The Groundhogs

[Raymondo]

I am at the wrekin inn,Wellington,shropshire ....waiting to see a gig by The Groundhogs.I have known about / watched/bought the records of this band (in fact hogwash was the very first album I owned!).....Its very weird to see the tiny stage gear Set up in a pub.....I used tp see them in big halls and at festivals.....not sure how I feel about seeing one of my heros playing a pub.....anyone else been to see their heros in a small venue (I don't mean big bands doing warm up gigs )?
how did you feel?

[Raymondo]

oops meant to say known etc for forty years....first time I've used my phone to post and don't know how to edit!.....if you are at the gig come say hi....I am at the bar...tall guy,big nose,glasses and a green shirt!!!!

[gjones]

I remember in the early 90's my brother in law booked The Groundhogs for a gig up in Edinburgh. Only one person turned up. The Groundhogs didn't seem to mind.

[yorks5stringer]

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1386448431' post='2300346']
I remember in the early 90's my brother in law booked The Groundhogs for a gig up in Edinburgh. Only one person turned up. The Groundhogs didn't seem to mind.
[/quote]

Was it Groundhog day?

[discreet]

I will always remember them thus:

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyLrD-OAu2k"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyLrD-OAu2k[/url]

[Dingus]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1386448578' post='2300352']
I will always remember them thus:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyLrD-OAu2k[/media]
[/quote]

When I first started playing , and even a bit before then , that was one of the songs that kids playing in their bedrooms were trying to play. In however modest a way, Tony McFee was a guitar hero of his day .

Yes, it can be sad sometimes to see bands playing in reduced circumstances , but ,at the same time, I have nothing but respect for these guys that they are still doing it . I would have thought though, that a band with a history and a cult following like The Groundhogs could easily pull enough of a crowd to be doing music clubs rather than local pubs.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Dingus

[seashell]

It'll probably be much mor enjoyable than seeing them in some massive venue.
I well remember the 'Who is better, Tony McPhee or Eric Clapton?' correspondance in Melody Maker back in the 70s. How times have changed.

Hope you have a great time. :-)

[yepmop]

Love the Groundghogs, still have the Two Sides of TS McPhee Album

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1386447513' post='2300328']
Its very weird to see the tiny stage gear Set up in a pub.....I used tp see them in big halls and at festivals.....not sure how I feel about seeing one of my heros playing a pub.
[/quote]
I've only ever seen them in very small venues but it was a very long time ago. [quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1386447513' post='2300328']
anyone else been to see their heros in a small venue (I don't mean big bands doing warm up gigs )?
how did you feel?
[/quote]
I've seen many of my heroes play small venues.................Usually long before they were famous.


Enjoy the gig!!!

Edited December 7, 2013 by BetaFunk

[alembic63]

Saw Wishbone Ash play to 50 people at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham in the late 80's... Martin Turner playing a Squire Jazz .....fantastic night ,had a good chat to the band after the gig ,but very surreal

[great harry]

Steve Rye their one time singer and harmonica player was one of my lecturers at college. He sadly died of a booze related illness in his forties.

[wriggers]

One of the very first bands I saw. I was on holiday with with my parents in bournemouth ( I was 14 in 1968). one of my favourite albums at college was Thank Christ for the Bomb. I saw Tony McPhee in Otley a couple of years ago. He was dire.

[chris_b]

[quote name='wriggers' timestamp='1386500507' post='2300662']
....I saw Tony McPhee in Otley a couple of years ago. He was dire....
[/quote]

I believe he wasn't in the best of health back then.

Edited December 8, 2013 by chris_b

[Bassassin]

A few months back we played a pub gig with a band which featured a long-term former Groundhogs member, drummer Ken Pustelnik. Really lovely guy and an excellent drummer. Interestingly, the band in question is fronted by a former Hawkwind member, Paul Hayles. The music was all original & didn't feature anything by their former bands. I have a lot of respect for guys like these whose pro careers are effectively over but who continue writing & performing because that's simply what they do.

Jon.

[Raymondo]

Well I had one of the best nights of my life!
It was fantastic,sure,the strokes have meant that Tony doesn't sing very much now but his wife jo did brilliantly.I got to chat to all the band members and even got asked to play in the jam session that followed the gig.
Dave Anderson (ex Hawkwind) the bass player kindly let me use his gear,unfortunately Tony didn't join in on the songs I played but he was very appreciative and encouraging.

