BANDS:
- Skip Bifferty
- Gift
- Heavy Jelly
- Griffin
- Every Which Way
- Bell & Arc
- Graham Bell Band
- The Teabags
- Snowy White´s Blues Agency
- Mick Taylor Band
BIOGRAPHY:
Veteran vocalist from the British scene. He was born in Blyth, Northumberland, on April 17, 1948. He started his career very soon, and even released a solo single in 1966 when he was only 18! It was 'How do you say I don't love you / If you're gonna go'.
THE GRAHAM BELL TREND
As far as I know, this could be his first band, but I don't know any details. Lack of success made Graham to split the band and come back to his howetown, Newcastle.
SKIP BIFFERTY
It was early 1966, when The Chosen Few get a new singer, Graham Bell, and change their band name to Skip Bifferty:
Being from Newcastle, they established themselves in London. After several months as a tight unit, they released a self-titled album, Skip Bifferty, in 1968. Some of their songs were produced by Ronnie Lane, and arranged by Steve Marriott. They also released an EP called Oak in 1967.
They also worked in a soundtrack for the film ´Smashing Time´, but they don't appear in the album.
Finally, in November 1968 they split when they were working in a second album, with the working title of Skiptomania.
|
SKIP BIFFERTY # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êGraham Bell Trend |
||||
Graham Bell † vocals | John Turnbull (guitar, vocals) | Colin Gibson (bass) | Mickey Gallagher (keyboards) | Tommy Jackman (drums) |
Giftê | ||||
Being from Newcastle, they established themselves in London. After several months as a tight unit, they released a self-titled album, Skip Bifferty, in 1968. Some of their songs were produced by Ronnie Lane, and arranged by Steve Marriott. They also released an EP called Oak in 1967.
They also worked in a soundtrack for the film ´Smashing Time´, but they don't appear in the album.
Finally, in November 1968 they split when they were working in a second album, with the working title of Skiptomania.
GIFT
Around 1969, this band was formed, known as Gift (or The Gift):
They soon split, after just one gig, but they recorded some tracks that remain unreleased (such as early versions of some song that were played later by Lindisfarne with Hull and Laidlaw).
|
GIFT # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êSkip Bifferty |
||||
Graham Bell † vocals | Alan Hull † (vocals, guitar) | John Turnbull (guitar) | Terry Morgan () | Ray Laidlaw (drums) |
Heavy Jellyê | ||||
HEAVY JELLY
In 1969, due to legal problems with their manager Don Arden, they changed their name (again), this time to Heavy Jelly.
They released a single, 'I keep singing that same old song / Blue' in June 1969 in the Island label with Guy Stevens.
It was almost the end of the life for Skip Bifferty/Heavy Jelly, but they still made a change in the drummer seat:
There were some later lineup changes. Dave Potts joined the band:
But Dave Potts´ stay was short, being replaced by Alan White:
But they parted ways that same year.
Bell was to reunite with Gibson and White very soon, while Gallagher and Turnbull formed Arc in 1970, but they soon were to rejoin Graham, as we're going to read.
After the Skip Bifferty/Heavy Jelly separation, Gibson and White formed a new band, Happy Magazine, still in 1969.
|
HEAVY JELLY # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êGift |
||||
Graham Bell † vocals | John Turnbull (guitar, vocals) | Colin Gibson (bass) | Mickey Gallagher (keyboards) | Tommy Jackman (drums) |
It was almost the end of the life for Skip Bifferty/Heavy Jelly, but they still made a change in the drummer seat:
|
HEAVY JELLY # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † (vocals) | John Turnbull (guitar, vocals) | Colin Gibson (bass) | Mickey Gallagher (keyboards) | Fred Wheatley (drums) |
There were some later lineup changes. Dave Potts joined the band:
|
HEAVY JELLY # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † (vocals) | John Turnbull (guitar, vocals) | Colin Gibson (bass) | Mickey Gallagher (keyboards) | Dave Potts (drums) |
But Dave Potts´ stay was short, being replaced by Alan White:
|
HEAVY JELLY # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † vocals | John Turnbull (guitar, vocals) | Colin Gibson (bass) | Mickey Gallagher (keyboards) | Alan White (drums) |
Griffinê | ||||
Bell was to reunite with Gibson and White very soon, while Gallagher and Turnbull formed Arc in 1970, but they soon were to rejoin Graham, as we're going to read.
After the Skip Bifferty/Heavy Jelly separation, Gibson and White formed a new band, Happy Magazine, still in 1969.
