BANDS:
- Ricky Wade And The Crossfires
- Cyril Davies R&B All Stars [Jun 63-Jan 64]
- Long John Baldry Band [Jan 64-Nov 64]
- Original All Stars [Nov 64-Jan 65]
- Julian Covey & The Machine
- Alan Price Band [1965]
- Georgie Fame Band [Dec 65-Jul 66]
- Free At Last [Sep 66-?]
- Denny Laine Band [May 67-Jul 67]
BIOGRAPHY:
Superb bass player, he played in some great bands in the 60s. His complete name was Clifford Howard Barton and was born in 1944 in West Ealing, West London.
He started playing guitar under the stage name Cliff Curtis.
RICKY WADE AND THE CROSSFIRES
Cliff was the guitarist in that band, but can´t find info about the other players. Help, please!
CYRIL DAVIES R&B ALL STARS
After turning down an offer to join John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, in June 1963, Cliff Barton joined famed band Cyril Davies R&B All Stars:
But that same month, mighty Carlo Little leaves.
Micky Waller is called to replace Carlo Little in Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, in June 1963:
At the end of 1963, Waller and Scott left.
At the end of 1963, there were a couple of changes in the lineup. Johnny Parker replaced Keith Scott, and Bob Wackett replaced Micky Waller:
But Cyril Davies died of leukemia on January 7, 1964. He was 32. Then, Long John Baldry took with him most of these musicians, now under the new name Hoochie Coochie Men.
A curious note. While he still was with Cyril Davies, he was asked to join John Mayall. He declined, but recommended a young bass player, John McVie. The rest is history.
|
CYRIL DAVIES R&B ALL STARS # |
Jun 63 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cyril Davies † vocals, harmonica | Long John Baldry † vocals | Geoff Bradford guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Keith Scott piano | Carlo Little † drums | The Velvettes vocals |
But that same month, mighty Carlo Little leaves.
Micky Waller is called to replace Carlo Little in Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, in June 1963:
|
CYRIL DAVIES R&B ALL STARS # |
Jun 63-end 63 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cyril Davies † vocals, harmonica | Long John Baldry † vocals | Geoff Bradford guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Keith Scott piano | Micky Waller † drums | The Velvettes vocals |
At the end of 1963, Waller and Scott left.
At the end of 1963, there were a couple of changes in the lineup. Johnny Parker replaced Keith Scott, and Bob Wackett replaced Micky Waller:
|
CYRIL DAVIES R&B ALL STARS # |
end 63-Jan 64 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cyril Davies † vocals, harmonica | Long John Baldry † vocals | Geoff Bradford guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Johnny Parker † piano | Bob Wackett drums | The Velvettes vocals |
(died)ê | Hoochie Coochie Menê | Hoochie Coochie Menê | Hoochie Coochie Menê | Hoochie Coochie Menê | ||
But Cyril Davies died of leukemia on January 7, 1964. He was 32. Then, Long John Baldry took with him most of these musicians, now under the new name Hoochie Coochie Men.
A curious note. While he still was with Cyril Davies, he was asked to join John Mayall. He declined, but recommended a young bass player, John McVie. The rest is history.
LONG JOHN BALDRY & THE HOOCHIE COOCHIE MEN
In January 1964, Long John Baldry leads the former Cyril Davies band, now under the new name Hoochie Coochie Men, with some changes, including a very young singer called Rod Stewart:
There's an album released by the band, Long John's Blues, issued with 2 different album covers.
Ernie O'Malley was replaced by Billy Law, sometime late in 1964:
They remained together until October 1964, when the band changed and Billy Law left.
In October 1964, the band changes a lot, with an added horn section:
But this fantastic team sadly parted ways next month, in November 1964. Baldry and Armit recruited a new band, while the other guys (less Rod Stewart) continued under the name Original All Stars.
|
LONG JOHN BALDRY BAND #? |
Jan 64-? |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êCyril Davies R&B All Stars |
êCyril Davies R&B All Stars |
êCyril Davies R&B All Stars |
êCyril Davies R&B All Stars |
||
Long John Baldry † vocals | Rod Stewart vocals | Geoff Bradford guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Johnny Parker † piano | Ernie O´Malley † drums |
There's an album released by the band, Long John's Blues, issued with 2 different album covers.
Ernie O'Malley was replaced by Billy Law, sometime late in 1964:
|
LONG JOHN BALDRY BAND #? |
1964 - Oct 64 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Long John Baldry † vocals | Rod Stewart vocals | Geoff Bradford guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Johnny Parker † piano | Billy Law drums |
They remained together until October 1964, when the band changed and Billy Law left.
