The Sutherland Brothers (Gavin and Iain Sutherland) were a Scottish
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
and
soft rock
Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...
duo. From 1973 to 1978, they performed with rock band
Quiver
A quiver is a container for holding arrows or Crossbow bolt, bolts. It can be carried on an archer's body, the bow, or the ground, depending on the type of shooting and the archer's personal preference. Quivers were traditionally made of leath ...
, and recorded and toured as Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. Under this combined moniker, the group recorded several albums and had a significant international hit single with the song "
Arms of Mary" in 1976. In North America, they are primarily known for their 1973 single "
(I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway
"(I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway" is a song written by Iain Sutherland and performed by Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. It was released as a single in 1973, and is from the 1973 album ''Lifeboat''.
Chart performance
"(I Don't ...
".
Iain died of an illness on 25 November 2019, aged 71.
Personal details
* Gavin Sutherland (born 6 October 1951 in
Peterhead
Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...
, Aberdeenshire, Scotland) – bassist and vocalist.
* Iain George Sutherland (born 17 November 1948 in
Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, died 25 November 2019,
Wollerton,
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
, England) – vocalist, guitarist and keyboards.
Iain George Sutherland was born on 17 November 1948 in
Ellon, Aberdeenshire
Ellon () is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotland. It is in the ancient region of Formartine. Its nam ...
. Younger brother Gavin was born on 6 October 1951 in
Peterhead
Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...
. Their father was a
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
in the local employment office, and played violin and accordion in a dance band called "The Melody Makers"; he was said to have a large collection of jazz records, and was inspired by French violinist
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...
.
According to Gavin, most of their ancestors worked in the fishing industry.
Gavin received his first guitar on his tenth birthday in 1961.
In the 1960s, the family moved to the English
Midlands
The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
.
Gavin first listened to rock and roll after listening to records owned by his friends older brother. He was first inspired by
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...
and according to him, whenever
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
and The Shadows were on television, he was always focused on
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows.
Early life and career
Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...
.
Through this band, he learned how to play his first song on guitar, the Shadows' instrumental
F.B.I.; Gavin later met his hero through mutual friend
Bruce Welch
Bruce Cripps (born 2 November 1941), known professionally as Bruce Welch, is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, singer and businessman best known as a founding member of the Shadows.
Early life
Bruce Welch was born in Bognor Regis in ...
, rhythm guitarist for the Shadows.
The brothers both decided they wanted to be musicians in 1964, while on holiday at the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, where they saw a poster for a "beat group competition", featuring five groups from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
.
Iain died of an illness on 25 November 2019, aged 71.
Career
The Sutherland Brothers began their career in 1968 as A New Generation, having some success with the single "Smokie Blues Away" (which used a
melody
A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...
based on the second movement of
Dvořák's ''
New World Symphony
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995
* "New" (Daya song), 2017
* "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...
''), backed with "She's a Soldier Boy" on Spark. Subsequently with the Sutherland Brothers Band (featuring bassist Kim Ludman and drummer Neil Hopwood), they won a new
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, re ...
contract
A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
with
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
and put out an album in 1972. Their first single as the Sutherland Brothers Band was under this contract and was a minor
hit, "The Pie", in January 1972. Their follow-up single was "
Sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
", which had much radio play but was commercially unsuccessful (it was later covered by
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 ...
).
Their second album ''Lifeboat'' was billed simply as Sutherland Brothers, and was recorded with different backing musicians.
They released another two singles in 1972 (one as the Sutherland Brothers Band, one as Sutherland Brothers), then in early 1973, in an effort to diversify and expand their folk-based sound, the Sutherland Brothers joined forces with a local rock band known as Quiver. Quiver was originally formed by guitarist
Tim Renwick
Timothy John Pearson Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is an English guitarist. He is best known for his association with Al Stewart in his early career and for his long-standing role as lead guitarist for the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. His single ...
and bassist John 'Honk' Lodge (both formerly with
Junior's Eyes
Junior's Eyes was a British group led by guitarist Mick Wayne (born Michael David Wayne, 7 October 1943, Hammersmith, West London – died 26 June 1994, Michigan, USA), which recorded one album and is notable for acting as David Bowie's back ...
and
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
), but soon comprised Tim Renwick, guitarist and singer Cal Batchelor, bassist
Bruce Thomas and drummer
Willie Wilson.
Most of the members of Quiver are also featured on
Al Stewart
Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...
's albums ''
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
** Orange juice
*Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
'' (1972) and ''
Past, Present and Future'' (1973).
The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver (1973–78)
The Sutherland Brothers' greatest success came through their collaboration with Quiver, whereby releases were credited to the "Sutherland Brothers and Quiver". The amalgamated group's first single, 1973's "
(I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway
"(I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway" is a song written by Iain Sutherland and performed by Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. It was released as a single in 1973, and is from the 1973 album ''Lifeboat''.
