Alexander James Harvey (5 February 1935 – 4 February 1982) was a Scottish rock and blues musician. Although his career spanned almost three decades, he is best remembered as the frontman of

the Sensational Alex Harvey Band The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1972. Fronted by Alex Harvey accompanied by Zal Cleminson on guitar, bassist Chris Glen, keyboard player Hugh McKenna (1949–2019) and drummer Ted McKenna, their ...

, with whom he built a reputation as an exciting live performer during the era of

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

in the 1970s.

Biography

Harvey was born and raised in the working-class

Kinning Park Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formerly a separate police burgh between 1871 and 1905 before being absorbed by the city. In 1897, it had a population of 14,326.Govan Parish School Board, ''The Members' Year Book 1 ...

district of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

(also reported as the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...

in the 2009 STV show ''The Greatest Scot'')."Rock Star" 2 By his own account, he worked in a number of jobs, from carpentry to being a waiter at a restaurant to carving tombstones,Denselow, 8 before finding success in music. He first began performing in

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States ...

groups in 1954. On Friday, 20 May 1960, at the Town Hall in

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where ...

, Alex Harvey and his Big Beat Band opened for

Johnny Gentle John Askew (born 8 December 1936), known as Johnny Gentle, is a British pop singer best remembered for having briefly toured Scotland with the Silver Beetles (later known as the Beatles) as his backing group in 1960. Life and career John Ask ...

and His Group, "His Group" being

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

(John, Paul, George,

Stuart Sutcliffe Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 – 10 April 1962) was a Scottish painter and musician best known as the original bass guitarist of the English rock band the Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his career as a paint ...

and Tommy Moore), on this the opening night – and biggest audience – of the Beatles' seven-date tour of Scotland with Gentle. His musical roots were in

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and skiffle music, which enjoyed considerable popularity in Britain during the late 1950s. From 1958 until 1965, he was the leader of Alex Harvey's Big Soul Band, playing

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

songs and spending considerable time touring in the United Kingdom and Germany. He also won a competition that sought "Scotland's answer to

Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele reco ...

". Harvey became strongly identified with British rhythm and blues music, although he was equally able to play rock songs. After leaving the Big Soul Band, he briefly tried for a solo career but with little success. By 1967, he found a positive direction for his career when he became a member of the pit band in the London stage production of the musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''. This band recorded the live album ''Hair Rave Up'', which contained Harvey originals and other songs not from the stage show. In 1970, Harvey formed Rock Workshop with

Ray Russell Ray Russell (September 4, 1924 – March 15, 1999) was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories. His most ...

; their first, self-titled album contained an early version of "Hole in Her Stocking", later to appear on '' Framed''. Harvey remained with ''Hair'' for five years. Harvey was instrumental in the formation of the band

Stone the Crows Stone the Crows were a Scottish blues rock band formed in Glasgow in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member Les Harvey. History The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to L ...

by introducing his younger brother Leslie "Les" Harvey to singer

Maggie Bell Margaret Bell (born 12 January 1945 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish rock vocalist. She came to fame as co-lead vocalist of the blues-rock group Stone the Crows, and was described as the UK's closest counterpart to American singe ...

. Also in Stone the Crows was bassist

James Dewar Sir James Dewar (20 September 1842 – 27 March 1923) was a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied ato ...

, later of

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...

fame. Les Harvey was electrocuted in a freak accident while performing with the band in 1972.

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

In 1972, Harvey formed

(often shortened to SAHB) with guitarist

Zal Cleminson Alistair Macdonald "Zal" Cleminson (born 4 May 1949) is a Scottish guitarist, best known for his role in The Sensational Alex Harvey Band between 1972 and 1978. In 2017, he put together a new rock band - /sin'dogs/, which recorded and released ...

, bassist

Chris Glen Christopher John Glen (born 6 November 1950), known simply as Chris Glen, is a Scottish rock musician. He is best known for playing with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band from 1972 to 1978, and Michael Schenker Group from 1980 to 1984, 2008 to 2 ...

, and cousins Hugh (keyboards) and

Ted McKenna Edward McKenna (10 March 1950 – 19 January 2019) was a Scottish drummer who played with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Rory Gallagher, The Greg Lake Band, and The Michael Schenker Group. He also toured with Ian Gillan for a short period o ...

(drums), all previous members of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

act Tear Gas. SAHB produced a succession of highly regarded albums and tours throughout the 1970s. The band never achieved acclaim in the United States the way it did in Great Britain, but it had a cult following in certain US cities, especially

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, where the group first played at the Agora Ballroom in December 1974. Thanks to airplay from

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock st ...

, songs like "Next" and "The Faith Healer" became very popular. Cleveland remained a city where the Sensational Alex Harvey Band had a devoted following. However, they were unable to replicate that popularity in most other US cities. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band had top 40 hits in Britain with the single "

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...

", a cover version of the Tom Jones hit, which reached number seven in 1975, and also with "The Boston Tea Party" in June 1976. After Harvey left the group later that year, the other members continued as SAHB (Without Alex) producing the album ''

Fourplay Fourplay (stylized as fOURPLAY) is a contemporary American smooth jazz quartet. The original members of the group were Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour (guitars), Nathan East (bass), and Harvey Mason (drums). In 1997, Lee Ritenour left the ...

