Skid Row (Irish band)
Skid Row was a Dublin- based blues rock- based band that was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group is notable in rock history not least because it was the band in which both Phil Lynott and guitarist Gary Moore began their professional careers.
The beginnings
The band was founded in Dublin in August 1967 and initially consisted of Brendan "Brush" Shiels on bass, Noel "Nollaig" Bridgeman on drums, Bernard "Ben" Cheevers on guitar and Phil Lynott as singer. Cheevers left the band in September 1968. Before his departure, the search for a suitably skilled guitarist led to Gary Moore joining the band as the fifth member. Moore and Cheevers both played in the band for a short time. Robbie Brennan temporarily replaced original drummer Bridgeman until June 1969, and Cheevers was replaced by 16-year-old Gary Moore in mid-1968, and the band recorded a single called New Places, Old Faces / Misdemeanour Dream Felicity for Irish Song Records. It is Lynott's only published recording with Skid Row.
Later that year, Shiels had Phil Lynott removed from the line-up. He turned Skid Row into a power trio, with Sheils as the lead singer and Gary Moore as the second singer. From the psychedelically influenced beginnings, the classic skid row sound developed as a combination of airy country ballads, cream-like heavy blues, edgy music , also influenced by King Crimson , into loud prog rock .
Recordings and tours
A concert in Dublin with Fleetwood Mac led to a management contract with Mac manager Clifford Davis. In late 1969 Skid Row was able to sign a record deal with CBS . The band also moved their headquarters to Great Britain. The first British single, the country track Sandie's Gone (Parts 1 & 2) was released in April 1970, the first album Skid was released in October 1970. In 1970 the band also made their first tour in the USA, after which they toured Europe with Canned Heat and played live in the German Beat Club . A second US tour followed in 1971, on which she supported the Allman Brothers , Frank Zappa and Iggy Popp .
A second LP called 34 Hours - so named because it only took 34 hours to record - was released in early 1971, along with the single Night of the Warm Witch / Mr. De-Luxe . An unnamed third album was recorded (but never released) in the fall of 1971 before Gary Moore left the band shortly before a US tour. Eric Bell stood in for Moore for live performances, and later UFO guitarist Paul Chapman succeeded him.
Changing line-ups
Skid Row was finally reformed in Ireland in 1973, first with Shiels, Wilson, singer Eamonn Gibney (ex-Alyce) and guitarist Ed Deane, later with keyboardist Kevin McAlea. The Shiels / Deane / Wilson line-up released the single Dublin City Angels / Slow Down . John Wilson was replaced by Paddy Freeney before the band split again in early 1974. In the next few months Shiels played in the Bell-Brush Band with Eric Bell and Timmy Creedon (drums, ex-orphanage), sometimes together with Eamonn Gibney. At the end of the year, Shiels, Moore, and Bridgeman briefly met for a number of appearances, and a 1975 cast of Shiels (guitar / vocals), Bridgeman, Jimi Slevin (lead guitar / vocals, ex-Alyce, ex-Peggy's Leg) ( Born June 1950, Dublin), Timmy Creedon (second drummer / singer) and Johann Brady (bass) recorded the skid row single The Spanish Lady / Elvira . In 1976, Jody Pollard (guitar, ex-Elmer Fudd) replaced Pat O'Farrell in a line-up of Shiels (vocals / mandolin), Bridgeman (drums), John Brady (bass) and Dave Gaynor (drums), taking the one produced by Phil Lynott double-sided single Coming Home Again / Fight Your Heart Out and the unreleased track Skid Row Flashback . Shiels, Bridgeman, Brady, Pollard, Gaynor and Ian Anderson were featured on the rock n 'roll standards double live album Alive and Kickin' , released in 1976 . In 1978, Pollard rejoined, this time replacing Eric Bell along with Shiels, Bridgeman, Brady and Joe Staunton (guitar, ex-orphanage).
Individual evidence
- ^ Colin Harper: A History of Skid Row. Retrieved on August 29, 2019 .