Chart performance
"(I Don't ...
", was a minor success in North America, reaching number 48 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US, N. 20 on the
''Cashbox'' pop charts and peaking at number 25 in Canada. After the release of this single, and after only a few gigs with the band, Batchelor (who had been Quiver's primary songwriter) left.
After a few more shows as a five-piece, Batchelor was replaced by keyboardist Peter Wood. The six-piece group then recorded three other tracks that were included in a heavily-revised North American issue of ''Lifeboat''. In the US and Canada, ''Lifeboat'' was credited to the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, although Quiver did not play on the majority of the album's tracks.
The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver's proper full-length debut was 1973's ''Dream Kid''.
Bruce Thomas, who had repeatedly been clashing with Iain Sutherland, then was asked to leave the group during a tour of Europe in March 1974. With only a week to go before the band was due to record their next album,
Tex Comer filled in on bass for live gigs and a few album cuts, but Gavin Sutherland quickly moved over from guitar to bass, and the band continued as a five-piece.
After their 1974 album ''Beat of the Street'' supplied no chart singles, Wood then left the group, and the remaining members left Island Records for CBS.
As the band was switching labels, a cover of one of the earlier Sutherland Brothers recordings, "
Sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
", became a major UK hit for
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 ...
.
The September 1975 album release ''
Reach for the Sky
''Reach for the Sky'' is a 1956 British biographical film about aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award fo ...
'' marked the debut of the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver on
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company
* CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony
* CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...
.
Their first CBS single, "Ain't Too Proud" (1975; featuring
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...
of
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
on
pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...
)
did not chart, but the second CBS single, "
Arms of Mary" charted in April 1976, becoming a UK top ten hit single. "Arms of Mary" was also an international success most notably in Ireland and the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
– in which territories the track was number 1 for respectively four and three weeks – with the track also reaching number 1 on
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
's Flemish charts. The track "When the Train Comes" was also released as a single.
The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver achieved one further UK chart success, "Secrets", in November 1976, from their next album ''Slipstream''. Guitarist Renwick left the group in 1977 and was not replaced; guitarist Robert Wood from the Murky Joe Band was scheduled to join the band on tour but family ties prevented it, this left drummer Willie Wilson as the only remaining member of Quiver. The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver recorded one final album in 1977, ''Down To Earth'' with a wide array of guest musicians helping out, including Renwick,
Andy Pyle
Andy Pyle (born 15 July 1946) is a British bassist who is best known for playing with The Kinks from 1976 to 1978. Prior to that, he was in Blodwyn Pig (1968–1972) and Savoy Brown (1972–1974). Later, he played with Wishbone Ash (1986–19 ...
from
the Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
,
Rick Wills
Richard William Wills (born 5 December 1947) is an English bass guitarist. He is best known for his work with the rock band Foreigner and his associations with the Small Faces, Roxy Music, Peter Frampton, Spooky Tooth, David Gilmour, Bad Compa ...
of the
Small Faces
Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...
,
Brian Bennett
Brian Laurence Bennett (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band memb ...
from
the Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...
and ex-Moon drummer John Shearer on percussion. It failed to chart, nor spin off any hit singles.
Back to being a duo (1979)
The Sutherland Brothers parted company with Quiver (i.e., Wilson) by 1979, but continued to release material as the Sutherland Brothers for a time. In this period, they achieved one further chart success with "Easy Come Easy Go", in June 1979. However, they disbanded late in 1979 after recording a final album ''When the Night Comes Down'' on CBS, with the final single being "First Love" / "Crazy Town".
Discography
Albums
*''The Sutherland Bros' Band'' (March 1972) - AUS #35
*''Lifeboat'' (1972) - AUS #37
[
*''Dream Kid'' (1973)
*''Beat of the Street'' (1974)
*''Reach for the Sky'' (1975)
*''Slipstream'' (1976)
*''Down to Earth'' (1977)
*'' When the Night Comes Down'' (July 1979)
]
Gavin Sutherland solo albums
*''Diamonds and Gold'' (1999)
*''The Deal'' (2008)
*''Tango at the Lost Cafe'' (2013)
Singles
Notes
References
External links
* The Sutherland Brothers biography at AllMusic
''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...
*
* - Gavin Sutherland
* - Iain Sutherland
* - Quiver
Brief anecdotal history of SBQ at Any Given Tuesday
Detailed fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland Brothers
Scottish musical duos
Scottish soft rock music groups
Scottish folk rock groups
Folk rock duos
Soft rock duos
British rock music duos
Sibling musical duos
People from Aberdeenshire
CBS Records artists
Island Records artists
British male musical duos
Quiver (band) members