Meltdown

Meltdown originated as a five-piece ensemble launched in the 1990s by Jim McCarty, the former Yardbirds timekeeper whose songwriting credits for that group encompassed “Shapes Of Things,” “Still I’m Sad” and “Over Under Sideways Down.” McCarty conceived the project as a vehicle for robust R&B that blended his own compositions with blues standards associated with Freddie King, Johnny Winter, Peter Green and additional authors. Guitarist and singer Ray Majors, an alumnus of Mott The Hoople and the British Lions, had already collaborated with McCarty during the 1984 Box Of Frogs sessions; he later replaced Top Topham in the McCarty Band, the immediate precursor to Meltdown. Still in his teens when the new group formed, slide guitarist Sam Johnson nevertheless brought prior experience from associations with Pete Hogman of the Five Dimensions and Dick Taylor of the Pretty Things. Keyboardist Steve Corley, the second youthful member, had already distinguished himself as a jazz prodigy at the Royal Academy Of Music. Bassist and vocalist Nikki Racklin arrived with her own recording history and had supported both Naked Truth and James on tour. The band subsequently undertook a string of British live engagements followed by brief excursions to Sweden and France.