Anthony Charles McPhee (born 23 March 1944) is an English guitarist, and founder of the

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

Groundhogs The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...

. An early version of this band backed

Champion Jack Dupree William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer. Biography Dupree was a New Orleans ...

and

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

on UK concerts in the mid-1960s. He is often credited as 'Tony (T.S.) McPhee'. He was given this name by the producer Mike Vernon who suggested adding 'T.S.' to his name when McPhee released a duet single with

in 1966 called "Get Your Head Happy!," in order to make it look more like an official blues name. It stands for Tough Shit. The Groundhogs evolved into a blues-rock trio that produced three UK Top 10 hits in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

in the early 1970s. Although they have continued to play in various line-ups to the present day, McPhee officially retired from the band in 2015. Solo album ''The Two Sides of Tony (T.S.) McPhee'' was released in 1973. Side A of this record is blues rock and Side B is a single psychedelic art rock electronic composition in four movements, featuring Arp 2600 Synthesizers, Electric Piano and The Rhythm Ace Drum Synthesizer. Entitled ''The Hunt'', it explores McPhee's strong stance against fox and stag hunting. McPhee has also released many other solo acoustic blues records, as well as

duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episo ...

with

Jo Ann Kelly Jo Ann Kelly (5 January 1944 – 21 October 1990) was an English blues singer and guitarist. She is respected for her strong blues vocal style and for playing country blues guitar. Early life Kelly was born in Streatham, South London, England ...

. Apart from the Groundhogs, McPhee has played with Herbal Mixture, the

John Dummer Band The John Dummer Band also known as John Dummer's Blues Band, John Dummer's Famous Music Band, John Dummer's Oobleedooblee Band and The John Dummer Band Featuring Nick Pickett was a British blues band, of the 1960s and 1970s, noted for its extensi ...

Hapshash and the Coloured Coat Hapshash and the Coloured Coat was an influential British graphic design and avant-garde musical partnership in the late 1960s, consisting of Michael English and Nigel Waymouth. It produced popular psychedelic posters, and two albums of under ...

, Tony McPhee's Terraplane, Tony McPhee's Turbo, the Tony McPhee Band and

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only const ...

. In 2009, McPhee suffered a stroke which affected his speech and ability to sing. See also McPhee's definitive biography, written by Paul Freestone was published in 2012.

Solo discography

* 1966 ''Ain't Gonna Cry No More – Someone To Love Me'' * 1966 ''You Don't Love Me When You Gotta Good Friend'' * 1968 ''Me and the Devil'' - Various Artists * 1969 ''I Asked for Water'' - Various Artists * 1971 ''Same Thing on Their Minds'' * 1973 ''Two Sides of Tony McPhee'' * 1991 ''The Blues And The Beast'' * 1993 ''Foolish Pride'' * 1996 ''Slide, T.S., Slide'' * 1996 ''Herbal Mixture-Groundhogs'' * 1997 ''Bleachin' The Blues'' * 2000 ''Live In Poland At Blues Express'' * 2004 ''Blues At Ten''

References

External links

Fanzine with audio, video and Tony McPhee and Groundhog gamesTony McPhee's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McPhee, Tony 1944 births Living people People from the Borough of North East Lincolnshire Blues rock musicians English blues guitarists English male guitarists British rhythm and blues boom musicians The Groundhogs members English blues singers John Dummer Band members