GRIFFIN
But sometime soon, they ask their friend Graham Bell to join the quartet as lead vocalist:
A terrific lineup. But they only released two singles, being 'I am the dark noise in your head / Don´t you know' (1969) the first one. They also appeared in The Peel sessions radio program in October 1969.
Colin Gibson and Craddock joined Ginger Baker's Airforce, and Alan White joined Balls (with Denny Laine) for a while, also going to Ginger Baker's Airforce.
|
GRIFFIN # |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êHeavy Jelly |
||||
Graham Bell † vocals | Pete Kirtley (guitar) | Colin Gibson bass | Kenny Craddock † keyboards | Alan White drums |
Every Which Wayê | Airforceê | Airforceê | Ballsê | |
Colin Gibson and Craddock joined Ginger Baker's Airforce, and Alan White joined Balls (with Denny Laine) for a while, also going to Ginger Baker's Airforce.
EVERY WHICH WAY
Graham Bell joined a new band in May 1970: Every Which Way, formed by drummer Brian Davidson (ex-The Nice):
After a while the band expands with a new member, superb guitarist John Hedley, recommended by Graham Bell and Alan Cartwright, after trying with different players:
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.
|
EVERY WHICH WAY #? |
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|---|---|---|---|
|
êGriffin |
êThe Nice |
||
Graham Bell † vocals | Alan Cartwright (bass) | Geoff Peach (flute) | Brian Davison † drums |
After a while the band expands with a new member, superb guitarist John Hedley, recommended by Graham Bell and Alan Cartwright, after trying with different players:
|
EVERY WHICH WAY #? |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êJohn Lewis Blues Band |
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Graham Bell † vocals | John Hedley guitar | Alan Cartwright (bass) | Geoff Peach (flute) | Brian Davison † (drums) |
Bell & Arcê | Carol Grimes Bandê | |||
BELL & ARC
Graham Bell started thinking about a solo career. He wrote some demos, and called his old mates (now in Arc) to back him. All went so well, that they decided forming a stable lineup, under the name Bell & Arc:
They released Bell & Arc, with lots of great guests: Kenny Craddock (keyboards, guitar), Bud Beadle (sax), Steve Gregory (sax), Jeff Condon (trumpet), John Woods (percussion), Alan White (drums, percussion). Some of them also joined the band later.
But after the album, Rob Tait left.
Tait was replaced by John Woods:
But John Woods wasn't to stay too much time in the band. For their American tour in November/December 1971 (supporting The Who), they got old mate Alan White:
After the tour, Alan White left, being replaced by another great drummer, Ian Wallace:
In January 1972, Gallagher left, and another great replacement arrives, Kenny Craddock:
But, after one month, they disbanded in February 1972, as Graham Bell was offered a deal to go solo by producer Bob Johnston.
|
BELL & ARC #1 |
1971 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êEvery Which Way |
êArc |
êArc |
êArc |
êArc |
Graham Bell † vocals | John Turnbull guitar, vocals | Tom Duffy bass | Mickey Gallagher keyboards | Rob Tait drums |
They released Bell & Arc, with lots of great guests: Kenny Craddock (keyboards, guitar), Bud Beadle (sax), Steve Gregory (sax), Jeff Condon (trumpet), John Woods (percussion), Alan White (drums, percussion). Some of them also joined the band later.
But after the album, Rob Tait left.
Tait was replaced by John Woods:
|
BELL & ARC #2 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † vocals | John Turnbull guitar, vocals | Tom Duffy bass | Mickey Gallagher keyboards | John Woods drums |
But John Woods wasn't to stay too much time in the band. For their American tour in November/December 1971 (supporting The Who), they got old mate Alan White:
|
BELL & ARC # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † (vocals) | John Turnbull (guitar, vocals) | Tom Duffy (bass) | Mickey Gallagher (keyboards) | Alan White (drums) |
After the tour, Alan White left, being replaced by another great drummer, Ian Wallace:
|
BELL & ARC # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † (vocals) | John Turnbull (guitar, vocals) | Tom Duffy (bass) | Mickey Gallagher (keyboards) | Ian Wallace † (drums) |
In January 1972, Gallagher left, and another great replacement arrives, Kenny Craddock:
|
BELL & ARC # |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † vocals | John Turnbull (guitar, vocals) | Tom Duffy (bass) | Kenny Craddock † (keyboards) | Ian Wallace † (drums) |
Tommy castê | ||||
TOMMY (cast)
After the success of Tommy, the album by The Who, producer Lou Reizner arranged a new, symphonic version, released in November 1972. It was recorded with The London Symphony Orchestra, The English Chamber Choir, plus a cast of thousands: Sandy Denny, Graham Bell (who sings lead in '1921'), Maggie Bell, Steve Winwood, Richie Havens, Merry Clayton, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Richard Harris, plus The Who, of course.
