Humble Pie

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Humble Pie 1972
Humble Pie
General information
Genre (s) Rock , folk rock , blues rock
founding 1969, 1980
resolution 1975
former members
Peter Frampton

Steve Marriott († 1991)

Jerry Shirley
Greg Ridley († 2003)

Anthony Jones

Clem Clempson

Bobby Tench

Humble Pie was a British rock band founded in 1969 , which was composed of well-known soloists from other bands.

biography

Foundation and early years

The band was formed in London in 1969 when singer and guitarist Peter Frampton (from The Herd ) and drummer Jerry Shirley (from Apostolic Intervention ), who also sang and played keyboards, vibraphone, bass guitar and guitar, joined together to form a new formation to found. Steve Marriott (including guitar, vocals, keyboards, harmonica) had introduced the two of them, and when he suddenly parted ways with Small Faces on New Year's Eve 1968/69 , he called to ask if he could join in. At the same time he was able to win the singer, guitarist and bassist Greg Ridley (from Spooky Tooth ) mainly as bassist for the project. Because of their composition, the band was called a supergroup by the press . The answer to that was her name: having to eat “humble pie” is a synonym for falling off a high horse in the English-speaking world.

Her debut single Natural Born Bugie was a hit and reached number 4 in England. This was followed by the albums As Safe as Yesterday Is and Town & Country , which contained the single The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake , but which was not a hit. Stylistically, the first albums can be classified between rock and folk rock. After Immediate Records collapsed , Dee Anthony took over management of the group. Under his leadership, the band switched to the American record company A & M Records , where they were able to celebrate their first successes with the albums Humble Pie and Rock On .

Success and turn to blues rock

You were now in a good position to be successful in the United States. As part of their tour of America, a particularly prestigious live album was created in New York: Performance - Rockin 'the Fillmore . As the highlight of a gig, the band played the track I Don't Need No Doctor , which was also released as a single.

However, there were soon disagreements about the further musical direction. Frampton , who felt more and more pushed into the background by Marriott, then left the band in the fall of 1971 to start a solo career. David "Clem" Clempson of Colosseum replaced Peter Frampton and the sound of Humble Pie got harder. The first album recorded with this line-up, Smokin , was also their most successful. It stayed in the LP hit lists for weeks, not least because the band was tirelessly on tour.

The subsequent double album with the title Eat It could not repeat this success, but it stayed in the top 20 and was at least interesting for the critics because it demonstrated the versatility of the band: Page one is equipped with pithy blues rock songs whose lyrics are consistent - typical of rock music - dealing with women, alcohol and other drugs . On the second side, Marriott tries soul numbers like That's How Strong My Love Is and is supported by the black vocal trio " The Blackberries " (Venetta Field, Clydie King, Billie Barnum). Page three contains songs by Marriott only and focuses on folk and country music. The last page consists of a live recording of a concert in Glasgow a. a. with a cover version of the Rolling Stones hit Honky Tonk Women and a 13-minute version of Jr. Walker 's (I'm a) Road Runner . Despite the overly long songs, the charismatic singer Steve Marriott cast a spell over his audience, because on stage he became a bundle of energy that people enjoyed watching and listening to, not least because of the numerous teasing allusions.

Relegation and separation

The now following LP Thunderbox was criticized as lackluster and could not build on the successes of the previous albums. For the die-hard fans, the singing style moved too much towards soul and gospel. The last album Street Rats for the time being contained cover versions of the Chuck Berry classic Rock & Roll Music and the Beatles hits We Can Work It Out , Drive My Car and Rain , but these were converted into blues numbers by Marriott & Co. The record company relied on song material that the band members actually didn't want to release. But there was a certain indifference in the band by now, because everyone had their own projects. For example, Steve Marriott played the so-called scrubbers sessions with various musicians , which were only released in 1997. The end was in sight. In 1975 the group separated for the time being and Marriott joined a reunion of the Small Faces , which produced two more albums.

Reunion in the early 1980s

After the Small Faces split up again, Steve Marriott and Jerry Shirley decided in 1980 to revive Humble Pie. However, the band no longer presented itself in the original line-up. Anthony Jones was now on bass and Bobby Tench, who had already worked with musicians such as Jeff Beck, Ginger Baker, Van Morrison and Eric Burdon, played the second guitar. They started right away with another album success: On to Victory . In 1981 the success with Go for the Throat was to be repeated. Despite good reviews, the album was not as successful as its predecessor for a long time. An unfortunate tour through America followed: the concert series had to be repeatedly interrupted due to an accident and illness. After two albums and a tour, Humble Pie (Mk II) split again, and each went to his solo work.

Steve Marriott's death and final reunion plans

In 1991, Marriott began working again with Peter Frampton . The two had written and recorded new material, and a fresh start for Humble Pie seemed possible.

On April 20, 1991, the day after his return from the United States, Steve Marriott died in a self-inflicted fire in his Essex country house because he forgot to put out his cigarette. He was 44 years old.

On the 10th anniversary of Steve Marriott's death, a "Memorial Concert" was held in the Astoria in London as a tribute to his work. Many of Marriott's musical companions and admirers performed at the concert. The four remaining members of Humble Pie also played for the first time in the line-up of Peter Frampton, Clem Clempson, Greg Ridley and Jerry Shirley. The setlist included five of the band's most famous hits, including the initial hit "Natural Born Boogie", which the band never played live before. The concert was cut and edited under the title "One More Time For The Ol 'Tosser".

In 2002 Greg Ridley and Jerry Shirley decided to revive Humble Pie and released the album Back On Track . They were preparing for a 2003 tour, which had to be canceled because Greg Ridley died unexpectedly on November 19, 2003 of pneumonia and the ensuing complications in Spain.

Discography (albums)

  • As Safe as Yesterday is (1969)
  • Town and Country (1969)
  • Humble Pie (1970)
  • Rock On (1971)
  • Performance - Rockin 'the Fillmore (1971)
  • Smokin '(1972)
  • Eat It (1973)
  • Thunderbox (1974)
  • Street Rats (1975)
  • On to Victory (1980)
  • Go for the Throat (1981)
  • King Biscuit Flower Hour (1996)
  • The Scrubbers Sessions (1997)
  • Back on Track (2002)
  • Live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go '69 (2002)

Singles

  • Natural Born Bugie / Wrist Job (1969)
  • The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake / Cold Lady
  • Big Black Dog / Strange Days
  • Big Black Dog / Only a Roach
  • Shine On / Mister Ring
  • I Don't Need No Doctor / A Song for Jenny
  • Hot 'n' Nasty / You're So Good For Me
  • 30 Days in the Hole / C'mon Everybody / Road Runner
  • Get Down to It / Honky Tonk Women
  • Shut Up and Don't Interrupt Me / Black Coffee (1973)
  • Black Coffee / Say No More
  • Oh la de Da / The Outcrowd
  • Ninety-Nine Pounds / Rally With Ali
  • Rock and Roll Music / Scored Out
  • Fool for a Pretty Face / You Soppy Prat (1980)
  • Tin Soldier (1981)

literature

Web links