garerama
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Edited Jun 06, 2023, 23:25
Tony McPhee
Jun 06, 2023, 23:16
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R.i.P
Groundhogs - Cherry Red
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POGsy9Ru9sE
Was introduced to Tony via The Apostles c. 1988, who covered a lot of his songs. I would later hear The Groundhogs and they blew me away. A perfect power trio. Here's the song that started my interest, originally by Herbal Mixture, Tony's pre Groundhogs band.
The Apostles - A Love That's Died
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lliF1xw0nA
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Citizensmurf
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Re: Tony McPhee
Jun 07, 2023, 01:37
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Another loss for the world of music. It was HH who first brought the music of Tony and the Groundhogs to my orbit 20+ years ago. That trio of epic early 70s albums is among the greatest achievements by any band, and we have Tony to thank for that. Truly a legend.
This is my absolute favourite clip of Tony, playing Groundhog Blues solo electric in 1985.
https://youtu.be/wtqnZCMoLPU
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Fitter Stoke
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Re: Tony McPhee
Jun 07, 2023, 09:24
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That is truly sad news. Tony had a unique sound, with an ability to wrench real emotion from his guitar. RIP.
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Robot Emperor
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Edited Jun 07, 2023, 20:18
Re: Tony McPhee
Jun 07, 2023, 20:06
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In the 80's, when I spent my weekends hunting for gems in the Selectadisc secondhand department, these were my significant find. Split first, Hogwash quickly followed. These were the years of sharing your vinyl with friends - everyone was ignorant of them (how quickly bands could be semi forgotten before the internet) and all were blown away. For some reason it took me years to get hold of Thank Christ For The Bomb, perhaps the reason why Hogwash is still my favourite. I swear it's unique blues prog.
I first saw them live in the late 80s at the Mardi Gras club in Nottingham, a tiny club in a converted car park that for a while attracted bands like Pendragon, The Godfathers, Solstice etc. The Groundhogs were a different league - Tony even performing a nonchalant string change at speed and mid song.
I'm pleased I found them,pleased I saw them when they had real aggression in their sound, and pleased that the world woke up to their brilliance again. 3 or 4 brilliant albums - there are more famous musicians that managed far less.
Here's (hopefully) The Fall with a faithful Strange Town!
https://youtu.be/RPMVUhyrH9Q
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Fitter Stoke
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Re: Tony McPhee
Jun 07, 2023, 22:42
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Nice post. I saw Tony fronting a version of the Hogs in the early 90s at a very low-key North Shields venue. It didn’t matter how anonymous his bassist and drummer was, he was mesmerising: right into the music and wrenching the hell out of his frets as if his very life depended on it. No more than fifty or so of us watched, but he projected his unique muse with aplomb. God bless him.
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spencer
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Re: Tony McPhee
Jun 08, 2023, 00:44
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My first album was Thank Christ back in ‘70.. I loved that band so much. Nights listening to sessions on the transistor under the bedclothes when I should have been asleep, then sessions that I still have with mic taped to the radio’s speaker. So many good memories, gigs. Such a trooper, teaching himself to play again more than once after strokes. I last saw him with a version of the Hogs in the early 2000’s after one of those and his musicianship still shone through. He stood next to me at the bar after and I couldn’t say a word but oh how I owed the guy. One of my touchstones. RIP dude… thanks. So much.
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Hunter T Wolfe
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Re: Tony McPhee
Jun 08, 2023, 10:12
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It's one of my great regrets that I never saw McPhee with The Groundhogs, despite many opportunities. I did see him play a solo acoustic blues set in Brighton about 20 years ago though, in a tiny pub, no stage, no PA, just a bunch of us sat around him listening intently. That was special.
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