To celebrate the release, on December 9th, 1972, the whole work was played live at The Rainbow, with some of the same artists as in the album, plus some added stars:
In March 1973, there were two concerts productions of Tommy in Australia. From The Who, only Keith Moon attended, and Graham Bell appeared as The Narrator. The other roles were played by Australian singers (such as the late, great Billy Thorpe).
To celebrate the release, on December 9th, 1972, the whole work was played live at The Rainbow, with some of the same artists as in the album, plus some added stars:
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TOMMY (CAST) # |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êBell & Arc |
||||||||||||
Graham Bell † vocals | Roy Wood (vocals) | Roger Chapman (vocals) | Elkie Brooks (vocals) | David Essex (vocals) | Merry Clayton (vocals) | Marsha Hunt (vocals) | Viv Stanshall † (vocals) | Bill Oddie (vocals) | John Pertwee (vocals) | + | The London Symphony Orchestra | The English Chamber Choir |
Graham Bell Bandê | ||||||||||||
In March 1973, there were two concerts productions of Tommy in Australia. From The Who, only Keith Moon attended, and Graham Bell appeared as The Narrator. The other roles were played by Australian singers (such as the late, great Billy Thorpe).
GRAHAM BELL BAND
Graham Bell went solo again.
He released his first solo album, Graham Bell, that same year, with these musicians (some parts were recorded in UK, some parts in Nashville):
Graham Bell (vocals, guitar, harmonica)
Ron Cornelius (guitar)
Tim Drummond (bass, vocals)
Tim Hinkley (keyboards)
Mel Collins (sax)
Eddie Mordue (sax)
Mark Charig (trumpet)
Kenny Wheeler (trumpet)
Nick Evans (trombone)
Gaspar Lawal (percussion)
Derek Quinn (percussion)
Ian Wallace (drums)
From 1973 to 1974, Graham formed a band with bassist Steve York, which recorded some demos, but never played publically.
He released his first solo album, Graham Bell, that same year, with these musicians (some parts were recorded in UK, some parts in Nashville):
Graham Bell (vocals, guitar, harmonica)
Ron Cornelius (guitar)
Tim Drummond (bass, vocals)
Tim Hinkley (keyboards)
Mel Collins (sax)
Eddie Mordue (sax)
Mark Charig (trumpet)
Kenny Wheeler (trumpet)
Nick Evans (trombone)
Gaspar Lawal (percussion)
Derek Quinn (percussion)
Ian Wallace (drums)
From 1973 to 1974, Graham formed a band with bassist Steve York, which recorded some demos, but never played publically.
GRAHAM BELL BAND
Sometime later (maybe 1975?), Graham Bell started gigging with Steve York (bass) and Gary Moore on guitar. But I need more details about this lineup:
Around 1975, Melody Maker had an article about Graham. It was said that an album was being recorded with help from Pete Townshend, and an announcement about a brand new band.
|
GRAHAM BELL BAND #? |
? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † vocals | Gary Moore † guitar | Steve York bass | + others unknown to me. Help, please! |
Around 1975, Melody Maker had an article about Graham. It was said that an album was being recorded with help from Pete Townshend, and an announcement about a brand new band.
(Almost) COLOSSEUM II
In January 1975, Jon Hiseman started looking for people to form his new venture, Colosseum II. The guitarist in the band was Gary Moore, so he brought Graham Bell for the auditions. But he finally didn't join (Mike Starrs was the chosen singer).
AND THEN...
And now I have a very big gap in Graham Bell's career. Any help with info would be very appreciated.
GRAHAM BELL´S STOTTS
Around 1975, Graham Bell formed a band with old mate Kenny Craddock. They were called Stotts, but their live was too short:
In January 1976, they were billed at The Marquee as Graham Bell´s Stotts. Two months later, he played there again, but this time simply billed as Graham Bell.
|
GRAHAM BELL BAND # |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Graham Bell † vocals | Tom Duffy bass | Kenny Craddock † keyboards | + others unknown to me. Help, please! |
In January 1976, they were billed at The Marquee as Graham Bell´s Stotts. Two months later, he played there again, but this time simply billed as Graham Bell.
