Cupid's Inspiration are a British pop group, active with various line up changes since 1968 when they had two hit singles. The band are currently on the road with original drummer Roger Gray re-joining the veteran line up of Paul Shanahan and Bob Poole with Paul Thomas on vocals.

Career

Originally from Stamford,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, the band were at first called The EndsLarkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 137 (no relation to

The End The End may refer to: Films * ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997 * ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...

). The group scored two

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hits on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1968. "Yesterday Has Gone", originally a hit for

Little Anthony and The Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

, reached No. 4 in July of that year, and "My World" went to No. 33 in October. In 1970, lead singer Terry Rice-Milton the vocalist on the hit singles left, replaced by John Lynch and then Martin Cure, who added several musicians from Leamington to the line-up so none of the hit making band remained after these changes. Rice-Milton had his third hit with "You're my World" in 1970 (a song that had previously been a hit for Cilla Black), while bass player

Gordon Haskell Gordon Haskell (27 April 1946 – 15 October 2020) was an English musician and songwriter. A pop, rock, jazz, country and blues vocalist, guitarist, and bassist, he was a school friend of King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. The two first worke ...

later joined

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. By 1978, the band began writing and recording heavier rock songs. These were performed under a different name, initially '4 Wheel Drive', which they soon changed to 'Chevy', to avoid alienating Cupid's Inspiration fans. They recruited

Steve Walwyn Stephen Martin Walwyn (born 8 June 1956 in Southam, Warwickshire) is an English rhythm and blues guitarist, best known for his playing with Dr. Feelgood, but who has also played with Eddie and the Hot Rods, Steve Marriott and the DTs, the Rog ...

, later of Dr. Feelgood to give a "twin guitar" sound. As 'Chevy' they toured supporting bands such as

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and Gillan. Chevy recorded two BBC In Concert Programmes, issued three singles: "Too Much Loving" / "See the Light", "The Taker" / "Life on the Run" and "Just Another Day" / "Rock On" and one album ''The Taker'', released in September 1980. In the 1990s and early 2000s, some of the original group played reunion shows with other bands from the era. In 2010, Bob Poole returned from 18 years in Germany and together with Paul Shanahan, ex Peppermint Circus vocalist Paul Thomas, and ex Ben E King and Barbara Dickinson drummer Rick Medlock reformed Cupid's Inspiration later replacing Rick Medlock with Roger Gray, the original band drummer who played on all the records who had left in 1972. In September 2012, founder members Terry Rice-Milton and Laughton James, together with Bernie Lee, who was a member during 1968/69, and drummer Tony Peck from The Ends played a reunion concert in their home town of Stamford, which they are hoping to repeat in 2014. The band's hit single, featuring Terry-Rice Milton, "Yesterday Has Gone" (

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

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Discography - songs

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

and Victoria Pike) has featured on many compilation albums, including '' Sixties Power Ballads - The Greatest Driving Anthems in the World... Ever!'' (2007) as well as their original album ''Yesterday Has Gone'' (1969).

Members

*Terry Rice-Milton (born Terence Bull, 5 June 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire - lead vocals (to 1970) *Laughton James (born James Laughton, 21 December 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire) -

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 ...

ist (to October 1968) *Garfield Tonkin (born John Sharpe, 28 September 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire) -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

(to 1969) *Wyndham George (born Geoffrey Wyndham Hart, 20 February 1947, Stamford, Lincolnshire) - guitar (to October 1968) *Bernie Lee (born July 1943,

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

) - lead guitar (October 1968 to 1970) (ex-Umbrella) *

(born Gordon Hionides, 27 April 1946,

Verwood Verwood is a town and civil parish in eastern Dorset, England. The town lies north of Bournemouth and north east of Poole as the crow flies. The civil parish comprises the town of Verwood together with the extended village of Three Legged Cro ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

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) - bass (October 1968 to 1969) *Roger Gray (born 29 April 1947, Stamford) - drums (to 1972 and 2014) *David Morris (London) -

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...

(1969 onwards) *Derek Needham (born 10 October 1945,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) - bass (1969–71) *Martin Cure - lead vocals (1970 to 2008) *Paul Shanahan - lead guitar/vocals (1970 to 1985 and 2010 to 2014) *Jim Batty - guitar (1985 to 2008) *Bob Poole - bass guitar/vocals (1970 to 1985 and 2010 to 2014) *Andy Chaplin - drums (1970 to 1981) *Eamonn Carr - guitar/vocals (1972) *Paul Brooke - drums (1981 to 2008) *Keith Hancock - bass (1987 to 2008) *Ted Duggan - drums (1987 to 2008) *Paul Thomas - vocals (2010 to 2014) *Kevan Towning (2017 to present) *Barry Scott (2017 to present) *Rick Medlock - drums (2010 to 2013)

References

External links

The original Cupid's Inspiration, Featuring Terry Rice-Milton

Cupids Inspiration official web site

laughton james cupids inspiration history site.
{{Authority control English rock music groups Music in Lincolnshire Stamford, Lincolnshire