John Knightsbridge (guitar)

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BANDS:

• The Initials
• The Movement
• Third World War [1971-1972]
• Gnidrolog [1973]
• Telemacque
• Hug [1975]
• Illusion [1976-1979]
• Dana Gillespie Band [1978]
• Frankie Reid & The Powerhouse
• Roy Hill Band [1979-Jul 80]
• Strawbs [Jul 80-1980]
• Ruthless Blues [1979-1983]
• The Yardbirds [Mar 83-1983]
• Ruthless Blues [1984-1987]
• Ruthless Blues [1991-Feb 99]

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BIOGRAPHY:

Great guitarist, he sadly remains very underrated!!

I think his first bands were in Germany, but can't find any info about that period. So, if someone can help, it would be very appreciated!

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THE INITIALS

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This is the first band I've been able to trace with John Knightsbridge. The Initials was a band from Brighton:

THE INITIALS #?			?
John Knightsbridge guitar	Keith Pullen bass	Dave Greenfield † keyboards	Peter Anstis sax	Mick Law drums

Other info on members of The Initials (I know up to 5 members)
Not enough info (4):	Peter Anstis, Dave Greenfield, Mick Law, Keith Pullen

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THE MOVEMENT

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The Movement was another band from Brighton with John Knightsbridge:

THE MOVEMENT #?				?
John Knightsbridge guitar	Dave Greenfield † keyboards	Pete Boughton	Tony Hobbs-Ainley	Susie Cope	Bernice Hobbs-Ainley

Other info on members of The Movement (I know up to 6 members)
Not enough info (5):	Pete Boughton, Susie Cope, Dave Greenfield, Bernice Hobbs-Ainley, Tony Hobbs-Ainley

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THIRD WORLD WAR

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In 1971, the band recruits new musicians for a tour:

THIRD WORLD WAR #?			1971-1972
Terry Stamp vocals, guitar	John Knightsbridge guitar	Jim Avery bass	John Hawken keyboards	Paul Olsen drums

In 1972, Third World War change their drummer for the recording of their 2nd album, Third World War II. This was the lineup:

THIRD WORLD WAR #?				1972
Terry Stamp vocals, guitar	John Knightsbridge guitar	Jim Avery bass	John Hawken keyboards	Jim Price sax	Craig Collinge drums
					Shootê

There were more lineups at the very end of the band, without Hawken and Stamp, but can't find the complete info. Can someone help, please?

Other info on members of Third World War (I know up to 8 members)
Already covered (3):	Jim Avery, Craig Collinge, John Hawken
To be covered (4):	Ray Flacke, Paul Olsen, Jim Price, Terry Stamp

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GNIDROLOG

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John joined Gnidrolog around 1973, after some internal problems in the band that led Nigel Pegrum and Stewart Goldring to abandon. This was the new lineup:

GNIDROLOG #?			1973
Colin Goldring vocals, guitar	John Knightsbridge guitar	Pete Cowling † bass	John ´Irish´ Earle † sax	Benny ? drums

But things never were the same, and after six months, they split.

Other info on members of Gnidrolog (I know up to 6 members)
Already covered (1):	John ´Irish´ Earle
To be covered (2):	Pete Cowling, Nigel Pegrum
Not enough info (2):	Colin Goldring, Stewart Goldring

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TELEMACQUE

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John was a member of this band, but haven't been able to find info about them. Help, please!

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HUG

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This was the 1975 lineup for a band called Hug. It was formed by original Manfred Mann's drummer, Mike Hugg:

HUG #?		1975
Mike Hugg vocals, keyboards	John Knightsbridge guitar	Marcus James bass	Ron Telemacque drums

They released an album, Neon dream, before disbanding.

Other info on members of Hug (I know up to 4 members)
To be covered (2):	Mike Hugg, Ron Telemacque
Not enough info (1):	Marcus James

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ILLUSION

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Illusion

In 1975, the original members of Renaissance started thinking about reforming the band. Since the band was still active, they decided using the name of their 2nd album as band name. That's how Illusion was born. They recorded some demos, trying to get a recording contract. But again, disgrace came when Keith Relf was electrocuted in his flat in Whitton on May 14th, 1976. They decided carrying on with new members, and that's when Knightsbridge joined them:

ILLUSION #?				1976-1979
Jane Relf vocals	Jim McCarty vocals	John Knightsbridge guitar	Louis Cennamo bass	John Hawken keyboards	Eddie McNeil drums

They released an album, Out of the mist. Their 2nd album was called Illusion, being produced by Paul Samwell-Smith.