THE TEABAGS
Around 1979, Ian Wallace left Bob Dylan Band and assembled this fantastic group (in LA! and all of them were british!). This was one of the lineups:
They gigged for a while in Los Angeles.
|
THE TEABAGS # |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jackie Lomax (vocals, guitar) | Graham Bell † (vocals) | Peter Banks (guitar) | David Mansfield () | Kim Gardner † (bass) | Ian Wallace † (drums) |
GRAHAM BELL BAND
In the mid eighties, Graham Bell formed a new band with his old friend John Hedley:
They played many gigs, but as far as I know, they never recorded any studio material.
|
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.
SNOWY WHITE´S BLUES AGENCY
The next (happy) news was finding Graham Bell again! It was in 1988, when he joined exquisite guitarist Snowy White.
In 1986, Snowy White chose to concentrate in playing guitar, so he added a vocalist to his band, Graham Bell:
They toured as Snowy White´s Blues Agency.
They released two albums, Change my life and Open for business (rereleased under the title Blues on me). But they sadly split in 1990. All the members (except Graham) went to play with Mick Taylor All Star Band.
In 1986, Snowy White chose to concentrate in playing guitar, so he added a vocalist to his band, Graham Bell:
|
SNOWY WHITE BAND # |
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|---|---|---|---|
|
êGraham Bell Band |
|||
Graham Bell † vocals, harmonica | Snowy White (guitar) | Kuma Harada (bass) | Jeff Allen (drums) |
They released two albums, Change my life and Open for business (rereleased under the title Blues on me). But they sadly split in 1990. All the members (except Graham) went to play with Mick Taylor All Star Band.
MICK TAYLOR BAND
In April 1994, Mick Taylor played a gig with this superb lineup:
|
MICK TAYLOR BAND # |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mick Taylor (vocals, guitar) | Snowy White (guitar) | Graham Bell † (harmonica) | Kuma Harada (bass) | Zoot Money (keyboards, vocals) | Jeff Allen (drums) |
AND LATER...
And, again, I didn't find info about Graham, until the very sad news that he passed away on May 2, 2008, after a short battle against cancer. He will be very missed as a great, great singer!
DISCOGRAPHY: (15 albums known to me - Status: Completed)
OWN ALBUMS (3 credits)
- How do you say I don´t love you / If you´re gonna go (SINGLE) - Graham Bell (1966)
- Members: (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Graham Bell - Graham Bell (1972)
- Members: (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Guests: Marc Charig, Mel Collins, Ron Cornelius, Tim Drummond, Nick Evans, Tim Hinkley, Gaspar Lawal, Eddie Mordue, Derek Quinn, Kenny Wheeler (RIP: Ian Wallace)
- All the romances - Graham Bell (1994)
- Members: (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Guests: Jeff Allen, P P Arnold, Martin Ditcham, Kuma Harada, Max Middleton, Chris Rea, Linda Taylor, Snowy White
- I keep singing that same old song / Blue (SINGLE) - Heavy Jelly (1968)
- Members: Mickey Gallagher, Colin Gibson, Tommy Jackman, John Turnbull (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Skip Bifferty - Skip Bifferty (09/1968)
- Members: Mickey Gallagher, Colin Gibson, Tommy Jackman, John Turnbull (RIP: Graham Bell)
- 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'.
- Bell & Arc - Bell & Arc (07/1971)
- Members: Bud Beadle, Jeff Condon, Tom Duffy, Mickey Gallagher, Steve Gregory, Rob Tait, John Turnbull, Alan White, John Woods (RIP: Graham Bell, Kenny Craddock)
- Producer: Bob Johnston
- Tommy - The London Symphony Orchestra & Chamber Choir (1972)
- Members: Merry Clayton (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Guests: Maggie Bell, Roger Daltrey, Will Malone, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Pete Townshend, Steve Winwood (RIP: Sandy Denny, John Entwistle, Richard Harris)
- Producer: (RIP: Kit Lambert, Lou Reizner)
- Technical: Keith Grant
- Land of freedom - Snowy White (1984)
- Members: Jeff Allen, Richard Bailey, Kuma Harada (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Guests: Godfrey Wang
- Change my life - Snowy White´s Blues Agency (1989)
- Members: Jeff Allen, Kuma Harada, Snowy White (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Technical: John Burns
- Comments: CD edition has 1 bonus track.
- Open for business - Snowy White (1989)
- Members: Jeff Allen, Kuma Harada, Snowy White (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Comments: The album was re-released as Blues on me.
