John Hedley (guitar)

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BANDS:

BAND	PERIOD	DETAILS
John Lewis Big Band	[1966-?]
Every Which Way	[1970-1971]	1 album
Carol Grimes Band
The Phoenix Jazzmen	[1972]	1 album
Newcastle Big Band
Last Exit	[Oct 74-1976]
Pete Scott Band
Graham Bell Band
Tony McNally Band	[1994]	1 album
Sting Band	[May 06] (1 gig)
Rudy´s Music Shop		1 album

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BIOGRAPHY:

Fantastic player, I wish there were more albums containing his playing.

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JOHN LEWIS BLUES BAND

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First band I know with John Hedley is John Lewis Blues Band around 1966:

JOHN LEWIS BLUES BAND #?			1966-?
Bob Whitfield vocals	John Hedley guitar	Tony Pringle bass	Malcolm Cornberg drums	+ maybe others, unknown to me. Help!

John Hedley was guitarist of the John Lewis Blues Band based in Morpeth, Northumberland in 1967-70, well known in the North East they also played in London supporting Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac on several occasions (thanks to Anonymous for the comment with this info).

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EVERY WHICH WAY

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After a while, Every Which Way expands with a new member, superb guitarist John Hedley, recommended by Graham Bell and Alan Cartwright, after trying with different players:

EVERY WHICH WAY #?			1970-1971
	êJohn Lewis Blues Band
Graham Bell † vocals	John Hedley guitar	Alan Cartwright bass	Geoff Peach flute	Brian Davison † drums
Bell & Arcê	Carol Grimes Bandê

The band was short-lived, and after a fantastic debut album released in September 1970, Every Which Way, and a successful presentation at The Marquee, they sadly split in early 1971.

Other info on members of Every Which Way (I know up to 5 members)
Already covered (1):	Graham Bell
To be covered (3):	Alan Cartwright, Brian Davison, Geoff Peach

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CAROL GRIMES BAND

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John Hedley was guitarist for Carol Grimes, but can´t find any details about that. Help, please!

CAROL GRIMES BAND #?	?
Carol Grimes vocals	John Hedley guitar	+ others unknown to me. Help!

Other info on members of Carol Grimes Band (I know up to 26 members)
Already covered (2):	Jeff Seopardie, Steve York
To be covered (23):	Colin Bass, Mel Collins, Colin Fletcher, Ivor Goldberg, Carol Grimes, Gary Hammond, Tony Hicks, Tim Hinkley, Neil Hubbard, Ollie Marland, Janette Mason, Joe Mavety, Henry McCullough, John McKenzie, Phil Scragg, Alan Spenner, Terry Stannard, Tino Turville, Dave Vasco, Ian Wallace, Nigel Watson, Andy Winfield, Mike Woods

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THE PHOENIX JAZZMEN

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Next thing I know about John Hedley is playing around 1972 in The Phoenix Jazzmen, a band with Gordon Sumner, before being worldwide known as Sting:

THE PHOENIX JAZZMEN #?				1972-?
John Hedley guitar	Sting bass, as Gordon Sumner	Ronnie Young trumpet, vocals	Graham Shepherd clarinet	Gordon Soloman trombone	+ drummer and pianist unknown to me. Help!

They recorded a single, ´Beale street blues / I´m the king of the swingers´.

Other info on members of The Phoenix Jazzmen (I know up to 7 members)
To be covered (1):	Sting

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LAST EXIT

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Last Exit was formed in October 1974:

LAST EXIT #
John Hedley (guitar)	Sting (bass, vocals)	Gerry Richardson (keyboards)	Ronnie Pearson † (drums)

Apart from playing gigs, they were also hired to play in a theatrical work called 'Rock Nativity', in December 1974. The musical backing was made by Last Exit plus two more players: Iwan Williams (keyboards) and Derek Lunn (drums).

The band recorded some tracks that were included in a cassette-only edition called First from Last Exit..., produced by their friend Dave Wood.

In July 1975, the band was contracted to play in Spain (!!), and they augment their lineup with sax player Cormac Loane:

LAST EXIT #
John Hedley (guitar)	Sting (bass, vocals)	Gerry Richardson (keyboards)	Cormac Loane (sax)	Ronnie Pearson † (drums)

Other info on members of Last Exit (I know up to 5 members)
To be covered (4):	Terry Ellis, Ronnie Pearson, Gerry Richardson, Sting

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PETE SCOTT BAND

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When John Hedley left Last Exit, he joined Pete Scott Band, but can't find any info about it:

PETE SCOTT BAND #?	?
Pete Scott	John Hedley guitar	+ others unknown to me. Help!

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GRAHAM BELL BAND

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In the mid eighties, Graham Bell formed a new band with his old friend John Hedley:

GRAHAM BELL BAND #?			?
Graham Bell † vocals	John Hedley guitar	Hilton Valentine guitar	Paul Nichols drums	+ others unknown to me. Help, please!

They played many gigs, but as far as I know, they never recorded any studio material.

Other info on members of Graham Bell Band (I know up to 7 members)
Already covered (3):	Graham Bell, Gary Moore, Steve York
To be covered (3):	Pearce Kelly, Paul Nichols, Hilton Valentine

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AND LATER...

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And it's been difficult to me tracing his career since then, so I only know a few details. He was a member of the house band for TV program 'The Tube'. He also played in cruise ships, such as QE2 (like other great musicians).