In October 1964, the band changes a lot, with an added horn section:
|
LONG JOHN BALDRY BAND #? |
Oct 64-Nov 64 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Long John Baldry † vocals | Rod Stewart vocals | Geoff Bradford guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Ian Armit † piano | Al Gay sax | Art Themen sax | Johnny Spooner drums |
Original All Starsê | Original All Starsê | Original All Starsê | Original All Starsê | ||||
But this fantastic team sadly parted ways next month, in November 1964. Baldry and Armit recruited a new band, while the other guys (less Rod Stewart) continued under the name Original All Stars.
ORIGINAL ALL STARS
Original All Stars was the band formed in November 1964 from Long John Baldry´s Hoochie Coochie Men with the great singer Brian Knight:
But in January 1965, the band split.
|
ORIGINAL ALL STARS #1 |
Nov 64-Jan 65 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êLong John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men |
êLong John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men |
êLong John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men |
êLong John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men |
|||
Brian Knight † vocals | Geoff Bradford guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Laurie Scott piano | Al Gay sax | Trevor Watts sax | Johnny Spooner drums |
But in January 1965, the band split.
AND THEN
Sometime around 1965, Jimmy Page on the producer's role assembled a studio band to record some tracks for an album for singer Andy Anderson. This was the fabulous lineup:
Jeff Beck (guitar)
Cliff Barton (bass)
Nicky Hopkins (piano)
Carlo Little (drums)
The recordings were never released as a proper album, but many jam tracks were also recorded, and many of them have been appearing in lots of compilations from the Immediate label. I have a couple, but there are more than 20 compilations including them.
Jeff Beck (guitar)
Cliff Barton (bass)
Nicky Hopkins (piano)
Carlo Little (drums)
The recordings were never released as a proper album, but many jam tracks were also recorded, and many of them have been appearing in lots of compilations from the Immediate label. I have a couple, but there are more than 20 compilations including them.
JULIAN COVEY & THE MACHINE
Julian Covey is pseudonym for drummer Phil Kinorra (from Brian Auger band). Then he formed his own band, Julian Covey & The Machine, probaby around 1965. Many famous musicians played in this band: John Moorshead (guitar, later to join Aynsley Dunbar in Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation), Pete Bardens (keyboards, later in Them and Camel), Pete Solley (keyboards), or Dave Mason (guitar, later in Traffic). Sorry, I don't have more info about the lineups, so any help would be very appreciated!!
Jim Cregan and Cliff Barton played together in the band, but can´t find info about the other musicians or the approximate period. Can someone help, please?
The band released a single, 'A little bit hurt / Sweet bacon (1967, Island), that was a sort of a hit, but I don't know the musicians featured there. Does anybody know?
Jim Cregan and Cliff Barton played together in the band, but can´t find info about the other musicians or the approximate period. Can someone help, please?
|
JULIAN COVEY & THE MACHINE #? |
? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Jim Cregan guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Phil Kinorra drums | + others unknown to me. Help! |
The band released a single, 'A little bit hurt / Sweet bacon (1967, Island), that was a sort of a hit, but I don't know the musicians featured there. Does anybody know?
ALAN PRICE SET
This was the Alan Price Set around July 1965:
|
ALAN PRICE BAND #? |
1965 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alan Price vocals, keyboards | Cliff Barton † bass | John Walters † trumpet | Nigel Stanger sax | Jeff Robinson drums |
GEORGIE FAME BAND
Still in December 1965, Cliff Barton join Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames:
They released a 3rd album, Sweet things. But in July 1966, Speedy and Cliff leave the band (Cliff was replaced by another great player, Ricky Brown). The band called it a day 4 months later. It was the end of an era...
|
GEORGIE FAME BAND #? |
Dec 65-Jul 66 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êRiot Squad |
|||||||
Georgie Fame vocals, keyboards | Colin Green guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Eddie Thornton trumpet | Peter Coe sax | Glenn Hughes † sax | Speedy Acquaye † percussion | Mitch Mitchell † drums |
They released a 3rd album, Sweet things. But in July 1966, Speedy and Cliff leave the band (Cliff was replaced by another great player, Ricky Brown). The band called it a day 4 months later. It was the end of an era...
FREE AT LAST
Soon after, in September 1966, Cliff Barton joins Alexis Korner in his new band, called Free At Last:
But, after some months, Cliff left the band before January 1967 (being replaced by Binky McKenzie).
|
FREE AT LAST #1 |
Sep 66-? |
|
|---|---|---|
Alexis Korner † vocals, guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Hughie Flint drums |
But, after some months, Cliff left the band before January 1967 (being replaced by Binky McKenzie).