They started recording a 3rd album, but due to lack of interest, the band decided calling it a day in late 1979. Fortunately, these songs have finally been released in 1989, forming the album, Enchanted caress. The album also features the last recording ever made by Keith Relf, a song called 'All the falling angels', and guest appearances by Chas Cronk (bass) and Tony Fernandez (drums).

Other info on members of Illusion (I know up to 6 members)
Already covered (2):	Louis Cennamo, John Hawken
To be covered (3):	Jim McCarty, Eddie McNeil, Jane Relf

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DANA GILLESPIE BAND

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This was one of the many lineups for the wonderful Dana Gillespie Band around 1978:

DANA GILLESPIE BAND #?				1978
Dana Gillespie vocals	John Knightsbridge guitar	Barbara Spitz guitar	Neil Korner bass	John Hawken keyboards	Tony Hall † sax

John Barker drums

Other info on members of Dana Gillespie Band (I know up to 32 members)
Already covered (4):	Dana Gillespie, John Hawken, Mike Paice, Bob Weston
To be covered (27):	Dino Baptiste, John Barker, Alain Baudry, Ed Deane, Shane Fontayne, Javier Garcia, Tony Hall, Chris Hunt, Evan Jenkins, Neil Korner, Glen LeFleur, David Malin, Sam Mitchell, Les Mizraki, Enrico Morena, Fred P G, Simon Phillips, Dave Rowberry, Matt Schofield, Todd Sharpville, Barbara Spitz, Carl Standbridge, Robin Sylvester, Jeff Walker, Martyn C Winning,... up to 27 musicians.

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FRANKIE REID & THE POWERHOUSE

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John played from time to time with this band, as it also featured his mates Craig Collinge and John Hawken, but can't find info about the lineups or the period when this happened. Help, please!

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ROY HILL BAND

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Around 1979, this was the Roy Hill Band:

ROY HILL BAND #?			1979-Jul 80
Roy Hill vocals	John Knightsbridge guitar	Chas Cronk bass	Bimbo Acock sax	Tony Fernandez drums
Strawbsê	Strawbsê	Strawbsê	Strawbsê	Strawbsê

But when Roy Hill joins Strawbs, the complete band goes with him.

Other info on members of Roy Hill Band (I know up to 11 members)
To be covered (9):	Bimbo Acock, Chas Cronk, Tony Fernandez, Roy Hill, Steve Shone, Mike Taylor, Gary Twigg, Jamie West Oram, Colin Wilkinson
Not enough info (1):	Ross McGeeny

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STRAWBS

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This was the Strawbs in July 1980, having recruited the complete Roy Hill Band:

STRAWBS #?				Jul 80
êRoy Hill Band		êRoy Hill Band	êRoy Hill Band		êRoy Hill Band
Roy Hill vocals	Brian Willoughby guitar, vocals	John Knightsbridge guitar	Chas Cronk bass	Andy Richards keyboards	Bimbo Acock sax

êRoy Hill Band

Tony Fernandez drums

But people missed the original vocalist, Dave Cousins, so after a couple of gigs, they decided not carrying on (Strawbs reformed soon later with some of the original members, without John).

Other info on members of Strawbs (I know up to 31 members)
Already covered (4):	Don Airey, Rod Coombes, John Hawken, Chris Parren
To be covered (26):	Bimbo Acock, Ron Chesterman, Lindsay L Cooper, Mailto Correa, Dave Cousins, Chas Cronk, Rod Demick, Claire Deniz, Sandy Denny, Tony Fernandez, John Ford, Roy Hill, Tony Hooper, Rick Hudson, Robert Kirby, Sonja Kristina, Dave Lambert, John Mealing, Andy Richards, Adam Wakeman, Oliver Wakeman, Rick Wakeman, Blue Weaver, Paul Wiffen, Brian Willoughby,... up to 26 musicians.

