Baker Gurvitz Army
Encyclopedia
Baker Gurvitz Army was an English
rock
group. Their self-titled debut album
featured a blend of hard rock
laced with Ginger Baker
's drumming. The lengthy "Mad Jack" was that album's outstanding track, and the album hit the US
Billboard 200
chart
, and peaked at #22 in the UK Albums Chart
. The two following albums contained similar material, although neither charted
in the UK
nor the US
.
and Three Man Army
members, Paul and Adrian Gurvitz
joined forces with ex-Cream
drummer Ginger Baker
in 1974. Things had not been going too well for Ginger Baker since the demise of his own band Ginger Baker's Air Force
.
The Gurvitz Brothers, too, were looking for a new way ahead after the early success of their band The Gun.
When Cream split up in 1968, Baker was invited to join Blind Faith
, which formed the following year. This was not such a successful venture and following its demise, Baker put together his own outfit, Ginger Baker's Airforce, in 1970. This band included many of his friends and musicians such as Graham Bond
, Phil Seamen
, Denny Laine
and Steve Winwood
. The band recorded two live album
s.
The band recorded two more studio
albums, Elysian Encounter
and Hearts On Fire
. However, the death of their manager led to the band breaking up in 1976. In the aftermath Baker briefly led a band called Energy, and was associated with Atomic Rooster
and Hawkwind
. In 2003, a compilation album
, Flying In And Out Of Stardom, was released with four new live songs.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group. Their self-titled debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
featured a blend of hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
laced with Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
's drumming. The lengthy "Mad Jack" was that album's outstanding track, and the album hit the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, and peaked at #22 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. The two following albums contained similar material, although neither charted
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
nor the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
Former The GunThe Gun (band)
The Gun was a late 1960s British rock guitar trio who had a single British Top Ten hit, "Race With The Devil" and recorded two albums before disbanding...
and Three Man Army
Three Man Army
Three Man Army was a British hard rock band active in the first half of the 1970s.-History:The group was formed by Adrian Gurvitz and Paul Gurvitz, formerly of The Gun. Following the band's dissolution, Adrian played with Buddy Miles and Paul played with Parrish & Gurvitz, then reunited as Three...
members, Paul and Adrian Gurvitz
Adrian Gurvitz
Adrian Gurvitz is an English singer, musician and songwriter.-Career:...
joined forces with ex-Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
drummer Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
in 1974. Things had not been going too well for Ginger Baker since the demise of his own band Ginger Baker's Air Force
Ginger Baker's Air Force
Ginger Baker's Air Force was a jazz-rock fusion band comprising Ginger Baker on drums, Steve Winwood on organ and vocals, Ric Grech on violin and bass, Jeanette Jacobs on vocals, Denny Laine on guitar and vocals, Phil Seamen on drums, Alan White on drums, Chris Wood on tenor sax and flute, Graham...
.
The Gurvitz Brothers, too, were looking for a new way ahead after the early success of their band The Gun.
When Cream split up in 1968, Baker was invited to join Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
, which formed the following year. This was not such a successful venture and following its demise, Baker put together his own outfit, Ginger Baker's Airforce, in 1970. This band included many of his friends and musicians such as Graham Bond
Graham Bond
Graham John Clifton Bond was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s....
, Phil Seamen
Phil Seamen
Phillip William "Phil" Seamen was an English jazz drummer.With a solid background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s British jazz...
, Denny Laine
Denny Laine
Denny Laine is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, guitarist, and lead singer of The Moody Blues' 1965 debut album "The Magnificent Moodies"; and, later, best known for his role as co-founder of Wings...
and Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
. The band recorded two live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
s.
The band recorded two more studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
albums, Elysian Encounter
Elysian Encounter
-Track listing:#"People" 4:17#"The Key" 6:24#"Time" 4:04#"The Gambler" 4:23#"The Dreamer" 3:41#"Remember" 5:24#"The Artists" 5:12...
and Hearts On Fire
Hearts on Fire (Baker Gurvitz Army album)
-Track listing:#"Hearts On Fire" 2:32#"Neon Lights" 4:38#"Smiling" 3:16#"Tracks of My Life" 4:30#"Flying In and Out of Stardom" 2:21#"Dancing The Night Away" 3:26...
. However, the death of their manager led to the band breaking up in 1976. In the aftermath Baker briefly led a band called Energy, and was associated with Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...
and Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
. In 2003, a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Flying In And Out Of Stardom, was released with four new live songs.
Discography
- Baker Gurvitz ArmyBaker Gurvitz Army (album)Baker Gurvitz Army is Baker Gurvitz Army's first studio album.-Track listing:#"Help Me" 4:34#"Love Is" 2:47#"Memory Lane" 4:46#"Inside Of Me" 5:33#"I Wanna Live Again" 4:22...
(1974) - Elysian EncounterElysian Encounter-Track listing:#"People" 4:17#"The Key" 6:24#"Time" 4:04#"The Gambler" 4:23#"The Dreamer" 3:41#"Remember" 5:24#"The Artists" 5:12...
(1975) - Live In Derby '75 (1975)
- Hearts On FireHearts on Fire (Baker Gurvitz Army album)-Track listing:#"Hearts On Fire" 2:32#"Neon Lights" 4:38#"Smiling" 3:16#"Tracks of My Life" 4:30#"Flying In and Out of Stardom" 2:21#"Dancing The Night Away" 3:26...
(1976) - Flying In And Out Of Stardom (2003)
- Live Live Live (2005)
- Still Alive (2008)
Members
- Ginger BakerGinger BakerPeter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
: Drums - Adrian GurvitzAdrian GurvitzAdrian Gurvitz is an English singer, musician and songwriter.-Career:...
: Guitar, vocals - Paul Gurvitz: Bass guitar, backing vocals
- Mr Snips a.k.a. Steve Parsons: Lead Vocals
- Peter LemerPeter LemerPeter Lemer is an English jazz musician. He worked with the Pete Lemer Quintet, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Annette Peacock, Harry Beckett, Gilgamesh, Baker Gurvitz Army, Seventh Wave, Harry Beckett's Joy Unlimited, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Mike Oldfield Group, In Cahoots, Miller/Baker/Lemer...
: Keyboards