Steamhammer is an English rock band from

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, that was formed in 1968 by vocalist Kieran White, guitarists

Martin Quittenton Martin Quittenton (22 April 1945 – 16 April 2015) was a British guitarist and composer. He played in the blues rock band Steamhammer, formed in 1968. Their debut album '' Steamhammer'' was released in 1969. Quittenton also worked with Rod Stew ...

and

Martin Pugh Martin John Pugh is a British guitarist who came to prominence after joining blues-rock band Steamhammer in 1968, staying with that band through 5 years and 4 albums. The debut Steamhammer album, also known as '' Steamhammer'', was released ...

, bassist Steve Davy, and drummer

Michael Rushton Michael Rushton (born 1950 in Worthing, West Sussex, England) is a British drummer and vocalist, known for being a member of the blues-rock band Steamhammer and later indie bands. Rushton was a member of several rock and blues bands in the ...

Career

Steamhammer's first line-up acted as backing band for

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mos ...

on two of his tours of England in 1968–1969. Like many of their peers, the band experimented with instrumental passages, introspective lyrics, and ultrasonic guitar effects, along with folk, jazz and classical influences. After playing in English pubs in the late 1960s, Steamhammer's self-titled album '' Steamhammer'' (aka ''

Reflection Reflection or reflexion may refer to: Science and technology * Reflection (physics), a common wave phenomenon ** Specular reflection, reflection from a smooth surface *** Mirror image, a reflection in a mirror or in water ** Signal reflection, in ...

'') debuted on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1968, featuring their single, "Junior's Wailing", and including covers of "You'll Never Know" by B. B. King and "Twenty Four Hours" by

Eddie Boyd Edward Riley Boyd (November 25, 1914 – July 13, 1994)Dahl, Bill. Eddie Boyd: Biography AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2016. was an American blues pianist, singer and songwriter, best known for his recordings in the early 1950s, including the ...

as well as original songs by White, Quittenton, and Pugh. Guest session musicians

Harold McNair Harold McNair (5 November 1931 – 7 March 1971) was a Jamaican-born saxophonist and flautist. Early life McNair was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He attended the Alpha Boys School under the tutelage of Vincent Tulloch, while playing with Jo ...

(flute) and

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...

(piano) also played on the album. While the album was not commercially successful, the band's sound became popular live, especially in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In the summer of 1969, Quittenton and Rushton left the band, and Steve Jolliffe (saxophone, flute) and Mick Bradley (drums) joined. This line-up recorded the album '' Mk II'', released in 1969. It consisted entirely of original songs, and the musical style had more

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 ...

and

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 ...

influences. Jolliffe left the band in 1970. The remaining band members recorded the album ''

Mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

'', which was released in 1970. This album included a cover of "Riding on the L & N" by

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

and seven original songs. In 1971, Davy left the band, and

Louis Cennamo Louis David Cennamo is an English bass guitarist, whose lengthy career has included extensive recording and touring with a number of important British rock/blues/progressive bands. Career Cennamo left school at 16 and undertook his earliest imp ...

(formerly of the original line-up of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

) was recruited as his replacement. After a European tour in the summer of 1971, White left the band, and the remaining trio of Pugh, Bradley and Cennamo began recording a new album. This line-up, along with guest vocalist Garth Watt-Roy (of

Fuzzy Duck Fuzzy duck is a drinking game where players sit in a circle and take turns to say the words "''fuzzy duck''". A player may also opt to say, "does he?", in which case play resumes in the opposite direction with players instead saying "''ducky fuzz' ...

), recorded the album ''

Speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

'', which was released in 1972. It consisted of three long, mostly instrumental songs, in a heavier progressive-rock vein than the basic blues and jazz/folk influences of their previous albums. Bradley died of undiagnosed leukemia on 8 February 1972, aged 25. A memorial concert took place at London's

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

on 14 March that year, with appearances by fellow bands

Atomic Rooster Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member and wrote ...

, Beggars Opera, If, and Gringo. Steamhammer carried on for a while with a new drummer, John Lingwood, and lead singer, Ian Ellis (ex-

Clouds In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may com ...

). The new line-up debuted at London's

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

on 3 May, followed by a European tour in May and UK tour in June with American vocalist/guitarist Bruce Michael Paine replacing Ellis. In June 1973, Paine left and Martin Quittenton rejoined. This new line-up changed their name to ''Axis'', playing their first gig under that name at the Marquee on 15 June, but the band split towards the end of 1973.

