Hugh Nicholson, who had previously been a member of the successful group Marmalade, formed this Scottish band with Ian MacMillan and Timi Donald in 1973.
They released their first two albums on the RSO label, which is known for its work with the Bee Gees, and those released after that were on Elton John’s Rocket label. Their first single release was “Little Jody” which had previously been a Marmalade recording, but it did not have any chart success.
They decided to sign up Robert “Smiggy” Smith as another guitarist and in 1974 released the LP Life in the Navy. Timmy Donald and Robert “Smiggy” Smith left the band shortly after and Charlie Smith and David Nicholson were taken on in their place.
This new line-up changed the band’s fortunes when “Gonna Capture Your Heart” made it into the UK charts, peaking at No. 18, and broke into the United States where it scratched the surface of the Billboard chart at No. 88. This led to two US tours where they would be on the same bill as the Beach Boys and Frank Zappa, several tours of the UK and their appearance at the Reading Festival saw Elton John accompanying them on the keyboards as well as producing and performing on two of their albums, using the pseudonym Redget Bunthaven. This was their one and only chart hit though and although they carried on releasing further albums until 1979, they decided after that it was time to disband.
The band has often been revived to tour and make further recordings and they came to the fore again in 2003 when they lost a case against the boy band that also uses the same name as the judge ruled it was not a problem to distinguish between the two groups. Now sharing the name with another band, they still continue to occasionally work together.
Members
- Hugh Nicholson (vocals/guitar/keyboards)
- Ian MacMillan (vocals/bass guitar)
- Timi Donald (drums)
- Robert “Smiggy” Smith (vocals/guitar)
- Jeff Allen (drums)
- Charlie Smith (drums)
- Dean Ford (vocals)
- David Nicholson (guitar)
- Jimmy McCulloch (guitar)(live performances)
- Dennis Conway (session drummer)
- Elton John (producer, backing vocals and keyboards on two albums)
Blue recordings
Gonna Capture Your Heart (Hugh Nicholson)
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