McGuinness Flint
Encyclopedia
McGuinness Flint was a rock band
formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness, former bassist and guitarist
with Manfred Mann
, and Hughie Flint
, former drummer
with John Mayall
; plus vocalist and keyboard
player Dennis Coulson, and multi-instrumentalists and songwriter
s Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. With a varying subsequent line-up, "they earned a loyal following in Britain, but in the United States they were scarcely more than a cult act, despite a top-flight lineup and a sound that should have been a natural for the era."
"When I'm Dead and Gone
" reached No.2 on the UK Singles Chart
at the end of 1970 (and No.47 in the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
chart
) and the debut album
McGuinness Flint also made the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart
. In 1999, it received another outing, in the soundtrack of the film
, East is East
.
A follow-up single, "Malt and Barley Blues", was a UK No.5 hit in 1971, but the group floundered under the pressures of instant success, being required to record
a second album and reproduce their recorded sound adequately on stage, which resulted in disappointing concert
s. At the time of release, Roy Orbison
was so impressed with the "Malt and Barley Blues", that he considered recording it.
The second album Happy Birthday Ruthy Baby failed to chart
, as did the title track when released as a single, but contained some Gallagher and Lyle songs, notably "Sparrow", which attracted cover versions. (There was no drop in quality; the second album contained some of their strongest material, including "Reader To Writer", "Fixer" and "Piper Of Dreams", among others.)
Gallagher and Lyle
quit towards the end of 1971 to record as a duo
. The group then recruited bassist
Dixie Dean, and recorded
Lo and Behold, an album of Bob Dylan
songs (which had not yet been officially recorded and released by the writer himself), as credited to Coulson, Dean, McGuinness, Flint, and issued in 1972. A single "Let The People Go" was banned by the BBC
as it related to the Ulster crisis
, a fate which also befell a contemporary single by Paul McCartney
and Wings
, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish
".
Coulson left and was replaced by Lou Stonebridge on keyboards
and Jim Evans on guitar
. This new line-up recorded two further albums, Rainbow (1973) and C’est La Vie (1974), but interest had evaporated, and they disbanded in 1975. A splinter group, Stonebridge McGuinness, had a minor hit in 1979 with "Oo-Eeh Baby" (No. 54 in the UK) and released the album Corporate Madness on RCA Records
the following year. This group proved short-lived, however, and afterwards McGuinness and Flint both joined The Blues Band
, fronted by former Manfred Mann
vocalist and harmonica
player, Paul Jones
.
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness, former bassist and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
with Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
, and Hughie Flint
Hughie Flint
Hughie Flint , is an English drummer, best known for his stint in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, playing drums on the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton album, released in 1966, for his group McGuinness Flint in the early 70s and for his subsequent association with The Blues Band.Flint played in...
, former drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
with John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
; plus vocalist and keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
player Dennis Coulson, and multi-instrumentalists and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. With a varying subsequent line-up, "they earned a loyal following in Britain, but in the United States they were scarcely more than a cult act, despite a top-flight lineup and a sound that should have been a natural for the era."
Career
Their first singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"When I'm Dead and Gone
When I'm Dead and Gone
"When I'm Dead and Gone" is a song written by Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. It was recorded and released in November 1970 as the debut single by McGuinness Flint, peaked at No. 2 in the UK charts the following month, and reached No. 47 in the US charts a few weeks later...
" reached No.2 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at the end of 1970 (and No.47 in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
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 the 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...
McGuinness Flint also made the Top 10 of 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...
. In 1999, it received another outing, in the soundtrack of the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, East is East
East is East (film)
East Is East is a 1999 British black comedy/drama film, written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O'Donnell. It is set in a British household of mixed-ethnicity, with a British Pakistani father and an English mother in Salford, Lancashire, in 1971...
.
A follow-up single, "Malt and Barley Blues", was a UK No.5 hit in 1971, but the group floundered under the pressures of instant success, being required to record
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
a second album and reproduce their recorded sound adequately on stage, which resulted in disappointing concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s. At the time of release, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
was so impressed with the "Malt and Barley Blues", that he considered recording it.
The second album Happy Birthday Ruthy Baby failed to 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....
, as did the title track when released as a single, but contained some Gallagher and Lyle songs, notably "Sparrow", which attracted cover versions. (There was no drop in quality; the second album contained some of their strongest material, including "Reader To Writer", "Fixer" and "Piper Of Dreams", among others.)
Gallagher and Lyle
Gallagher and Lyle
Gallagher and Lyle was the Scottish pairing of singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle.-Career:They joined forces in 1959, initially as members of the local Largs based band, The Bluefrets. They began writing original material for the band and also wrote "Mr Heartbreak's Here Instead"...
quit towards the end of 1971 to record as a duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
. The group then recruited bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Dixie Dean, and recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
Lo and Behold, an album of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
songs (which had not yet been officially recorded and released by the writer himself), as credited to Coulson, Dean, McGuinness, Flint, and issued in 1972. A single "Let The People Go" was banned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as it related to the Ulster crisis
Ulster Workers' Council Strike
The Ulster Workers' Council strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "The Troubles". The strike was called by loyalists and unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had been signed in December 1973...
, a fate which also befell a contemporary single by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish
Give Ireland Back to the Irish
"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is a Paul and Linda McCartney song written in response to the events of Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland on 30 January 1972...
".
Coulson left and was replaced by Lou Stonebridge on keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and Jim Evans on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. This new line-up recorded two further albums, Rainbow (1973) and C’est La Vie (1974), but interest had evaporated, and they disbanded in 1975. A splinter group, Stonebridge McGuinness, had a minor hit in 1979 with "Oo-Eeh Baby" (No. 54 in the UK) and released the album Corporate Madness on RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
the following year. This group proved short-lived, however, and afterwards McGuinness and Flint both joined The Blues Band
The Blues Band
The Blues Band is a British blues band formed in 1979 by Paul Jones, former lead vocalist and harmonica player with Manfred Mann, and vocalist/slide guitarist Dave Kelly, who had previously played with the John Dummer Blues Band, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker...
, fronted by former Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
vocalist and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player, Paul Jones
Paul Jones (singer)
Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:As P. P...
.