Post breakup

In 1974, two years after drummer Bradley's death,

Keith Relf William Keith Relf (22 March 194312 May 1976) was an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and harmonica player for rock band the Yardbirds. He then formed the band Renaissance with his sister Jane Relf, The Yardbirds ex-drummer Jim ...

, who had helped produce Speech, sought Cennamo and Pugh out to form a band in California.Pugh, Martin. Personal interview. 15 March 2012 / 10 June 2012.

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

emerged in late 1974, and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine ran two articles on them before they had a drummer, a contract, or even a name for themselves. Relf brought in

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the ...

on drums, and introduced the band to

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

producer Jerry Moss. Half a song into a set at the Charlie Chaplin Sound Stage in Hollywood, Moss signed Armageddon – they then released a self-titled effort in 1975. The band never toured, although the record was doing fairly well. Relf (and Cennamo) had returned to England while the rest of the band was still in LA, and had been considering a new band with other former Renaissance members – but died after being shocked by his own guitar in May 1976. Pugh and Caldwell tried to reassemble Armageddon in the early 1980s, producing a number of songs for a second LP for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

with singer Jeff Fenholt (of

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

), and were close to signing contract – but the project never got past the demo/rehearsal stage. Caldwell eventually returned to Captain Beyond, Cennamo later rejoined the original Renaissance line-up (then known as

Illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may o ...

) and later worked with

Jim McCarty James Stanley McCarty (born 25 July 1943) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only member of the band to featur ...

in Stairway. Pugh left the music business but stayed in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, eventually emerging from retirement to sit in with US-based rock and roll band

7th Order 7th Order is an American rock and roll, rock & roll band whose debut extended play CD release, ''The Lake of Memory'', was issued on the Big Island Sounds label in 2007 (although 7th Order had been in existence for several years by that time). ...

in 2002–2003. After leaving Steamhammer, White recorded a solo album, ''Open Door'', which was released in 1975 – he later emigrated to the US (specifically

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

), where he worked as a truck driver until passing away in 1995 (

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

). Quittenton played guitar and co-wrote songs, including "

Maggie May "Maggie May" is a song co-written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, and performed by Rod Stewart on his album ''Every Picture Tells a Story'', released in 1971. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number 130 on its list of T ...

" and "

You Wear It Well "You Wear It Well" is a song written by Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, performed by Stewart. It uses an arrangement markedly similar to that of "Maggie May", one of Stewart's hits from the previous year. Stewart recorded "You Wear It Well" ...

" on albums by

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 ...

. Jolliffe joined

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

in 1978, and played on the album ''

Cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

''.

Reformation

In 2020, Pugh, along with Pete Sears and John Lingwood, plus vocalist/guitarist Phil Colombatto, announced a new Steamhammer album set to be released in early 2022.

Members

– lead guitar (1968–1973, 2020–present) * Steve Davy – bass (1968–1971) * Kieran White – vocals, guitar, harmonica (1968–1971; died 1995) *

– guitar (1968–1969, 1973; died 2015) *

– drums (1968–1969) * Mick Bradley – drums (1969–1972; died 1972) * Steve Jolliffe – saxophone, flute, vocals (1969–1970) *

– bass (1971–1973) *John Lingwood – drums (1972–1973, 2020–present) *Ian Ellis – vocals, guitar (1972) *Bruce Michael Paine – vocals, guitar (1972–1973) *

- bass, keyboards (2020–present) *Phil Colombatto - vocals, guitar (2020–present)

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Discography

Singles

* "Junior's Wailing" (single version)/ "Windmill" (1969) * "Autumn Song" / "Blues For Passing People" (1969) * "Mountains" / "I Wouldn't Have Thought" (1971)

Albums

* '' Steamhammer'' (also known as ''Reflection'') (1969) * '' Mk II'' (1969) * ''

'' (1970) * ''

'' (1972)

Compilations

* ''This is ... Steamhammer'' (1974) – 2×LP * ''Riding on the L&N – The Anthology'' (2012) – 2×CD

References

External links

Steamhammer website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steamhammer 1968 establishments in England 1973 disestablishments in England Musical groups established in 1968 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 Musical groups from West Sussex English blues musical groups English progressive rock groups Worthing