Bronco were an English five piece

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and

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band, who were signed to Island and Polydor Records between 1969 and 1973. They released three albums during their existence, ''Country Home'' (1970), ''Ace of Sunlight'' (1971) and ''Smoking Mixture'' (1973).

History

Bronco were formed in August 1969 by Jess Roden following his split from

The Alan Bown Set The Alan Bown Set later known as The Alan Bown! or just Alan Bown, were a British band of the 1960s and 1970s whose music evolved from jazz and blues through soul and rhythm and blues and ended up as psychedelia and progressive rock. The band a ...

. They were signed to Island Records by

Guy Stevens Guy Stevens (13 April 1943 – 28 August 1981) was a British music industry figure whose roles included DJ, record producer, and band manager. He was influential in promoting R&B music in Britain in the 1960s, gave the rock bands Procol Ha ...

and, after initially recording tracks at Olympic Studios with him, recorded their first album, ''Country Home'', at Island's own Basing Street Studios during 1970, with the final mix being overseen by Paul Samwell-Smith. One of the album's tracks, "Love" was included on '' Bumpers'', an Island

sampler album A sampler or promotional compilation is a type of compilation album generally offered at a reduced price to showcase an artist or a selection of artists signed to a particular record label. The format became popular in the late 1960s as record lab ...

. The group similarly recorded their second album ''Ace of Sunlight'' at Basing Street (1971) which was produced by the band and Richard Digby Smith. Singer-songwriter Clifford T. Ward guested on their debut album ''Country Home''.

Trevor Lucas Trevor George Lucas (25 December 1943 – 4 February 1989) was an Australian folk singer, a member of Fairport Convention and one of the founders of Fotheringay. He mainly worked as a singer-songwriter and guitarist but also produced many album ...

sang back-up vocals on ''Ace of Sunlight'', and both Ian Hunter and Mick Ralphs from

Mott The Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fai ...

also guested on that album. In January 1971, Bronco appeared on BBC Two's '' Disco 2''. Rock On TV: Disco 2
. Retrieved 5 November 2013 Following a serious motorway accident between Cheltenham and Bristol (in which the group's crew – Dick Hayes and Alan Stone – and drummer Pete Robinson and bassist John Pasternak were badly injured) and a later, ill-fated West Coast of America tour, Roden left the band after a final British tour with label-mates

and

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

in the early 1972, to start a solo career. Guitarist

Robbie Blunt Robert William Blunt (born 4 March 1951) is a rock guitarist who has worked with a variety of bands, most notably with Robert Plant's solo band in the 1980s. Since leaving Plant's band in the mid 1980s, Blunt has provided session work for a nu ...

soon followed and the remaining members drafted in Paul Lockey on vocals (who Kevyn Gammond knew from

Band of Joy Band of Joy (sometimes known as Robert Plant and the Band of Joy) was an English rock band. Various line-ups of the group performed from 1965 to 1968 and from 1977 to 1983. Robert Plant revived the band's name in 2010 for a concert tour of No ...

) and Dan Fone on guitar. This incarnation of Bronco signed to

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

and released one album, ''Smoking Mixture''. Bronco's bass player John Pasternak died of a heart attack in September 1986. Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant fronted a tribute event for Pasternak in December of that year, that featured Plant and The Big Town Playboys, and concluded with an ensemble band featuring Plant, Jimmy Page on guitar and

Jason Bonham Jason John Bonham (born 15 July 1966) is an English drummer. He is the son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Since his father's death in September 1980, he has performed with the surviving three members of Led Zeppelin on several occasi ...

on drums. Two Bronco tracks are featured on Island records compilation albums: "Love" appeared on '' Bumpers'' released in 1970 and "Sudden Street" was on ''El Pea'' (1971). "Time Slips Away" was included on the Island Records compilation ''Meet on the Ledge'', released as part of Island's 50th anniversary in 2009.