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RUTHLESS BLUES

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This was the original lineup of the great band Ruthless Blues, around 1979:

RUTHLESS BLUES #1			1979-1981
Jeremy Truelove harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Dave Blake guitar	Paul McCallum bass	Jim McCarty drums

Jeremy Truelove left the band in 1981.

New harmonicist for Ruthless Blues was the famous Johnny Mars, who joined around 1981:

RUTHLESS BLUES #2			1981-1982
Johnny Mars vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Dave Blake guitar	Paul McCallum bass	Jim McCarty drums

Dave Blake left them in 1982, reducing the band to a quartet.

This was Rutless Blues in 1982:

RUTHLESS BLUES #3		1982-1983
Johnny Mars vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Paul McCallum bass	Jim McCarty drums

The band split for a while when Jim McCarty reformed the Yardbirds in 1983.

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THE YARDBIRDS

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In March 1983, Jim McCarty reforms The Yardbirds, and John Knightsbridge is called to be the lead guitarist:

THE YARDBIRDS #?			Mar 83-?
Mark Feltham harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Chris Dreja guitar	Paul Samwell-Smith bass	Jim McCarty drums, vocals

But, after a few months, they turned into Box of Frogs, without Knightsbridge.

Other info on members of The Yardbirds (I know up to 27 members)
Already covered (3):	Denny Ball, Jeff Beck, Gypie Mayo
To be covered (23):	Johnny A, Kenny Aaronson, Eric Clapton, Rod Demick, Jerry Donahue, Chris Dreja, Mark Feltham, Laurence Garman, Alan Glen, John Idan, Ben King, Ray Majors, Jim McCarty, Billy-Boy Miskimmin, Andy Mitchell, Jimmy Page, Keith Relf, Paul Samwell-Smith, Myke Scavone, Earl Slick, David Smale, Top Topham, Godfrey Townsend

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RUTHLESS BLUES (again)

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After a short split, Rutless Blues comes to life again in 1984 with veteran drummer Tony Fernandez instead of their original member Jim McCarty:

RUTHLESS BLUES #4		1984
Johnny Mars vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Paul McCallum bass	Tony Fernandez drums

But Johnny Mars left that same year 1984.

Now Rutless Blues changes harmonica for sax with the arrival of the fantastic John 'Irish' Earle in 1985:

RUTHLESS BLUES #5		1985
John Knightsbridge guitar	Paul McCallum bass	John ´Irish´ Earle † sax	Tony Fernandez drums

But Earle's stay was quite brief.

In 1985, Steve Smith joins on harmonica:

RUTHLESS BLUES #6		1985
Steve Smith vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Paul McCallum bass	Tony Fernandez drums

This lineup remained together until 1986.

In 1986, John 'Irish' Earle rejoins Ruthless Blues, becoming a quintet:

RUTHLESS BLUES #7			1986
Steve Smith vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Paul McCallum bass	John ´Irish´ Earle † sax	Tony Fernandez drums

But original member Paul McCallum left the band in 1987.

New bassist for Ruthless Blues in 1987 is Martyn Taylor:

RUTHLESS BLUES #8			1987
Steve Smith vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Martyn Taylor bass	John ´Irish´ Earle † sax	Tony Fernandez drums

They released the album Ruthless Blues. But the band stopped working for a second time this same year.

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AND THEN...

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I don't know what John did between 1987 and 1991. Any clue?

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RUTHLESS BLUES (again)

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In 1991, Ruthless Blues comes to life again with the same musicians from their last lineup with the only change of bassist, now with the superb Peter Rees:

RUTHLESS BLUES #9			1991
Steve Smith vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Peter Rees bass	John ´Irish´ Earle † sax	Tony Fernandez drums

But Rees stayed only some months in the band.

