Anthony Charles McPhee (23 March 1944 – 6 June 2023) was an English guitarist and singer. He was the founder of the

British blues British blues is a form of music derived from American blues that originated in the late 1950s, and reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1960s. In Britain, blues developed a distinctive and influential style dominated by electric g ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band the Groundhogs.

Career

McPhee was given the name "T.S." — standing for "Tough Shit" — when he released a duet single with Champion Jack Dupree — titled "Get Your Head Happy!" — in 1966. Producer Mike Vernon suggested adding to McPhee's last name in order to make it look more like an official blues name. The Groundhogs backed Dupree and

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

on UK concerts in the mid-1960s. The band evolved into a blues-rock trio that produced three UK Top 10 albums in the UK in the early 1970s. In 1973, McPhee released a solo album titled ''The Two Sides of Tony (T.S.) McPhee''. Side A of this record is blues rock, and Side B is a single psychedelic art rock electronic composition in four movements, featuring Arp 2600 synthesizers, electric piano, and The Rhythm Ace drum synthesizer. Entitled ''The Hunt'', it explores McPhee's strong stance against fox and stag hunting. McPhee also released many other solo acoustic blues records, as well as duets with Jo Ann Kelly. Apart from the Groundhogs, McPhee played with Herbal Mixture, the John Dummer Band, Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, Tony McPhee's Terraplane, Tony McPhee's Turbo, the Tony McPhee Band, and

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, founded in 1982 by David Tibet. Much of Current 93's early work was similar to late 1970s and early 1980s industrial music: abrasive tape loops, droning synthesizer noises and Tibet's distorte ...

. McPhee's definitive biography, written by Paul Freestone, was published in 2012.

Health issues and death

In 2009, McPhee suffered a stroke, which affected his speech and ability to sing. McPhee died on 6 June 2023 of complications from a fall that occurred the previous year. He was 79.

Solo discography

* 1966 ''Ain't Gonna Cry No More – Someone to Love Me'' * 1966 ''You Don't Love Me When You Gotta Good Friend'' * 1968 ''Me and the Devil'' – various artists * 1969 ''I Asked for Water'' – various artists * 1971 ''Same Thing on Their Minds'' * 1973 ''When You Got A Good Friend'' - various artists * 1973 ''Two Sides of Tony McPhee'' * 1991 ''The Blues and the Beast'' * 1993 ''Foolish Pride'' * 1996 ''Slide, T.S., Slide'' * 1997 ''Bleachin' the Blues'' * 2000 ''Live in Poland at Blues Express'' * 2004 ''Blues at Ten''

References

External links

Tony McPhee's official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McPhee, Tony 1944 births 2023 deaths People from the Borough of North East Lincolnshire John Dummer Band members The Groundhogs members Avant-garde guitarists British rhythm and blues boom musicians English blues rock musicians English blues guitarists English blues singers English male guitarists Psychedelic musicians Deaths from falls