette recording by Radio Geronimo DJs of their 1971 Glastonbury set. A 40-page booklet with an extensive band history, based on contemporary documents and interviews with all members of the band, is included.

Discography

*''Action Speak Louder Than ...'' (1968 recordings of the Action already in Mighty Baby line-up, released in 1985) *''Mighty Baby'' (album, Head Records, November 1969) *"Egyptian Tomb" / "I'm from the Country" (single, Philips France, 1969) *"Devil's Whisper" b/w "Virgin Spring" (single, Blue Horizon 2096-003, October 1971) *''A Jug of Love'' (album, Blue Horizon 2931-001, October 1971) *'' Glastonbury Fayre'' - various artists: one song: "A Blanket in My Muesli" (Revelation 1/2/3, triple album, April 1972, live recordings from

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

1971) *''Live in the Attic'' (Rolled Gold Productions, December 2000) *''Tasting the Life – Live 1971'' (double album, Sunbeam Records, 2010) *''At a Point Between Fate and Destiny – The Complete Recordings'' (Grapefruit Records, 2019) With Reg King *''Reg King'' (album,

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...

29157, 1971)

Band members

* Alan 'Bam' King – vocals, guitar (born 18 September 1945,

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

) * Martin Stone – guitar (born 11 December 1946,

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

) *Ian Whiteman – piano, flute (born 18 May 1945,

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

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 ...

) *Mike 'Ace' Evans – bass guitar (born Michael Evans, 10 July 1945, Henley,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

) *Roger Powell – drums (born 4 July 1944,

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

, London)

References

External links

* {{Authority control English progressive rock groups English psychedelic rock music groups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Interview with Ian Whiteman discussing his career with The Action and Mighty Baby, with a track-by-track analysis of the 1969 self-titled album "Mighty Baby" on the Psychedelic Relics podcast, released February, 2024: Epysode 02: "Mighty Baby", by Mighty Baby.https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/29858183