- The Story of Skip Bifferty - Skip Bifferty (2003)
- Members: Mickey Gallagher, Colin Gibson, Tommy Jackman, Paul Nichols, John Turnbull, Alan White (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Guests: Pete Kirtley (RIP: Kenny Craddock, Alan Hull)
- Producer: Alan Price (RIP: Ronnie Lane, Guy Stevens)
- Technical: Roy Thomas Baker
- Comments: It includes the album plus 26 bonus tracks! With unreleased tracks and BBC sessions, as well as tracks by Griffin or Heavy Jelly.
- Blues Britannia - VVAA (02/2000)
- Guests: Bimbo Acock, Jeff Allen, The Big Figure, Geoff Bradford, Joe Brown, Clive Bunker, Gerry Conway, Julian Dawson, Jerry Donahue, Chris Farlowe, Peter Green, Kuma Harada, Tim Hinkley, Ronnie Johnson, Paul Jones, Dave Kelly, Dave Mattacks, John McLaughlin, Micky Moody, Janet Mooney, Richard Newman, Dave Pegg, Nigel Portman Smith, Mike Simmonds, Danny Thompson, Big George Webley, Paul Westwood, Snowy White, Mo Witham (RIP: Cliff Aungier, Graham Bell, Greg Ridley)
- Warm blood - Carol Grimes (1974)
- Members: Carol Grimes
- Guests: Roger Ball, John ´Rabbit´ Bundrick, Ron Cornelius, Malcolm ´Molly´ Duncan, Mac Gayden, Karl Himmel, Henry Lowther, Sam Mitchell, Jess Roden (RIP: Graham Bell, Kenny Buttrey, Tommy Cogbill, Tommy Eyre, Archie Legget)
- Comments: Apart from playing with Tommy in Babylon band, she once was the singer in Delivery, a band whose members later joined famous Canterbury bands, such as Caravan, Soft Machine or Matching Mole. In this album, we can find Jess Roden (vocals), Archie Legget (vocals), Graham Bell (vocals, harmonica, from Bell & Arc), Sam Mitchell (guitar), Ron Cornelius (guitar), Tommy Eyre (keyboards), John 'Rabbit' Bundrick (keyboards), Henry Lowther (trumpet), Roger Ball and Malcolm Duncan (sax, from Average White Band), and session musicians from the Nashville scene: Mac Gayden (guitar), Tommy Cogbill (bass), Bob Wilson (keyboards), Kenny Buttrey (drums), Karl Himmel (drums).
- The Lamb lies down on Broadway - Genesis (11/1974)
- Members: Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford
- Guests: Brian Eno (RIP: Graham Bell)
- Producer: John Burns
QUESTIONS:
01. Can someone help me with info about the band Stotts?
RELATED WEBSITE LINKS: 4
From the always interesting Alex's Picks (by Alex Gitlin), we have:
From the superb site Knights in Blue Denim: The British Blues Scene '68 - '70 (by Christer Fridhammar & Vanja), we have:
THANKS:
Very Special Thanks to:
Special Thanks to:
Thanks to:
WHAT'S NEW:
30/November/2009 - Page added to the blog.
15/February/2008 - The first draft about Graham Bell. Thanks to Mike.
05/September/2000 - Original page written by me (in the old site).
RELATED MUSICIANS:
Graham Bell mostly worked with these musicians: (name + number of credits)
Jeff Allen (5)
Kuma Harada (5)
Mickey Gallagher (4)
John Turnbull (4)
Snowy White (4)
Colin Gibson (3)
Tommy Jackman (3)
John Burns (2)
Ron Cornelius (2)
Kenny Craddock (2)
Page created by Miguel Terol on: 05/September/2000 - Last modified on: 07/February/2011. If you want to contribute with info, please write to: molympus1@gmail.com
Please, note than you can check the indexes (musicians, bands, obituaries) at the top of this page.
Hi ! The Bell & Arc line up performing at the German TV Beat Club on 26/2/1972 consisted of Bell / White / Gibson / Craddock / Kirtley = Griffin ' 69 ! They were augmented by a brass section : Steve Gregory tenor sax/flute , Buddy Beagle baritone sax , Jeff Condon trumpet . Songs performed were covers : So Long Marianne and She Belongs To Me . If they disbanded in February 1972 as you wrote above , this must have been their swan song , although the programme might have been produced a little earlier .
ReplyDeleteb-major
Hi and thanks for your post. You're completely right, the Beat Club (superb) footage shows the lineup you mention (watching faces, I can only recognize by myself bassist Colin Gibson), so I'll need to check these facts and re-write some of the text. Thanks again!
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