Patto were an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band, formed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

in 1970. Founded by vocalist

Mike Patto Mike Patto (born Michael Thomas McCarthy, 22 September 1942 – 4 March 1979) was an English musician, who was primarily notable as lead singer for Spooky Tooth, Patto and Boxer. Life and career Patto was born in Cirencester, England, and fi ...

, their lineup was taken from Timebox, consisting of vocalist Patto, guitarist and

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

player

Ollie Halsall Peter John "Ollie" Halsall (14 March 1949 – 29 May 1992) was an English guitarist best known for his role in the Rutles, the bands Timebox, Patto and Boxer, and for his contribution to the music of Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of ...

, bassist Clive Griffiths and drummer John Halsey.

Early days and singles

Timebox developed from a complicated pedigree that included members of

The Bo Street Runners The Bo Street Runners were an English R&B band formed in Harrow. England, during 1964. The band released four singles and an extended play record. They gained prominence in the United Kingdom after winning the ''Ready Steady Win!'' band contest ...

, Patto's People and Chicago Blue Line. This

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 atte ...

psych pop combo made two singles for Pye's

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

Piccadilly before signing to Decca's Deram in 1967. They also recorded five singles for Deram between 1967 and 1969 and appeared on BBC radio shows such as ''Noise at Nine'', '' Stuart Henry on Sunday'' and Jimmy Young. Keyboard player Chris Holmes left after their last single release and they began experimenting with

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. In ...

Progressive rock

In 1970, Patto was formed by members of Timebox and signed to the newly formed

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

label. With

Muff Winwood Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood pla ...

as producer, they recorded their first album live in the studio. In December 1971, Patto entered the studio again to record their second album, ''Hold Your Fire'', after which they were dropped from the Vertigo roster. Despite poor record sales, they were becoming known as an exciting live act. Through his connections in England, Muff Winwood was able to have the band signed to

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 ...

, and they recorded the album ''Roll 'em Smoke 'em Put Another Line Out'' in 1972. In 1973, the band began to record their fourth album.

wrote songs that were less cynical than the usual Patto material and much more commercial. The ensuing album, ''Monkey's Bum'', was not released. Without Halsall and with each member now involved in other projects, Mike Patto chose to disband Patto, going on to form Boxer with Halsall. In 2009, Patto's song "The Man" was used in trailers for the film ''

Observe and Report ''Observe and Report'' is a 2009 American black comedy film written and directed by Jody Hill and starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris and Ray Liotta. It follows a Mental disorder, mentally unstable vigilante Security guard, mall cop who attempts to jo ...

'' starring

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series '' Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part o ...

and

Anna Faris Anna Kay Faris (; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her work in comedic roles, particularly the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has appeared in a number ...

and was included along with another track, "Sittin' Back Easy", on the film's soundtrack.

Band members

– vocals *

– lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, vibraphone * Clive Griffiths – bass * John Halsey – drums

Discography

Studio albums

* 1970 – '' Patto'' * 1971 – ''Hold Your Fire'' * 1972 – ''Roll 'em Smoke 'em Put Another Line Out'' * 2017 – ''Monkey's Bum'' (recorded 1973 but no authorised release until 2017)

Live albums

* 2000 – ''Warts and All''

References

External links

Bo Street Runners
Story
pattofan
{{Authority control English rock music groups English blues rock musical groups English progressive rock groups English jazz-rock groups Musical groups established in 1970 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 Vertigo Records artists Island Records artists