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TONY McNALLY BAND

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Tony McNally recorded his third album, Save with help from John Hedley (guitar) and Deon Krishnan (bass). In order to promote the album, he played some gigs with them around 1994:

TONY MCNALLY BAND #?	1994
Tony McNally sax, multi	John Hedley guitar	Deon Krishnan bass

Other info on members of Tony McNally Band (I know up to 3 members)
To be covered (1):	Deon Krishnan

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STING BAND (just for a day!)

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In May 2006, Sting was honoured as doctor by Newcastle University. After the event, a party and a concert was held for his friends, where he reunited with some old friends from the Last Exit period. This was the special lineup for that concert:

STING BAND #?											May 06
Sting vocals, bass	John Hedley guitar	Terry Ellis guitar	Gerry Richardson keyboards	Pete Volpe trumpet	Pat Crumly sax	Garry Linsley sax	Cormac Loane sax	Don Fairley trombone	Ray Chorter trombone	Brian Chester trombone	Paul Smith drums	Andy Hudson arranger

Other info on members of Sting Band (I know up to 60 members)
To be covered (59):	Mick Barakan, Katreese Barnes, Lorraine Barnes, Pete Beachill, Chris Botti, Miles Bould, Delmar Brown, Jeff Lee Campbell, Keith Carlock, J P Ceccarelli, Brian Chester, Ray Chorter, Mino Cinelu, Vinnie Colaiuta, B J Cole, Steve Coleman, Pat Crumly, Russ David, Mark Kipper Eldridge, Terry Ellis, Don Fairley, Josh Freese, Donna Gardier, Clark Gayton, Omar Hakim,... up to 59 musicians.

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RUDY´S MUSIC SHOP

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Rudy´s Music Shop is the project of singer Pete Dodds. His band ranges from trio to a quintet. This is the biggest lineup:

RUDY´S MUSIC SHOP #
Pete Dodds vocals, guitar	John Hedley guitar	Joe Hedley bass	Kelly Brownell keyboards, vocals	Colin Mason drums

They recorded the album The colour blue, recorded with these musicians, with guests such as Neil Harland (bass) and Rachael Rhoades (violin). The album was produced by Tony Davis who also plays keyboards.

Other info on members of Rudy´s Music Shop (I know up to 7 members)
To be covered (1):	Joe Hedley

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DISCOGRAPHY: (6 albums known to me - Status: In progress)

ALBUMS AS A BAND MEMBER (5 credits)

• Every Which Way - Every Which Way (09/1970)


• Members: Alan Cartwright, John Hedley, Geoff Peach (RIP: Graham Bell, Brian Davison)
• My opinion: I absolutely love this album. My favourite tracks are the lengthy 'Bed ain´t what it used to be´ and ´All in time´.
• First from Last Exit... - Last Exit (07/1975)


• Members: Terry Ellis, John Hedley, Gerry Richardson, Sting (RIP: Ronnie Pearson)
• Comments: Cassette-only edition.
• Save - Tony McNally (2002)


• Members: John Hedley, Deon Krishnan
• The Colour blue - Pete Dodds & Rudy´s Music Shop (2007)


• Members: Joe Hedley, John Hedley
• Beale street blues / I´m the king of the swingers (SINGLE) - The Phoenix Jazzmen ( - )


• Members: John Hedley, Sting

COLLECTIVE ALBUMS (1 credit)

• Sunday for Sammy 2008 - VVAA (2008)


• Guests: Alan Clark, Charlie Harcourt, Brendan Healy, John Hedley, Ray Laidlaw, Billy Mitchell
• Comments: A charity DVD of a concert held in Newcastle to commemorate the life of deceased actor Sammy Johnson. It features some former members of Lindisfarne as well as other local musicians. The house band comprised: John Hedley (guitar), Charlie Harcourt (guitar), Alan Clark (keyboards), Brendan Healy (keyboards), Frankie Gibbon, Finn McArdle and Ray Laidlaw (drums, who also produced the DVD). Special appearances by Billy Mitchell, Ray Jackson and others.

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QUESTIONS:

01. Was John a member of Arc? Maybe as bassist? I need more info, please...

02. Was he a member of Uncle Dog or maybe he was a member of Carol Grimes live band?

03. Was John a member of Newcastle Big Band?

04. Does John appear in the live DVD The Hull Story celebrating the memory of Alan Hull? The concert was held in November 2005, and John was part of the house band, but I don't know if they're featured in the DVD.

05. Can someone give me info about the Mick Whitaker Band, please?

06. Has John played or recorded with Mike Harrison?

06. Was John a member of Whitaker Hedley Tilbrook & Vasey?

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THANKS:

Very Special Thanks to:

John Hedley: for his help with info, and most important, for his music (2008).

Joe Hedley: for his offer of help (2011).

Thanks to:

Kevin Murphy: for his message about Every Which Way and Graham Bell (2010).

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RELATED MUSICIANS:

John Hedley mostly worked with these musicians: (name + number of credits)
Sting (2)

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Page created by Miguel Terol on: 04/May/2009 - Last modified on: 26/November/2011. If you want to contribute with info, please write to: molympus1@gmail.com

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Please, note than you can check the indexes (musicians, bands, obituaries) at the top of this page.