Steamhammer (band)

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Steamhammer was a blues-rock band from Worthing, England. The band was founded in 1968 by Martin Quittenton (guitar) and Kieran White (vocals, guitar, harmonica). The first stable lineup consisted of Quittenton, White, Martin Pugh (guitar), Steve Davy (bass), and Michael Rushton (drums).

This version of the band acted as backing band for Freddie King on one of his tours of England. The band's first album, the eponymous "Steamhammer" (aka "Reflection"), was released in 1969. It included covers of "You'll Never Know" by B. B. King and "Twenty Four Hours" by Eddie Boyd as well as original songs by White, Quittenton, and Pugh. Session musicians Harold McNair (flute) and Pete Sears (piano) also played on the album.

This album was not commercially successful, but the band became a popular live act, especially in West Germany. In the summer of 1969, Quittenton and Rushton left the band, and Steve Jolliffe (saxophone, flute) and Mick Bradley (drums) joined the band.

This version of the band recorded the album "Mk II", released in 1969. It consisted entirely of original songs, and the musical style had more jazz and progressive rock influences. Jolliffe left the band in 1970. The remaining band members recorded the album "Mountains", which was released in 1970. This album included a cover of "Riding on the L & N" by Lionel Hampton and seven original songs.

In 1971, White and Davy left the band, and Louis Cennamo (bass) joined the band. This lineup, along with session vocalist Garth Watt-Roy, recorded the album "Speech", which was released in 1972. It consisted of three long, mostly instrumental songs.

Bradley died of leukemia in 1972, leading to the break-up of the band. Pugh and Cennamo went on to play in Armageddon. After that band broke up, Cennamo joined Illusion. White recorded a solo album, "Open Door", which was released in 1975. White died in 1995 following an unsuccessful fight against cancer. Quittenton played guitar and co-wrote songs, including Maggie May and You Wear It Well on albums by Rod Stewart. Jolliffe joined Tangerine Dream in 1978 and played on the album Cyclone.

Discography

ingles

* Junior's Wailing (single version)/Windmill (11 April 1969)
* Autumn Song/Blues For Passing People (1969)
* Mountains/I Wouldn't Have Thought (1971)

Albums

* Steamhammer (1969)
* Mk II (1969)
* Mountains (1970)
* Speech (1972)

External links

* [http://www.steamhammer.com/ Martin Pugh's Steamhammer website]
* [http://starling.rinet.ru/music/steam.htm Steamhammer — Album reviews] by [http://starling.rinet.ru/music/index.htm George Starostin]