Members

*Kevyn Gammond – guitars, backing vocals (1969–1973) *John Pasternak – bass, backing vocals (1969–1973; died 1986) *Pete Robinson – drums, backing vocals, harmonica (1969–1973) *

– guitars, backing vocals (1969–1972) * Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (1969–1972) *Dan Fone – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1972–1973) *Paul Lockey – lead vocals, guitar (1972–1973)

Discography

''Country Home'' (1970)

Label: Island ILPS 9124 #"Civil Of You Stranger" – (Robbie Blunt) – 3:54 #"Love" – (Jess Roden) – 4:31 #"Misfit On Your Stair" – ( Clifford T. Ward, Kevyn Gammond) – 3:12 #"Bumpers West" – (Suzy Worth) – 5:51 #"Home" – (Jess Roden) – 4:08 #"Well Anyhow" – (Jess Roden, Kevyn Gammond, Robbie Blunt, John Pasternak, Pete Robinson) – 7:02 #"Time (So Long Between)" – (Jess Roden, Robbie Blunt) – 5:13 ;Personnel * Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion * Kevyn Gammond – electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals * Robbie Blunt – electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals * John Pasternak – bass, backing vocals * Pete Robinson – drums, backing vocals, harmonica * Jeff Bannister – piano (3, 5) * Clifford T. Ward – backing vocals (3)

''Ace of Sunlight'' (1971)

Label: Island ILPS 9161 #"Amber Moon" – (Jess Roden, Suzy Worth) – 4:02 #* Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar #* Kevyn Gammond – electric guitar #* Robbie Blunt – electric guitar #* John Pasternak – bass #* Pete Robinson – drums #* Ian Hunter – piano #* Mik Ralphs – organ #"Time Slips Away" – (Robbie Blunt) – 6:05 #* Jess Roden – vocals (parts 1 and 2) #* Robbie Blunt – electric and acoustic guitars, vocals (part 1) #* Kevyn Gammond- electric guitar #* John Pasternak – bass #* Pete Robinson – drums #* Paul Bennett – vocals #* Trevor Lucas – vocals #"Some Uncertainty" – (Clifford T. Ward, Kevyn Gammond) – 3:39 #* Jess Roden – lead vocals, harmonica #* Kevyn Gammond – rhythm acoustic guitar #* Robbie Blunt – lead acoustic guitar #* John Pasternak – bass #* Pete Robinson – drums #* Paul Davenport – piano #"4 Woman" – (Clifford T. Ward, Kevyn Gammond) – 4:18 #* Jess Roden – lead vocals #* Kevyn Gammond – electric guitar #* Robbie Blunt – electric guitar #* John Pasternak – bass #* Pete Robinson – drums #"New Day Avenue" – (Jess Roden, Suzy Worth) – 6:39 #* Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion #* Kevyn Gammond – electric guitar #* Robbie Blunt – electric guitar (outro solo) #* John Pasternak – bass #* Pete Robinson – drums, congas #"Discernible" – (Kevyn Gammond, Suzy Worth) – 3:47 #* Jess Roden – lead vocals #* Kevyn Gammond – electric and acoustic guitars #* Robbie Blunt – electric and acoustic guitars #* John Pasternak – bass #* Pete Robinson – drums #* Terry Allen – organ #"Sudden Street" – (Jess Roden) – 6:23 #* Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar #* Kevyn Gammond – lead electric guitar #* Robbie Blunt – rhythm electric guitar #* John Pasternak – bass #* Pete Robinson – drums #* Paul Bennett – backing vocals #"Joys & Fears" – (Jess Roden, Suzy Worth) – 3:39 #* Jess Roden – special guitars, lead vocals, piano

''Smoking Mixture'' (1973)

Label: Polydor 2383 215 #"Steal That Gold" #"Tennessee Saturday Night" #"Tell Me Why" #"Attraction" #"Southbound State Express" #"Turkey In The Straw" #"Zonker" #"Blueberry Pie" #"Strange Awakening"

''Hidden Masters : The Jess Roden Anthology''

Label: HiddenMasters HM 3001 (2013) – contained a number of previously unreleased tracks by Bronco (including) *"Lazy Now" – a different mix to the original 7" single mix released in 1970 *"All The Love I Sing (Love)" – a different mix of the song that was included on ''Country Home'' *"New Day Avenue" – a different mix to the song that was included on ''Ace of Sunlight'' *"Bumpers West" – a different mix of the song that was included on ''Country Home'' *"Sudden Street" – a different mix of the song that was included on ''Ace of Sunlight'' *"Joys And Fears" – a different mix of the song that was included on ''Ace of Sunlight''

References

External links

Bronco page on Jess Roden's website
* {{Authority control English country music groups Musical groups established in 1969 Island Records artists