Climax Blues Band

Led by Colin Cooper, who had previously fronted the R&B group the Hipster Image, the Climax Chicago Blues Band formed in Stafford, England, and quickly emerged among the foremost acts of the late-1960s blues revival. The six-piece lineup featured guitarists Derek Holt and Peter Haycock alongside keyboardist Arthur Wood, bassist Richard Jones, and drummer George Newsome. Their 1969 debut album echoed the style of John Mayall, yet bassist Jones departed before the follow-up Plays On appeared later that same year, after which Holt assumed the bass chair. By 1970 the band had signed with the Harvest imprint and adopted a stronger rock direction on A Lot of Bottle. Drummer John Cuffley took over for Newsome around the time of 1971’s Tightly Knit, and after keyboardist Wood left following the release of Rich Man in 1972, the remaining members carried on as a quartet and shortened their name to Climax Blues Band to distinguish themselves from the American ensemble. The 1974 album FM Live captured a radio broadcast from New York, while Stamp in 1975 marked their first substantial commercial success. Gold Plated, issued the next year, performed even more strongly thanks to the hit single “Couldn’t Get It Right.” Although the ascent of punk curtailed their momentum, the group kept releasing records through the 1980s; after Drastic Steps in 1988 they fell silent for several years before returning with Blues from the Attic in 1994.