DENNY LAINE BAND
With Binky McKenzie´s departure, Cliff Barton joins in May 1967, with a few changes in the string section:
But Cliff didn´t stay too much, and he was replaced in July 1967 by Andy Leigh.
|
DENNY LAINE BAND #? |
May 67-Jul 67 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denny Laine vocals, guitar | Cliff Barton † bass | Viv Prince drums | + | Clive Gillinson cello | Haflidi Halynisson cello | Angus Anderson violin | John Stein violin |
But Cliff didn´t stay too much, and he was replaced in July 1967 by Andy Leigh.
AND THEN...
He started playing sessions (mostly for Donovan), but it's almost impossible tracking down session credits for recordings made in the 60s. If anyone knows about more recordings with Cliff Barton, please send me a message!
After that, I only know that Cliff sadly died on May 16th, 1968 at the West Middlesex Hospital in London, from septicaemia due to heroin addiction, after spending 5 days at a hospital. He was just 24. Such a great talent disappeared so soon.
After that, I only know that Cliff sadly died on May 16th, 1968 at the West Middlesex Hospital in London, from septicaemia due to heroin addiction, after spending 5 days at a hospital. He was just 24. Such a great talent disappeared so soon.
DISCOGRAPHY: (16 albums known to me - Status: Quite advanced)
ALBUMS AS A BAND MEMBER (4 credits)
- The Sound of Cyril Davies (EP) - Cyril Davies (1964)
- Members: Geoff Bradford, Rick Brown, Keith Scott, Bernie Watson (RIP: Cliff Barton, Cyril Davies, Nicky Hopkins, Carlo Little, Micky Waller)
- Guests: Madeline Bell
- Comments: EP with 4 songs. The A side was recorded in February 1963, and it features Cyril Davies, Rick Brown, Bernie Watson, Nicky Hopkins and Carlo Little. The B side features Cyril Davies, Geoff Bradford, Cliff Barton, Keith Scott and Micky Waller, with backing vocals by Madeline Bell & Alex Bradford.
- Long John´s blues - Long John Baldry And The Hoochie Coochie Men (12/1964)
- Members: Geoff Bradford, Billy Law, Rod Stewart (RIP: Ian Armit, Long John Baldry, Cliff Barton)
- Guests: (RIP: Charles Blackwell, Ottilie Patterson)
- Comments: CD reissue contains 11 bonus tracks: singles (some of them, unreleased) as well as a session for Ottilie Patterson in March 1964.
- Sweet things - Georgie Fame (05/1966)
- Members: Peter Coe, Georgie Fame, Colin Green, Eddie Thornton (RIP: Speedy Acquaye, Cliff Barton, Glenn Hughes, Mitch Mitchell)
- Producer: (RIP: Denny Cordell)
- Getaway / See saw (SINGLE) - Georgie Fame (06/1966)
- Members: Peter Coe, Georgie Fame, Colin Green, Eddie Thornton (RIP: Speedy Acquaye, Cliff Barton, Glenn Hughes, Mitch Mitchell)
- The Very best of Georgie Fame - Georgie Fame (1966)
- Members: Peter Coe, Mick Eve, Georgie Fame, Colin Green, Tex Makins, John McLaughlin, Boots Slade, Eddie Thornton (RIP: Speedy Acquaye, Cliff Barton, Glenn Hughes, John Marshall, Mitch Mitchell, Red Reece, Phil Seamen, Micky Waller)
- 1964-1969 - Rod Stewart (06/2000)
- Members: Dave Ambrose, P P Arnold, Brian Auger, Jeff Beck, Geoff Bradford, Vic Briggs, Rick Brown, Victor Brox, Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, Beryl Marsden, Ian McLagan, Rod Stewart, Art Themen, Julie Tippett, Ron Wood (RIP: Ian Armit, Long John Baldry, Peter Bardens, Cliff Barton, Nicky Hopkins, Johnny Parker, Micky Waller)
- Guests: Gary Boyle, Mike D´Abo, Keith Emerson, John Paul Jones, Kenny Jones, Mick Liber, Keith Richards (RIP: Kim Gardner, Bobby Graham, Art Wood)
- Producer: Giorgio Gomelsky, Mick Jagger, Geoff Wright (RIP: Frank Zappa)
- Comments: Collection of early recordings by Rod, featured with Long John Baldry & Hoochie Coochie Men, The Steampacket, Shotgun Express, Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation and several solo singles and demos.
