Eire Apparent were a band from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

, noted for launching the careers of Henry McCullough and Ernie Graham, and for having Jimi Hendrix play on, and produce, their only album.

History

Tony and The Telstars

The origins of the group stretch back to early '60s Belfast band Tony & The Telstars, which featured lead guitarist

Rod Demick Roderick Demick (born 17 March 1947) is a British guitarist and bassist who has played with many leading musicians. Life and career Born in Prestatyn in north Wales, Demick moved with his parents to Belfast, Northern Ireland, aged 5. He learned ...

(born Roderick Demick, 1947, Prestatyn, Flintshire, North Wales), drummer Davy Lutton (born William David Lutton, 1946,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

), lead vocalist and guitarist George O'Hara and bassist Chris Stewart (born Eric Christopher Stewart, 1946,

, Co Antrim). During 1965, Demick departed to join local R'n'B group The Wheels and Stewart joined German-based Irish band The Stellas. Their replacements included guitarist David "Tiger" Taylor, bassist Mike Niblett (from The Stellas) and apprentice auto mechanic Ernie Graham (born Ernest Harold Graham, 14 June 1946,

) on rhythm guitar and backing vocals.Apparent ''Eire Apparent'' biography
at 'The Famous Kinema Ballroom Dunfermline'
at the Irish Rock Discography

The People

In late 1965 Lutton, O'Hara, Niblett and Graham formed pop outfit The People along with former

Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Wels ...

keyboard player

Eric Wrixon Eric Wrixon (29 June 1947 – 13 July 2015) was a musician from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a founding member of Them (band), Them and Thin Lizzy. He came up with the band name "Them" (from the 1954 sci-fi film ''Them!''), but as he was a mino ...

. They contributed two songs to the February 1966 compilation album ''Ireland's Greatest Sounds: Five Top Groups From Belfast's Maritime Club''. In mid-1966 a "browned-off" Eric Wrixon announced the band were moving to England: ''"We hope it's forever... Nowhere, but nowhere, could be worse than Belfast."'' At the time they were using a stand-in guitarist in place of O'Hara and hoping to recruit Billy Harrison (ex-Them). Very soon afterwards Wrixon defected to another Belfast group resident on the Blackpool scene, The Wheels. Meanwhile, Mike Niblett and Chris Stewart had each swapped places and returned to their original bands. Guitarist Henry McCullough (formerly of The Sky Rockets Showband and Gene and The Gents) from

Portstewart Portstewart () is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leadin ...

in Northern Ireland teamed up with The People in early 1967 and they quickly developed a strong reputation on the Blackpool and then (briefly) the Dublin music scenes.

Eire Apparent

In 1967 the band moved to London and were signed by ex-

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...

and Mike Jeffery, who changed the band's name to 'Eire Apparent' – Jeffery wanted to exploit the Irish dimension and his wife came up with the new name. Eire Apparent were briefly signed to Track Records, who also handled Chandler and Jeffery's protégé Jimi Hendrix, and recorded one single, "Follow Me" / "Here I Go Again," released in January 1968, before they left Track. Despite only having released the one single, Chandler and Jeffery sent them on tour to North America with headliners

The Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound an ...

during February and March 1968. Things went well until, in Vancouver, Canada in mid February, McCullough was busted for possession of marijuana and sent back to Ireland, so guitarist Mick Cox (born Michael Charles Cox, 1943,

Gillingham, Kent Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in th ...

, died August 2008; formerly of The Alleykatz and The End) flew out to take his place in the band. By May McCullough had joined

Sweeney's Men Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway ...

in Ireland.''Green Beat: The Forgotten Era Of Irish Rock'', by Daragh O'Halloran (Brehon Press 2006) The new line-up continued to tour North America with the

Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...

, and held recording sessions in New York's Record Plant studio with Hendrix in May (probably taping their next single "Let Me Stay" / "Yes I Need Someone").''Electric Ladyland Sessions''
at the Forum Jimi Hendrix The album ''Sunrise'' was mostly cut in late October 1968 in Los Angeles, with Jimi Hendrix producing. Hendrix also played on a number of tracks (including "Yes I Need Someone" and "The Clown"), whilst

Noel Redding David Noel Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress. Following his departure from the Experience in 1969 ...

