The Bunch were a

British folk rock British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...

band, which came together in 1971 to record their one off

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Rock On''.

Formation

The Bunch was put together by

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 albums ...

in late 1971, close to a year after his former band,

Fotheringay Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer-songwriter and musician Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition " Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay ...

, had disbanded. He got on board three ex Fotheringay members,

Pat Donaldson Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer-songwriter and musician Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition "Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay C ...

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

, and his girlfriend

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

. Denny had just released her debut solo album, ''

The North Star Grassman and the Ravens ''The North Star Grassman and the Ravens'' is a 1971 album by English folk rock singer-songwriter Sandy Denny. Built mostly around her own compositions, ''The North Star Grassman and the Ravens'' is distinguished by its elusive lyrics and unexpe ...

''. Ian Whiteman, who had worked with Denny, and Tony Cox were brought in for piano duties. Richard Thompson joined on guitar, his girlfriend and friend of Denny's, Linda Peters, joined on vocals. Lucas also hired The Dundee Horns (Roger Ball, Molly Duncan, Mike Rosenhe), and ex-

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

members

Ashley Hutchings Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years by his nickname, "Tyger" Hutchings (born 26 January 1945) is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of t ...

and

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician and as a performing artist. Apart from playing the drums, he i ...

also joined.

Album

The Bunch recorded an album of 1950s

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

material from such artists as

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

, and

The Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, ...

. Denny, Peters and Thompson took most of the lead vocals and the backing vocal duties for the album, with Pat Donaldson also providing backing vocals. Ashley Hutchings took lead vocals on one track, and Trevor Lucas on two. The music was provided by Thompson (guitar), Lucas (guitar), Donaldson (bass), Cox (piano), Whiteman (piano), Mattacks (drums, congas), Conway (drums) and the Dundee Horns (brass instruments). Recording on the album began in late 1971 and was finished by early 1972, with the album being released in April 1972.

Afterwards

After the album was released, The Dundee Horns formed

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their album ...

. Denny continued her solo career and recorded her 1972 album '' Sandy''. Whilst the album was being recorded, Thompson recorded and released his first solo album, ''

Henry the Human Fly ''Henry the Human Fly'' is the debut solo album by former Fairport Convention guitarist Richard Thompson. It was released on the Island label in the U.K. and the Reprise label in the U.S.A. in April 1972. The album was reissued by Rykodisc in 1 ...

''. Later in the year, he and Peters married. The following year they formed the duo Richard and Linda Thompson. Mattacks re-joined Fairport Convention and in the following year Lucas also joined them.

Discography

Albums

*1972, '' Rock On'',

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Singles

*1972, " When Will I Be Loved?",

Members

- vocals * Linda Peters - vocals *

- vocals * Richard Thompson - vocals, guitar *

- vocals, 12-string guitar *

Ian Whiteman Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

- piano * Tony Cox - piano *

- bass *

- drums and percussion *

- drums and percussion *Michael Berry -

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

The Dundee Horns * Roger Ball - alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, saxophone, piano *

Molly Duncan Malcolm "Molly" Duncan (24 August 1945 – 8 October 2019) was a Scottish tenor saxophonist and founding member of Average White Band. Career Malcolm "Molly" Duncan recorded with Ray Charles, Tom Petty, Buddy Guy, Ben E. King, Dire Straits, Br ...

- saxophone *Mike Rosen - trumpet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunch, The British folk music groups