- Looking at Long John Baldry - the UA years 1964-1966 - Long John Baldry (05/2006)
- Members: Geoff Bradford, Billy Law (RIP: Ian Armit, Long John Baldry, Cliff Barton)
- Producer: George Martin
- A Shot of rhythm and blues - Rod Stewart (1977)
- Members: Rod Stewart
- Guests: (RIP: Ian Armit, Cliff Barton, Micky Waller)
- Comments: Album compiling unreleased material from Rod early days (1964-1966). It contains mostly blues versions of songs by Sam Cooke, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed or Leadbelly.
- Rock generation volume 5 - VVAA (1965)
- Guests: Geoff Bradford, Eric Clapton, Spencer Davis, Chris Dreja, Mike Hart, Billy Law, Jim McCarty, Paul Samwell-Smith, Rod Stewart, Muff Winwood, Steve Winwood, Pete York (RIP: Ian Armit, Long John Baldry, Cliff Barton, Sonny Boy Williamson)
- Comments: This French sampler has the subtitle ´The First Rhythm & Blues Festival in England (Birmingham Town Hall, 28th February 1964)´. It contains live tracks by Spencer Davis R&B Quartet, Long John Baldry and The Hoochie Coochie Men, The Yardbirds and the Liverpool Roadrunners.
- Blues anytime vol 3 - VVAA (1968)
- Guests: Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page (RIP: Cliff Barton, Cyril Davies, Nicky Hopkins, Carlo Little, Stuff Smith)
- Comments: Compilation of rare tracks by the Immediate label, featuring Cyril Davies & The All Stars, The All Stars (with guests Jeff Beck or or Jimmy Page or Nicky Hopkins), Eric Clapton with Jimmy Page, Santa Barbara Machine Head and Stuff Smith.
- Separation OST - VVAA (1968)
- Guests: Matthew Fisher (RIP: Cliff Barton)
- Comments: In the original soundtrack for the movie Separation (1968), the players were: Cliff Barton (bass), Matthew Fisher (keyboards, from Procol Harum fame) and Stanley Myers (keyboards).
- For little ones - Donovan (1967)
- Members: (RIP: Harold McNair)
- Guests: (RIP: Cliff Barton, Keith Webb)
- Comments: The other half of the A Gift From A Flower To A Garden double album.
- Wear your love like heaven - Donovan (1967)
- Members: (RIP: Harold McNair)
- Guests: Jack Bruce, Mike Carr, Eric Leese (RIP: Cliff Barton, Keith Webb)
- Producer: (RIP: Mickie Most)
- Comments: Half of the A Gift From A Flower To A Garden double album.
- A Gift from a flower to a garden - Donovan (1968)
- Members: Tony Carr (RIP: Harold McNair)
- Guests: Jack Bruce, Mike Carr, Eric Leese, Mike O´Neill (RIP: Cliff Barton, Keith Webb)
- Producer: (RIP: Mickie Most)
- Comments: Double album, it was finally reissued as two separate albums, Wear Your Love Like Heaven and For Little Ones.
- Donovan´s greatest hits - Donovan (1969)
- Members: John Cameron, Tony Carr, Spike Heatley, Danny Thompson (RIP: Harold McNair)
- Guests: Jeff Beck, Madeline Bell, Mike Carr, Clem Cattini, Jim Gordon, Allan Holdsworth, John Paul Jones, Eric Leese, Licorice Locking, Tony Newman, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood (RIP: Cliff Barton, John Bonham, Lesley Duncan, Eric Ford, Nicky Hopkins, Danny Moss, Keith Webb)
- Producer: (RIP: Mickie Most)
- Technical: Vic Anesini
- Comments: The CD reissue from 1999 contains bonus tracks as well as different content in some other tracks.
- Troubadour - the definitive collection 1964-1976 - Donovan (08/1992)
- Members: John Cameron, Tony Carr, Spike Heatley, Jim Keltner, Danny Thompson (RIP: Harold McNair)
- Guests: Jeff Beck, Madeline Bell, Lea Jane Berinati, David Briggs, John ´Rabbit´ Bundrick, Harrison Calloway, Mike Carr, Clem Cattini, Ben Cauley, Clive Chaman, Ronnie Eades, Jack Emblow, David Foster, Jim Gordon, Jay Graydon, Patrick Halling, Eddie Hoh, Allan Holdsworth, Ginger Holladay, Mary Holladay, David Hungate, John Paul Jones, Sheldon Kurland, Eric Leese, Licorice Locking, Henry McCullough, Graham Nash, Tony Newman, Mike O´Neill, Jimmy Page, Shawn Phillips, Charles Rose, Jean Roussel, Tom Scott, Denny Seiwell, Chris Spedding, Harvey Thompson, Ron Wood, Reggie Young (RIP: Cliff Barton, John Bonham, Kenny Buttrey, Lesley Duncan, Eric Ford, Nicky Hopkins, Danny Moss, Cozy Powell, Ronnie Ross, Alan Spenner, Keith Webb)
- Producer: Norbert Putnam (RIP: Mickie Most)
- Comments: Compilation with some unreleased rarities.
