Locomotive (originally The Locomotive) were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

band in the 1960s, from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. Their musical styles ranged from

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 ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

, and their original line-up featured Chris Wood, later of

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

, and drummer

Mike Kellie Michael Alexander Kellie (24 March 1947 – 18 January 2017) was an English musician, composer and record producer. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Kellie was a member of the rock bands the V.I.P.s, Spooky Tooth and the Only One ...

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 h ...

. They had a minor UK hit in 1968 with "Rudi's in Love", before turning to

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 ...

with their only album, ''We Are Everything You See'', released in 1970.

Career

The group was formed in 1965, originally as the Kansas City Seven, by trumpeter Jim Simpson, with singer Danny King, saxophonists Chris Wood and Brian "Monk" Finch, organist Richard Storey, bass player Pete Allen, and drummer Mike Kellie. All the members had previously played in local bands in Birmingham. After they began playing less jazz and more R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

music, they changed their name to The Locomotive, and gained a strong reputation for their live performances. There were many personnel changes, and by the end of 1966, after Wood left to join

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

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 ...

and

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

in Traffic, Simpson was the only remaining original member. Other members by that time were singer and keyboard player Norman Haines, together with Jo Ellis (bass), Bill Madge (saxophone), and drummer "Mooney" Mezzone, later to become a singer and songwriter. Having worked in a record shop in

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...

, an area of Birmingham with a large

Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...

population of

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

descent, Haines developed a particular interest in ska music. Increasingly, he took over as front man, and the band's first single, on the Direction label, combined Haines' composition, "Broken Heart", with a version of

Dandy Livingstone Dandy Livingstone (born Robert Livingstone Thompson, 14 December 1943, Kingston, Jamaica) is a British-Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae musician and producer, best known for his 1972 hit, "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and for his song, " ...

's "

A Message to You, Rudy "A Message to You Rudy" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. Originally titled "Rudy a Message to You", the song later achieved broader success when, in 1979, a cover version by The Specials reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. ...

", which was later revived by

the Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

. In 1968, Simpson left the band in order to act as their manager, setting up still-extant label

Big Bear Records Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

; he later became the manager of local band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

. In other personnel changes, Ellis and Mezzone were replaced by Mick Hincks (bass) and Bob Lamb (drums), with trumpeter Mick Taylor replacing Simpson. The band dropped the definite article from their name, moved to

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 19 ...

, and their second single, "Rudi's in Love", was a ska song written by Haines. It became a hit, reaching No. 25 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 late 1968. Following the single's success, Locomotive recorded an album at the

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with producer

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No ...

. By this time, however, the band decided to perform more progressive rock, based around Haines' keyboard skills. Biography by Bruce Eder

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 databas ...

Because of their uncertainty over how it would be received, the record company delayed the release of the album. A single, a version of a

Question Mark and the Mysterians ? and the Mysterians (or Question Mark and the Mysterians) are an American garage rock band from Bay City and Saginaw in Michigan, initially active between 1962 and 1969. Much of the band's music consisted of electric organ-driven garage rock an ...

song, "I'm Never Gonna Let You Go", was released but failed to make the chart. Haines left the group in 1969, reportedly turning down an offer to join Black Sabbath and eventually forming the Norman Haines Band. Haines died in 2021, aged 75. On its eventual release in early 1970, the Locomotive album, ''We Are Everything You See'', received good reviews, but failed to appeal to the band's earlier R&B audience. The album included the track "Mr. Armageddon", released as a single and later included on several anthologies of progressive rock of the time, together with two tracks, "Coming Down" and "Love Song For the Dead Ché", which were versions of

Joseph Byrd Joseph Hunter Byrd, Jr. (born December 19, 1937) is an American composer, musician and academic. After first becoming known as an experimental composer in New York City and Los Angeles in the early and mid-1960s, he became the leader of The Un ...

's songs for his band

the United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The band also recorded a single for the

Transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

label, under the name of Steam Shovel. Hincks and Lamb attempted to continue Locomotive with new members John Caswell and Keith Millar, releasing a single "Roll Over Mary", before changing the group's name to The Dog That Bit People in 1970. The renamed band released an album in 1971 before splitting up. Hincks and Lamb joined another local band, Tea and Symphony, before Lamb joined the

Steve Gibbons Band Steve Gibbons (born 13 July 1941) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and bandleader. His music career spans more than 50 years. Career The Dominettes Steve Gibbons started his professional life as a plumber's apprentice in Harborne ...

and later worked as a record producer for

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

. ''We Are Everything You See'' was reissued on CD in 1995 and again in 2010.

Discography

Albums

* ''We Are Everything You See'' (Parlophone, 1970)

Singles

* "Broken Heart" / "Rudy - a Message to You" (Direction, 1967) * "Rudi's in Love" / "Never Set Me Free" (Parlophone, 1968) - UK No. 25 * "I'm Never Gonna Let You Go" / "You Must Be Joking" (Parlophone, 1969) * "Mr. Armageddan" / "There's Got to Be a Way" (Parlophone, 1969) * "Roll Over Mary" / "Movin' Down the Line" (Parlophone, 1970)

References

{{Authority control English rock music groups Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1970