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Stone the Crows were a Scottish
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
band formed in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member Les Harvey.


History

The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to Les Harvey by his elder brother Alex Harvey. After playing together in the Kinning Park Ramblers, their next band Power was renamed Stone the Crows (after a British/Australian English exclamation of surprise or shock) by
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
's manager, Peter Grant. The band was co-managed by Grant and Mark London. London was associated with
Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
as the co-writer of her
signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...
, " To Sir With Love" and was also married to Lulu's manager, Marion Massey. London had also managed the predecessor band Cartoone, in which Peter Grant had a financial interest and featured Les Harvey on guitar.


Original line-up

* Maggie Bell, vocals * Les Harvey, guitar * Colin Allen, drums * James Dewar, bass and vocals *John McGinnis, keyboards The band's first two albums were recorded with the original line up and Bell's vocals were described as being similar to
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...
's.


Second line-up and onstage death of Les Harvey

McGinnis and Dewar left the band in 1971 and were replaced by
Ronnie Leahy Ronald Leahy (born 4 October 1947 in Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingd ...
and Steve Thompson. Guitarist and co-founder Les Harvey was electrocuted onstage in front of a live audience at
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
's Top Rank Suite in May 1972. Wires to the group's equipment were reportedly damaged by the audience and although the road crew attempted to repair the damage, they overlooked a loose ground wire. Harvey received a jolt of electricity as he reached for a microphone while his fingers touched the metal strings on his guitar. His body reportedly flew into the air and came to rest with his guitar in contact with the microphone stand. Bandmates who tried to rescue him reportedly got shocked themselves and it wasn't until someone kicked his guitar away that medical personnel were able to render aid. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. At the suggestion of Thompson, the band originally contacted Peter Green to replace Harvey. The band rehearsed with Green for six weeks to prepare for an upcoming music festival, although Green pulled out two days before the obligation. Jimmy McCulloch ultimately became the band's lead guitarist.
Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, notably Chic ...
, who replaced Green in
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 ...
, believed that Green was not seriously committed to becoming a member of Stone the Crows. "The whole thing was a misunderstanding. Pete might have led them to think that he was joining... he actually had no intention of joining that band or any other band for that matter."


Post-breakup

Stone the Crows ultimately broke up in June 1973, and Peter Grant continued to manage Maggie Bell's career. Guided by Grant, Bell subsequently recorded two solo albums, ''Queen of the Night'' (1974) and ''Suicide Sal'' (1975) and an album with the Grant-managed band Midnight Flyer (1981). Bell is also known for her session work on
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
's album '' Every Picture Tells a Story'' (1971), in particular her co-lead vocal with Stewart on the album's title track (credited as "vocal abrasives").Liner notes to Rod Stewart's album ''Every Picture Tells a Story'',
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
, catalog no. SRM-609, 1971.
Jimmy McCulloch joined
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
's group Wings, in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1974.


Discography


Studio albums

*'' Stone the Crows'' (1970) *'' Ode to John Law'' (1970) *''Teenage Licks'' (1971) *''Ontinuous Performance'' (1972) – UK number 33


Live albums

*''The BBC Sessions, Volume 1 – 1969–1970'' (1998) *''The BBC Sessions, Volume 2 – 1970–1971'' (1998) *''Live Montreux 1972'' (2002) *''Radio Sessions 1969–1972'' (2009) (2CD) *''BBC Sessions 1969–1972'' (2014) (2LP)


References


External links

*
Stone the Crows biography
from linernotes by Chris Welch a
Alex Gitlin's website
{{Authority control Scottish rock music groups Scottish blues rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 Rock music groups from Glasgow Female-fronted musical groups