Blodwyn Pig was a British

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

band, founded in 1968 by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter

Mick Abrahams Michael Timothy Abrahams (born 7 April 1943) is an English guitarist and band leader, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the frontman for Blodwyn Pig. Jethro Tull Abrahams was born in Luton, B ...

Career

Abrahams left Jethro Tull after their debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

This Was ''This Was'' is the debut studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in October 1968. Recorded at a cost of £1200, it is the only Jethro Tull album with guitarist Mick Abrahams, who was a major influence for the sound and music ...

'', was released, due to a falling-out with Tull vocalist

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of the British rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist w ...

over the direction of the band. He formed Blodwyn Pig with Jack Lancaster (

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

and

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

Andy Pyle Andy Pyle (born 15 July 1946, Luton, Bedfordshire, England) is a British bassist. He played with The Kinks from 1976 to 1978. Prior to that, he was in Blodwyn Pig (1968–1972) and Savoy Brown (1972–1974). Later, he played with Wishbone Ash ...

(

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

), and Ron Berg (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s). With Abrahams and Lancaster in the lead, Blodwyn Pig recorded two albums, ''

Ahead Rings Out ''Ahead Rings Out'' is the debut album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1969. The band had been formed in 1969 by Mick Abrahams, the former guitarist of Jethro Tull, and sales of ''Ahead Rings Out'' rivalled those of Jethro Tu ...

'' in 1969 and ''

Getting to This ''Getting to This '' was the second album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1970. The album was the band's last until a brief reunion in the 1990s. Peter Banks joined from Yes after the recording of ''Getting to This'', but the ...

'' in 1970. Both reached the Top Ten of the UK Albums Chart and charted in the United States; ''Ahead Rings Out'' displayed a jazzier turn on the heavy blues–rock that formed the band's core rooted in the British 1960s rhythm and blues scene from which sprang groups like The Yardbirds,

Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

and eventually Led Zeppelin. Saxophonist–singer Lancaster (who often played two horns at once, like his idol Rahsaan Roland Kirk) was at least as prominent in the mix as Abrahams; some critics thought this contrast bumped the band toward a freer, more experimental sound on the second album. The

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Summer Day" failed to

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, but the quartet became something of a favourite on the underground concert circuit. Abrahams left the band and later developed another band or worked solo. Ex-

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

and future Flash guitarist Peter Banks became one of several guitarists to succeed Abrahams after he left. Largely due to Abrahams's disillusionment with the business side of music, Blodwyn Pig eventually became an on-again, off-again concern; Lancaster at one point became a record producer, and Pyle eventually joined Savoy Brown. Over the years since their original formation, Blodwyn Pig reformed several times, usually with Abrahams and Lancaster leading the group, and recorded two more albums in the 1990s.

Discography

Singles

* "Dear Jill" / "Sweet Caroline" (Island Records WIP 6059), 1969 * "Walk On The Water" / "Summer Day" (Island Records WIP 6069), 1969 * "Same Old Story" / "Slow Down" (Chrysalis Records WIP 6078), 1970

Studio albums

* ''

'' ( AM/Chrysalis, 1969) * ''

'' (

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

, 1970) * ''Lies'' ( Angel Air Records, 1994) * ''Pig-in-the-Middle'' (1996)

Live albums/compilations

* ''All Tore Down: Live'' (1994) * ''The Modern Alchemist'' (Indigo Records, 1997) * ''All Said And Done'' (Shakedown Records, 2004) two- CD 1 DVD

boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

* ''The Radio Sessions 1969 to 1971'' (Secret Records, 2012) * ''All Said And Done'' – Double CD recorded in 2001 at Audiolab Studios Secret records Repress 2020

References

External links

Mick Abrahams – Blodwyn Pig Official Site
{{Authority control British blues rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1968 Island Records artists A&M Records artists Chrysalis Records artists 1968 establishments in the United Kingdom Savoy Brown members