''. Harvey re-joined the group for 1978's ''

Rock Drill Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

''. SAHB with Alex toured the UK in Autumn 1981 with the last gig at Workington's Carnegie Theatre on 1 November.

Solo albums and death

After he left the band for good, he released two more solo albums and went on tour with his solo band from 1979. On 4 February 1982, returning from performances in Belgium, Harvey died from a heart attack, a day before his 47th birthday.

Personal life

Harvey was married twice and had two sons, one from each marriage. Harvey was a

Master Mason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in Lodge Union, No. 332, in the Province of Glasgow, in Scotland. He was initiated on 22 June 1955 and was passed to the Second Degree in Freemasonry on 24 August 1955. He received his Third Degree on 16 November 1955.

Legacy

In 2002, a biography of Harvey by John Neil Munro was published: ''The Sensational Alex Harvey''. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were voted the fifth greatest Scottish band of all time in a 2005 survey. On 4 February 2012, a

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

tree was planted in memory of Harvey on the grounds of the People's Palace museum in Glasgow. The tree was planted by Alex Harvey Junior and the remaining members of the band. A limited edition book entitled ''Alex Harvey: Last of the Teenage Idols'', photographed by Janet Macoska and edited by Martin Kielty was released for the 30th anniversary of his death. Two novels by Christopher Brookmyre, ''The Sacred Art of Stealing'' and ''A Snowball in Hell'', reference SAHB's work. On 18 March 2016, Universal Music released a 14-disc box set of Harvey's work, entitled ''The Last of the Teenage Idols''. This multi-disc set was the most comprehensive compilation of Harvey's music to date, including many rare and out of print titles.

Discography

Solo artist

Studio albums

*''

The Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...

'' (1964) *'' Roman Wall Blues'' (1969) *''

The Joker Is Wild ''The Joker Is Wild'' is a 1957 American Musical film, musical drama film directed by Charles Vidor, starring Frank Sinatra, Mitzi Gaynor, Jeanne Crain, and Eddie Albert, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is about Joe E. Lewis, the po ...

'' (1972) *'' The Mafia Stole My Guitar'' (1979) *'' Soldier on the Wall'' (1983)

Singles

* "Agent OO Soul" / "Go Away Baby" (1965) Fontana: TF 610 * "Do the Dog" / "Something You Got" (1966) GTA Records: PO 40018 * "My Girl Slooping" / "Mashed Potatoes" (1966) GTA Records: PO 40019 * "Work Song" / "I Can Do Without Your Love" (1966) Fontana: TF 764 * "Maybe Some Day" / "Curtains for My Baby (St. James Infirmary)" (1967) Decca * "The Sunday Song" (1967) Decca * "Midnight Moses" (1969) Fontana * "Alex Harvey Talks About Everything (An In-Depth Session with Alex Harvey of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band)" (1974) Vertigo: MK 71974 * "Runaway" (1976) Vertigo * "Mitzi" (1984) Victoria: VIC-117, 10.282 * "Runaway" (1976, remastered 2002) Vertigo * "Midnight Moses" (2015) Fontana: 535 854-6

Live albums

*''Hair Rave Up'' (1969) *''Alex Harvey Talks About Everything'' (1974) *''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'' (1975) *''Alex Harvey Presents: The Loch Ness Monster'' (1977) *''BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert'' (1991) *''Live on the Test'' (1995) *''The Gospel According to Alex Harvey'' (1998) *''British Tour '76'' (2004) *''Live at the BBC'' (2009)

Alex Harvey and His Soul Band

*'' Alex Harvey and His Soul Band'' (1964)

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

*'' Framed'' (1972) *'' Next...'' (1973) *'' The Impossible Dream'' (1974) *''

Tomorrow Belongs to Me "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" is a song from the 1966 Broadway musical ''Cabaret'', and the 1972 film of the same name. It was written and composed by two Jewish musicians – John Kander and Fred Ebb – as part of an avowedly anti-fascist work; t ...

'' (1975) *'' The Penthouse Tapes'' (1976) *''

SAHB Stories ''SAHB Stories'' (pronounced "Sob Stories") is the sixth studio album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, released in 1976. It features their hit single "Boston Tea Party", as well as a cover of the Jerry Reed song, "Amos Moses". Harvey left th ...

'' (1976) *''

'' (1978)

Compilations/other records

*'' Band on the Wagon'' (1969) *'' Hot City'' (recorded in 1974; released in 2009) *'' Alex Harvey and His Soul Band'', 20 unreleased tracks, CD only (1999) *''Teenage a Go Go - The Unreleased Recordings of Alex Harvey 1963-67'' (Alchemy Entertainment 2003) *''Last of the Teenage Idols'' (2016) - a 14-CD/217-track box set including 21 previously unreleased songs, 59 songs on cd for the 1st time and a number of rare recordings plus a hardback book of photographs

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Alex 1935 births 1982 deaths People from Gorbals Scottish rock singers Musicians from Glasgow Vertigo Records artists 20th-century Scottish male singers 20th-century Scottish musicians Scottish songwriters