Malcolm Tomlinson

Malcolm Tomlinson
Born	16 June 1946 (1946-06-16) (age 65) Isleworth, Middlesex, England
Origin	London, England
Genres	Rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Drums, vocals
Years active	1962–present
Labels	EMI, Liberty, Polydor, True North, Elektra, A&M
Associated acts	The Malcolm Tomlinson Band The Panthers The Del Mar Trio James Deane & The London Cats Jeff Curtis & The Flames The Motivation The Penny Peeps Gethsemane Milkwood Damage Syrinx Rhinoceros Rick James Bearfoot

Malcolm Tomlinson (born 16 June 1946 in Isleworth, Middlesex, England) is most notable as a Canadian musician, particularly active as a recording artist in the late 1970s.^[1]

History

UK Years: Early 1960s-1969

Tomlinson, a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, started out in the early 1960s playing drums in West London band The Panthers. Around 1962, he joined Jeff Curtis & The Flames, the house band at the famous Ealing Jazz Club. The group recorded a five-track acetate with the legendary Joe Meek before Tomlinson left in late 1963 to join The Del Mar Trio with singer Jimmy Marsh (born James Marsh, 9 April 1941, Salem, Carmarthenshire, Wales), guitarist Allen Bevan and bass player Tony Rowland. In February 1965, the group recorded 4 tracks for EMI at Abbey Road under the supervision of Bob Barratt. Two months later, the band changed name to James Deane & The London Cats and headed for Germany for a year.

In June 1966, Tomlinson and Marsh joined forces with two members of The Noblemen - bass player Bryan Stevens (born 13 November 1941, Lha Datu, North Borneo) and keyboard player and singer Mike Ketley (born Michael Ketley, 1 October 1947, Balham, South West London) - in a new version of The Noblemen which changed name in November to The Motivation. The new Noblemen line up advertised in Melody Maker for a saxophone player and duly recruited two players from Birmingham combo, The Moonrakers, Chris Rodger (born Christopher Rodger, 16 October 1946, Solihull, Warwickshire) and Martin Barre.

The Motivation supported visiting US soul acts like Lee Dorsey and The Coasters. They also toured under their own name, sharing the bill with the likes of The Herd (twice at the Marquee), Cream and The Tremeloes. They also spent six weeks in Rome playing at the Piper Club during April-May 1967. By early June, Marsh and Rodger had left and the band brought in former Clayton Squares' singer Denny Alexander (born Denny Alexander Thomas, 10 March 1946, Liverpool, Lancashire), changing name to The Penny Peeps later that summer. Barre then dedicated his time to lead guitar.

The Penny Peeps signed to Liberty Records and recorded two singles, including the excellent mod-rocker "Model Village" and some further demos (some of which have subsequently been released) before Alexander left and the remaining members evolved into blues band, Gethsemane. The group shared the bill with notable acts like Jethro Tull, Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie among others. In mid-December 1968 Barre joined Jethro Tull and Gethsemane broke up.

Canada: 1969-Present

Tomlinson subsequently moved to Toronto in March 1969 with his former colleague from Jeff Curtis & The Flames, guitarist Louis McKelvey (born Louis Campbell McKelvey, 31 October 1943, Killorglin, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland). The pair formed the group, Milkwood, which appeared at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival concert on September 13, 1969. The band also recorded an unreleased LP for Polydor Records with Jerry Ragovoy producing. The pair also appeared on an unreleased LP by Toronto singer Jay Telfer while Tomlinson guested on Life's eponymous album for Polydor Records. The pair then formed a new band, Damage, but this was short-lived and during the early 1970s, Tomlinson played in a succession of local bands, including Syrinx, and a latter day version of Elektra band, Rhinoceros.

In 1973 Tomlinson joined Rick James' original Stone City Band and appeared on an LP that was never released. He later recorded with the band Bearfoot and then formed the Malcolm Tomlinson Band. The group recorded two albums in 1977 and 1979 for A&M Records.

On 2 June 2007, Tomlinson was behind the kit for a one-off reunion of the seminal 60's Toronto band Kensington Market. He also doubled up to play with Luke & The Apostles.

He is still active with The Malcolm Tomlinson Band, which includes Gerry Markman - guitar (The Sensations), Steve Hunter - keyboard (M/D Hair & Rocky Horror Show) and Glenn Olive - bass, and recently contributed to an LP by the Cameo Blues Band.

References

1. ^ Rock Singer Still Trying Tor The Big Time

External links

• The Beat Merchants [1]
• Martin Barre’s Early Years: The Motivation, The Penny Peeps and Gethsemane^{[dead link]}

Persondata
Name	Tomlinson, Malcolm
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 June 1946
Place of birth	Isleworth, Middlesex, England
Date of death
Place of death