QUESTIONS:
01. Was Cliff Barton a member of Blues Incorporated before joining Free At Last?
RELATED WEBSITE LINKS: 6
From the superb site Knights in Blue Denim: The British Blues Scene '68 - '70 (by Christer Fridhammar & Vanja), we have:
From the fantastic The British Sound blog (by Bruno Ceriotti), we have rock family trees about:
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:
Assorted links:
- Rod Stewart mailing list (by Ken Bourbeau)
THANKS:
Very Special Thanks to:
Special Thanks to:
Thanks to:
WHAT'S NEW:
15/June/2010 - Page added to the blog.
17/September/2003 - Original page written by me (in the old site).
RELATED MUSICIANS:
Cliff Barton mostly worked with these musicians: (name + number of credits)
Ian Armit (5)
Geoff Bradford (5)
Donovan (5)
Nicky Hopkins (5)
Harold McNair (5)
Keith Webb (5)
Long John Baldry (4)
Jeff Beck (4)
Mike Carr (4)
Eric Leese (4)
Page created by Miguel Terol on: 17/September/2003 - Last modified on: 10/February/2012. 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.
Great site, and brings back many memories.
ReplyDeleteI believe 'Strawberry' was the original guitarist with Cyril, at least before Geoff Bradford, but I don't recall his real name. And Nicky Hopkins also played with Cyril at some point.
Strawberry was the name that Dave Sutch gave to Bernie Watson when he was Sutch's guitarist in the Savages. He was quite a young, shy guy who seemed a bit out of place behind Sutch's wild stage antics; Ricky Brown and Carlo Little were more able to go along with his tough 'in- yer-face' image. Bernie was a good guitarist. though. Played a sunburst Gibson 330 or 335 and left to join Cyril Davies and was replaced by a very fresh-faced Ritchie Blackmore. Sutch gave him an equally ridiculous nickname which I've long since forgotten, and he also concentrated on playing, rather than acting up for the audience. He played a red 335 and seemed to gain confidence rapidly in Sutch's make or break demands. Two different but great guitarists.
DeleteSutch gave Blackmore the name 'Bluebell' when he replaced Bernie 'Strawberry' Watson.
DeleteInteresting film clip of Cliff Barton backing Long John Baldry / Rod Stewart at the Marquee in a BBC tv programme Rod Stewart - Can't Stop Me Now on 9 July 2013.
ReplyDeleteOne of my best friends worked with Cliff Barton in Sound City- the music shop in about 1963. He says he was instrumental in getting Cliff to give up guitar and concentrate on bass. He also told me that it was Cliff that played bass on the early Who singles.
ReplyDeleteI was delighted to find this page. Clifford ( Cliff) was my cousin, 8 years older than me, and I was in awe of him and what seemed his "trendy and edgy" life in the 60s. I remember him at a family party in Ealing, when he arrived home very late, having just finished a session recording with Donovan. He sat in a corner strumming an air guitar. My aunt told me not to bother him as he was very tired. Sadly that was the last time I saw him. His death was a great shock. The family had tried to get help to get him get off drugs, and they were successful in almost weaning him from his addiction. He died in hospital from septicaemia, but the death was recorded as from drug addiction. The family believed that he had decided to leave the music industry and study somewhere. I always thought that there was a connection with the Moody Blues, and that he played session on their early records, but perhaps that was due to some involvement with Denny Laine. I also seem to remember something being said that he did some work with Hendrix. An article in Melody Maker I read at the time, reporting his death, said that the industry had lost one of its best bass guitarists. Although I knew that he had been a member of many well known groups, I really had had no idea just how good and respected he was.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies for not publishing your very interesting comment until now. I'm having some problems with the approval of comments, as I'm flooded with spam comments. Again, thanks for your very valuable contribution. Cliff Barton was indeed a great player.
DeleteFantastic information about the most recognized session musicians of that times, I knew some of that info but now that I have read all of this I have enriched my knowledge of early rock music, thank you for sharing this invaluable rock information that I considered lost and help me to know a little bit more about all my heroes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your very kind words, it's my only interest, sharing info and love for so many great musicians, many of them quite unnoticed, sadly.
Delete