Rob Burns played many gigs with Ruthless Blues when their official bassist, Andy Herbert couldn't attend the concerts:

RUTHLESS BLUES #?			?
Steve Smith vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Rob Burns bass	John ´Irish´ Earle † sax	Tony Fernandez drums

Peter Rees is replaced by Andy Herbert, still in 1991:

RUTHLESS BLUES #10			1991
Steve Smith vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Andy Herbert bass	John ´Irish´ Earle † sax	Tony Fernandez drums

And I'm not sure, but I think they split again. Can someone confirm me that, please?

New lineup for Ruthless Blues in 1996, with another great bassist, Peter Stroud:

RUTHLESS BLUES #11			1996
Steve Smith vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Peter Stroud bass	John ´Irish´ Earle † sax	Tony Fernandez drums

In 1997, John Earle left them.

So, in 1997, Ruthless Blues becomes a quartet again:

RUTHLESS BLUES #12		1997-Feb 99
Steve Smith vocals, harmonica	John Knightsbridge guitar	Peter Stroud bass	Tony Fernandez drums

And in February 1999, Knightsbridge and Stroud left the band.

Other info on members of Ruthless Blues (I know up to 17 members)
Already covered (3):	Denny Ball, Rob Burns, John ´Irish´ Earle
To be covered (13):	Dave Blake, Chas Cronk, Steve Dixon, Tony Fernandez, Andy Herbert, Johnny Mars, Paul McCallum, Jim McCarty, Peter Rees, Steve Smith, Peter Stroud, Martyn Taylor, Jeremy Truelove

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AND THEN...

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I haven't know any more things about John's musical career. It's like he's disappeared. Can someone help me with info, please?

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UNRELEASED PROJECTS:

Denny Ball was deputy for Ruthless Blues on a few occasions. Don´t know the exact lineups, but it was probably with John Knightsbridge (guitar) and Tony Fernandez (drums).

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DISCOGRAPHY: (14 albums known to me - Status: Quite advanced)

ALBUMS AS A BAND MEMBER (9 credits)

• Third World War II - Third World War (1972)


• Members: Jim Avery, Craig Collinge, Ray Flacke, John Hawken, John Knightsbridge, Jim Price, Terry Stamp
• Technical: George Chkiantz
• Neon dream - Hug (1975)


• Members: Mike Hugg, John Knightsbridge, Ron Telemacque
• Out of the mist - Illusion (1977)


• Members: Louis Cennamo, John Hawken, John Knightsbridge, Jim McCarty, Eddie McNeil, Jane Relf
• Technical: Dennis MacKay
• Illusion - Illusion (1978)


• Members: Louis Cennamo, John Hawken, John Knightsbridge, Jim McCarty, Eddie McNeil, Jane Relf
• Producer: Paul Samwell-Smith
• Ruthless! live at Kingston Poly - Ruthless Blues (1988) (LIVE)


• Members: John Knightsbridge
• Comments: Tape only, i think.
• Ruthless Blues - Ruthless Blues (1989)


• Members: Tony Fernandez, Andy Herbert, John Knightsbridge, Steve Smith (RIP: John ´Irish´ Earle)
• Guests: Dave Lennox, Gavin Povey
• Technical: John Burns
• Comments: CD reissue contains 2 bonus tracks.
• Sure enough - Ruthless Blues (1992)


• Members: Tony Fernandez, John Knightsbridge, Steve Smith, Martyn Taylor (RIP: John ´Irish´ Earle)
• Enchanted caress - Illusion (November 1996)


• Members: Louis Cennamo, John Hawken, John Knightsbridge, Jim McCarty, Eddie McNeil, Jane Relf (RIP: Keith Relf)
• Guests: Chas Cronk, Tony Fernandez
• Jane´s Renaissance - the complete Jane Relf recordings 1969-1995 - Jane Relf (November 2008)


• Members: Jane Relf + Louis Cennamo, Terry Crowe, John Hawken, John Knightsbridge, Neil Korner, Jim McCarty, Eddie McNeil, Terry Slade (RIP: Michael Dunford, Keith Relf, John Tout)
• Guests: Paul Samwell-Smith, Don Shinn, Chris Spedding, Jeff Wayne (RIP: Tommy Eyre)
• Comments: Compilation including mostly tracks by Renaissance, Illusion and Stairway.

