Juicy Lucy

Saucy blues-rock outfit Juicy Lucy came together in 1969 out of the remnants of the cult garage act the Misunderstood, bringing back together singer Ray Owen, steel guitarist Glenn "Ross" Campbell, and keyboardist Chris Mercer while adding guitarist Neil Hubbard, bassist Keith Ellis, and drummer Pete Dobson. Their cover of the Bo Diddley staple "Who Do You Love" quickly climbed into the U.K. Top 20, although the self-titled debut album stalled just outside the Top 40. For the 1970 release Lie Back and Enjoy It, ex-Zoot Money vocalist Paul Williams, guitarist Mick Moody, and drummer Rod Coombes stepped in to replace Owen, who had left to pursue solo work, along with Hubbard and Dobson, while bassist Jim Leverton took over Ellis’s role on the next record, 1971’s Get a Whiff a This. Persistent lineup shifts eroded both the band’s artistic momentum and its sales, prompting co-founders Campbell and Mercer to depart before the fourth album, Pieces, appeared in 1972; that record featured a makeshift lineup of Williams, Moody, keyboardist Jean Roussel, and the ex-Blodwyn Pig rhythm team of bassist Andy Pyle and drummer Ron Berg. Juicy Lucy dissolved soon after. In 1995 Ray Owen resurrected the Juicy Lucy moniker for Here She Comes Again, completed with guitarist Mike Jarvis, bassist Andy Doughty, and drummer Spencer Blackledge. That incarnation split a couple of years later, yet Owen pressed on, forming a creative alliance with guitarist Mr. Fish. Legal hurdles prevented the new group from using the Juicy Lucy name, so they performed as Ray Owen’s Moon. By 2004 bassist Fudge and drummer Fletch had come aboard and the naming dispute was resolved. The reconstituted Juicy Lucy devoted 2006 to recording a fresh album and touring the U.K. alongside Nazareth. Ray Owen passed away on October 31, 2018.