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Led by Colin Cooper, the front man of the Hipster Image, the Stafford, England
based Climax Chicago Blues Band was one of the leading lights of the 60s blues
boom. A sextet comprised of guitarists Derek Holt and Peter Haycock, keyboardist
Arthur Wood, bassist Richard Jones and drummer George Newsome, the group debuted
in 1969 with a self-titled effort.
Prior to the release of 1969's "Plays On", Jones left the group,
prompting Holt to move to bass. In 1970 the Climax Chicago Blues Band moved to the
Harvest label, at the same time shifting towards a rock-oriented sound on the
album "A Lot of Bottle". Around the release of 1971's "Tightly
Knit", Newsome was replaced by drummer John Holt. Then Wood's left the band
after the release of 1972's "Rich Man", the band decided to continue on
as a quartet, they dropped the Chicago portion of their name to avoid confusion
with the American band of the same name.
In 1974 the Climax Blues Band issued "FM Live", a New York radio concert.
1975's "Stamp" was their commercial breakthrough, and 1976's "Gold
Plated" fared even better, spurred on by the success of the hit
"Couldn't Get It Right." However, the rise of punk effectively stopped
the group in their tracks, although they continued recording into the 1980s. After
1988's "Drastic Steps", the band was silent for a number of years, but
resurfaced in 1994 with "Blues From the Attic". |