COMPILATIONS AS A BAND MEMBER (1 credit)

• The Island recordings - Illusion (November 2003)


• Members: Louis Cennamo, John Hawken, John Knightsbridge, Jim McCarty, Eddie McNeil, Jane Relf
• Guests: (RIP: Robert Kirby)
• Producer: Paul Samwell-Smith
• Technical: Mike Bobak

ALBUMS WITH BANDMATES AND FRIENDS (2 credits)

• Strange land - Box Of Frogs (May 1986)


• Members: Chris Dreja, John Fiddler, Jim McCarty, Paul Samwell-Smith
• Guests: Graham Gouldman, John Knightsbridge, Jimmy Page + Roger Chapman, Dave Clayton, Steve Hackett, Neil Lockwood, Dzal Martin, Max Middleton, Graham Parker, Juliet Roberts, Carol Thompson, Peter John Vettesse, Geraint Watkins (RIP: Ian Dury, Rory Gallagher)
• Time machine - Rick Wakeman (1988)


• Members: Rick Wakeman + Tony Fernandez, Ashley Holt, David Paton
• Guests: John Knightsbridge + Roy Wood
• Technical: John Burns
• Comments: Recorded from June to October 1987.

SESSIONS (2 credits)

• Warm Dust - Warm Dust (1972)


• Members: John Bedson, Paul Carrack, Terry ´Tex´ Comer, Alan Soloman, John Surguy, Les Walker
• Guests: John Knightsbridge
• Producer: (RIP: Derek Lawrence)
• Technical: (RIP: Martin Birch)
• Silver eagle - Limey (1977)


• Members: Ian Kewley (RIP: Jim Rodford)
• Guests: Rod Argent, Bob Henrit + Paul Keogh, John Knightsbridge, Garth Watt-Roy, Tommy Willis (RIP: Tommy Eyre, Alan Spenner)
• Comments: Not much info about this band. Great musicians included: John Knightsbridge (guitar), Garth Watt-Roy (guitar), Paul Keogh (guitar), Alan Spenner (bass), Ian Kewley (keyboards), Tommy Eyre (flute, keyboards), and the rhythm section from Argent: Jim Rodford (bass, a brief member, later to join The Kinks) and Bob Henrit (drums).

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RELATED WEBSITE LINKS: 14


Official site(s) - tell them you saw the link here:

• Third World War
• Terry Stamp
• Dana Gillespie
• The Yardbirds Official Website (USA)

From the always interesting Alex's Picks (by Alex Gitlin), we have:

• Third World War
• Gnidrolog
• Illusion
• Warm Dust
• Limey

From the superb site Knights in Blue Denim: The British Blues Scene '68 - '70 (by Christer Fridhammar & Vanja), we have:

• Dana Gillespie
• Ruthless Blues
• The Yardbirds

Wikipedia doesn´t want to include links to this website, but I won´t do the same with them. So, from the great Wikipedia, we have:

• Rob Burns
• Rick Wakeman

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THANKS:

Very Special Thanks to:

Dave Blake: for info on Ruthless Blues and John.

Special Thanks to:

Brandon Kincade: for writing.

Ian Cook: for info on Ruthless Blues.

Tony Hobbs-Ainley: for writing.

Keith Pullen: for writing.

Thanks to:

my friend Alex Gitlin: for some scans as well as album credits on Limey.

Mark Saunders: for his review of Ruthless Blues gigs.

Jeb Castelo: for info.

Also thanks for writing to:

Kjell Kristiansen, Gary Clarke, Nigel Morris-Cotterill.

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WHAT'S NEW:

09/August/2010 - Page added to the blog.
02/October/2000 - Original page written by me (in the old site).

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RELATED MUSICIANS:

John Knightsbridge mostly worked with these musicians: (name + number of credits)
John Hawken (6)
Jim McCarty (6)
Louis Cennamo (5)
Eddie McNeil (5)
Jane Relf (5)
Tony Fernandez (4)
Paul Samwell-Smith (4)
Doug Bogie (3)
John Burns (2)
John ´Irish´ Earle (2)

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Page created by Miguel Terol on: 02/October/2000 - Last modified on: 22/September/2021. 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.