Average White Band

Their self-effacing name notwithstanding, Average White Band proved far from ordinary as one of the scant white ensembles to traverse the racial divide and earn both commercial success and artistic legitimacy within funk. Their taut, intense grooves likewise contradicted their Scottish roots by summoning the soulful intensity of American centers such as Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia. The founding sextet consisted of singer/bassist Alan Gorrie, guitarists Hamish Stuart and Onnie McIntyre, tenor saxophonist Malcolm Duncan, keyboardist/saxophonist Roger Ball, and drummer Robbie McIntosh, all of them seasoned performers from assorted Scottish soul and jazz outfits. The band first appeared in 1973, serving as the opening act for Eric Clapton’s return concert at the Rainbow Theatre, and shortly thereafter released their debut album Show Your Hand, which attracted minimal attention. Adopting the shortened handle AWB, they followed a year later with their self-titled second album, which reached the top of the U.S. pop charts on the strength of the Arif Mardin-produced instrumental “Pick Up the Pieces.” That breakthrough was overshadowed, however, by the death of McIntosh on September 23, 1974, after he overdosed on heroin at a Hollywood party.

Ex-Bloodstone drummer Steve Ferrone stepped in for McIntosh on the group’s third album, Cut the Cake, issued in 1975; the record yielded a Top Ten single with its title track and also charted with “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” and “School Boy Crush.” (The same year’s Put It Where You Want It simply repackaged and retitled the earlier Show Your Hand.) On 1976’s Soul Searching the ensemble resumed its full Average White Band identity and secured its last Top 40 entry with “Queen of My Soul.” After the live set Person to Person came Benny & Us, a collaboration with soul legend Ben E. King. Later releases—1978’s Warmer Communications, 1979’s Feel No Fret, and 1980’s Shine—did not restore the spark of the band’s earlier peak, prompting a breakup in 1982. Ferrone subsequently joined Duran Duran, while Stuart recorded with Paul McCartney. In 1989 Gorrie, Ball, and McIntyre revived Average White Band, enlisting vocalist Alex Ligertwood for the return album Aftershock. Frequently sampled by hip-hop producers during the 1990s, the group maintained an active touring schedule until issuing Soul Tattoo in 1996; the live recording Face to Face appeared three years afterward.