McGuinness Flint

McGuinness Flint
Origin	England
Genres	Rock, blues-rock
Years active	1970–1975
Labels	Capitol Records
Associated acts	Manfred Mann, Gallagher and Lyle, The Blues Band, Stonebridge McGuinness
Past members
Tom McGuinness Hughie Flint Dennis Coulson Benny Gallagher Graham Lyle Dixie Dean Lou Stonebridge Jim Evans

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 songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle.^[1] 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."^[1]

Career

Their first single "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.^[2] 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,^[2] 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 concerts. 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.)^[1]

Gallagher and Lyle quit towards the end of 1971 to record as a duo.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1] A splinter group, Stonebridge McGuinness, had a minor hit in 1979 with "Oo-Eeh Baby" (No. 54 in the UK^[3]) and released the album Corporate Madness on RCA Records the following year.^[1] 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.^[1]

See also

• List of performances on Top of the Pops
• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• List of NME covers
• Christmas number two

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} "Biography by Bruce Eder". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p19258. Retrieved 19 February 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 339. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 534. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.