Stone the Crows were a Scottish

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 formed in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member

Les Harvey Leslie Cameron Harvey (13 September 1944 – 3 May 1972) was a Scottish guitarist in several bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s, most notably Stone the Crows. He was the brother of Alex Harvey. Biography Harvey was born in Govan, Gl ...

History

The band were formed after

Maggie Bell Margaret Bell (born 12 January 1945 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish rock vocalist. She came to fame as co-lead vocalist of the blues-rock group Stone the Crows, and was described as the UK's closest counterpart to American singe ...

was introduced to

by his elder brother Alex Harvey. After playing together in the Kinning Park Ramblers, their next band Power was renamed Stone the Crows (after a British/Australian English exclamation of surprise or shock) by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's manager, Peter Grant. The band was co-managed by Grant and

Mark London Mark London (born 30 January 1940) is a Canadian-born British soundtrack composer, songwriter and music producer. He is perhaps best known as composer of the song "To Sir with Love". History Mark London was born in Montreal, Quebec, and initial ...

. London was associated with

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

as the co-writer of her

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

, "

To Sir With Love ''To Sir, with Love'' is a 1967 British drama film that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. It stars Sidney Poitier and features Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall and singer Lulu making her film debut. James ...

" and was also married to Lulu's manager,

Marion Massey Marion Massey (born Marian Gordon, c.1930 – 1 March 2014)

. London had also managed the predecessor band Cartoone, in which Peter Grant had a financial interest and featured Les Harvey on guitar.

Original line-up

, vocals *

, guitar *

Colin Allen Colin Eric Allen (born 9 May 1938) is an English blues drummer and songwriter. Career Allen spent the first ten years of his adult life working in aircraft engineering. He became interested in jazz at the age of 16 and two years later started ...

, drums *

James Dewar Sir James Dewar (20 September 1842 – 27 March 1923) was a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied ato ...

, bass and vocals *John McGinnis, keyboards The band's first two albums were recorded with the original line up and Bell's vocals were described as being similar to

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

's.

Second line-up and onstage death of Les Harvey

McGinnis and Dewar left the band in 1971 and were replaced by

Ronnie Leahy Ronald Leahy (born 4 October 1947 in Glasgow) is a Scottish keyboard player best known for his work with Jack Bruce, Jon Anderson, Steve Howe on his second solo album and Nazareth (1998–2002, when Leahy retired from touring). He first gained r ...

and Steve Thompson. Guitarist and co-founder Les Harvey was electrocuted onstage in front of a live audience at

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Top Rank Suite Top Rank Suite was the name given to a chain of nightclubs in the United Kingdom owned by the Rank Organisation. They were sometimes known as Top Rank Ballrooms. Venues Brighton The Brighton Top Rank Suite opened in October 1965. It was rebrande ...

in May 1972. Wires to the group's equipment were reportedly damaged by the audience and although the road crew attempted to repair the damage, they overlooked a loose ground wire. Harvey received a jolt of electricity as he reached for a microphone while his fingers touched the metal strings on his guitar. His body reportedly flew into the air and came to rest with his guitar in contact with the microphone stand. Bandmates who tried to rescue him reportedly got shocked themselves and it wasn't until someone kicked his guitar away that medical personnel were able to render aid. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Jimmy McCulloch James McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 27 September 1979) was a Scottish musician best known for playing lead guitar and bass, as a member of Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One i ...

would subsequently replace the main songwriter Harvey as lead guitarist, following Harvey's death. After Harvey's death the band reconsidered their direction.

Post-breakup

Stone the Crows ultimately broke up in June 1973, and Peter Grant continued to manage Maggie Bell's career. Guided by Grant, Bell subsequently recorded two solo albums, ''Queen of the Night'' (1974) and ''Suicide Sal'' (1975) and an album with the Grant-managed band Midnight Flyer (1981). Bell is also known for her session work on

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

's album ''

Every Picture Tells a Story ''Every Picture Tells a Story'' is the third studio album by Rod Stewart. It was released on 28 May 1971. It incorporates hard rock, folk, and blues styles. It went to number one on both the UK and US charts and finished third in the Jazz & Pop ...

'' (1971), in particular her co-lead vocal with Stewart on the album's title track (credited as "vocal abrasives").Liner notes to Rod Stewart's album ''Every Picture Tells a Story'',

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, catalog no. SRM-609, 1971. Jimmy McCulloch joined

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's group

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

, in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1974.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Stone the Crows Stone the Crows were a Scottish blues rock band formed in Glasgow in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member Les Harvey. History The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to L ...

'' (1970) *''

Ode to John Law ''Ode to John Law'' is the second studio album by Scottish band Stone the Crows. Track listing Personnel ;Stone the Crows *Colin Allen – drums, percussion *Maggie Bell – vocals *Jimmy Dewar – bass, vocals *Les Harvey – acoustic ...

'' (1970) *''Teenage Licks'' (1971) *''Ontinuous Performance'' (1972) – UK number 33

Live albums

*''The BBC Sessions, Volume 1 – 1969–1970'' (1998) *''The BBC Sessions, Volume 2 – 1970–1971'' (1998) *''Live Montreux 1972'' (2002) *''Radio Sessions 1969–1972'' (2009) (2CD) *''BBC Sessions 1969–1972'' (2014) (2LP)

References

External links

*
Stone the Crows biography
from linernotes by

Chris Welch Chris Welch (born 12 November 1941) is an English music journalist, critic, and author who is best known for his work from the late 1960s as a reporter for ''Melody Maker'', ''Musicians Only'', and ''Kerrang!''. He is the author of over 40 mu ...

a
Alex Gitlin's website
{{Authority control Scottish rock music groups British blues rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 Musical groups from Glasgow Female-fronted musical groups