Mitch Mitchell John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in '' Billboard' '' ...

and

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming p ...

are also credited (Redding and Wyatt singing on "1026" and/or "The Clown"). The album was released on

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundi ...

in the US and the UK in May 1969. Cox was replaced by guitarist David "Tiger" Taylor in November 1968, shortly after the album was recorded. Taylor had already been a member of The People during 1965, and he co-wrote their "Rock 'N' Roll Band" single recorded in London in January 1969, again featuring Jimi Hendrix. This line up of Taylor, Graham, Stewart and Lutton then toured Europe with Hendrix and in April 1969 recorded the band's only

Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

. Guitarist Peter Tolson, who later joined the Pretty Things, is also cited as having replaced Taylor on this session. Guitarist Steve Jolly formerly of Sam Apple Pie later joined the band. In May 1969, ''Beat Instrumental'' reported that they were recording tracks for a second Eire Apparent album (reportedly produced by

drummer Robert Wyatt) but it never saw the light of day. In May 1970, hardly noticed by the public, the band broke up.

Subsequent careers

*Ernie Graham recorded one solo album in 1971, was briefly a member of Help Yourself in 1972 and then co-founded pub rock combo

Clancy Clancy is an Irish name coming from the Gaelic ''Mac Fhlannchaidh/Mac Fhlannchadha'', meaning "Son of the red/ruddy warrior" (Mac being for sons, ''Ní Fhlannchaidh/Ní Fhlannchadha'' would be for daughters), or as a hypocorism for Clarence. ...

. He then gave up being a professional musician, worked on the railways, and was training to become a counsellor when he died in April 2001. *Davy Lutton played with Heavy Jelly in 1970,

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A *Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series '' ...

(1972–73),

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted into ...

(1974–76) and assisted

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

on his 1979 ''Guitar Graffiti'' album. *Chris Stewart became one of rock's most durable bass players and a musical partner for

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

(1975–78). Further jobs include Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance,

Spooky Tooth Spooky Tooth were an English rock band originally formed in Carlisle in 1967. Principally active between 1967 and 1974, the band re-formed several times in later years. History Prior to Spooky Tooth, four of the band's five founding members ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

Jim Capaldi Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co ...

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, po ...

Graham Bonnet Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri ...

, and

Terry Reid Terrance James Reid (born 13 November 1949) is an English rock vocalist and guitarist. He has performed with high-profile musicians, as a supporting act, session musician, and sideman. Biography Reid was born in Paxton Park Maternity Home, L ...

. He died in 2020. * Henry McCullough joined

and, later on, became The Grease Band's lead guitarist. From 1971 to 1973 he played with

Paul McCartney and Wings Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for thei ...

, before he too spent time playing with Frankie Miller. He also released several solo albums. He died in 2016. *Mick Cox formed Magnet (1969–71). Their first single in August 1969 was "Let Me Stay" / "Mr. Guy Fawkes" – both originally from the ''Sunrise'' album.''Magnet'' discography
at 45cat He later formed his eponymous band in 1973 which included Chris Stewart (one album on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

) and played on

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

's album '' Common One'' in 1983. According to Tony Brown's sleeve notes, Cox offered the tapes of a Hendrix jam-session to Peter Shertser of Red Lightin' Records, which were released as '' Woke Up This Morning and Found Myself Dead'' *David "Tiger" Taylor later formed Anno Domini, who recorded one album, before joining The Freshmen. *Peter Tolson played for the Pretty Things from 1970 to 1976. He too died in 2016. *Steve Jolly joined Bobby Harrison (ex

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for t ...

drummer), Pete Dennis and Roger Saunders in their band, Freedom.

Discography

*"I'm With You" / "Well... All Right" (as 'The People') – included on ''Ireland's Greatest Sounds'' (Ember Records LP, February 1966) *"Follow Me" / "Here I Go Again" (Track Records single, January 1968) *"Yes I Need Someone" / "Let Me Stay" (Buddah Records single, circa September 1968) *"Rock 'N' Roll Band" / "Yes I Need Someone" (Buddah Records single, March 1969, and in the UK on Buddah 201 039 Apr 1969, re-released on Buddah 2011 117 Mar 1972) *''Sunrise'' (Buddah Records LP, May 1969, Buddah 203 021 in the UK) *"The Price of Love" / "Highway 61" / "Blues" / "Gloria" – live recordings included on the

bootleg ''Liederhalle Stuttgart 19 January, 1969 1st Show'' (Eire Apparent were the support act) *"Gloria" / "Yes, I Need Someone" – BBC Top Gear recordings from April 1969 included on

The Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

unauthorised CD ''The Forgotten Beebs'' (Tendolar, 2008; Pretty Things guitarist Peter Tolson supposedly played on these tracks; "Highway 61 Revisited" was also recorded at this session)

References

External links

Eire Apparent at Irish Showbands.net
{{Authority control Rock music groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups from Belfast Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1970 1967 establishments in Northern Ireland Buddah Records artists