Tony and his wife run an open Mic session at the pub every Tuesday...I intened driving over to join in a few times in the new year.
Yes I know I am suddenly calling him Tony but they were all so friendly (and amazing musicians!) that I felt like a friend.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='alembic63' timestamp='1386455556' post='2300436']
Saw Wishbone Ash play to 50 people at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham in the late 80's... Martin Turner playing a Squire Jazz .....fantastic night ,had a good chat to the band after the gig ,but very surreal
[/quote]
I suppose it's often a lot to do with how are you as to what sort of venue you saw a band in. I only ever saw Wishbone Ash in college and small halls in the early 70s. Similar to groups like Thin Lizzy around the same time.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1386511067' post='2300842']
Well I had one of the best nights of my life!
It was fantastic,sure,the strokes have meant that Tony doesn't sing very much now but his wife jo did brilliantly.I got to chat to all the band members and even got asked to play in the jam session that followed the gig.
Dave Anderson (ex Hawkwind) the bass player kindly let me use his gear,unfortunately Tony didn't join in on the songs I played but he was very appreciative and encouraging.

Tony and his wife run an open Mic session at the pub every Tuesday...I intened driving over to join in a few times in the new year.
Yes I know I am suddenly calling him Tony but they were all so friendly (and amazing musicians!) that I felt like a friend.
[/quote]
Sounds like a great evening.

[Dingus]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1386511067' post='2300842']
Well I had one of the best nights of my life!
It was fantastic,sure,the strokes have meant that Tony doesn't sing very much now but his wife jo did brilliantly.I got to chat to all the band members and even got asked to play in the jam session that followed the gig.
Dave Anderson (ex Hawkwind) the bass player kindly let me use his gear,unfortunately Tony didn't join in on the songs I played but he was very appreciative and encouraging.

Tony and his wife run an open Mic session at the pub every Tuesday...I intened driving over to join in a few times in the new year.
Yes I know I am suddenly calling him Tony but they were all so friendly (and amazing musicians!) that I felt like a friend.
[/quote]


Isn't it funny how , more often than not, musicians who have been there and done it and who are the real deal are the most friendly and welcoming , and that it is the no -mark wannabes that you come across now and again who turn out to be the ones with the bad attitude and heirs and graces.

[Toddy]

Ha, Like it.. Back in the early nineties, we regularly used to frequent the Toby Jug Pub in Doncaster,, still have some old billings somewhere and on several occasions saw the Groundhogs,,(sound was terrible, but enjoyed it),, we couldn't understand why no-one was interested back then,, saw Adrian Legg play to ten people, even one night we had, Edgar Broughton, Tony Mcphee and John Otway...Tony was magnificent singing delta blues with and old Yamaha Acoustic,,,, one week we went to see the Groundhogs, next night back for Stan Webbs Chicken Shack,,and could not afford to go back on the Sat to see Steve Marriott, (sadly not long before he passed).... we were thrilled to see these (to us) giants,, but shameful the way they were being treated back then...happy days tho.... on a footnote, believe the Drummer of the Groundhogs, (Clive Brooks), is working as the drum tech on the aussie pink floyd show..

[Coilte]

Thanks to this thread, my interest in the Groundhogs has been rekindled.

So much so that I have gone ahead and bought some CD's to
replace my vinyl copies.

A great band !!

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Used to play the groundhogs loadsa times in the "80s. I've still got vinyl from Christ to crosscut/black diamond. Haven't touched it for years.
Huge respect for Shuie ts McPhee . bought a white label copy of crosscut saw in the '80s also. No track listing ,but it sounded good;)
Fave albums at the time were hogwash(good production on that album), who will save the world solid and split.

They lost their way abit in the mid 70s imho. Got some double live album in the 80s which is pretty poor imho.

I may dig out some of their vinyl and play it if I get in the mood, but my tastes have expanded abit over the years, and I may not get around to it.

[seashell]

Wow, Raymondo what a fantastic experience :-)

[barkin]

Saw them a few times, in the 80's I guess. While I remember enjoying them, my lasting memory is that, on every occasion, they were staggeringly loud.

[rogerstodge]

I went to see them play at the bridewell in Dartford and the PA hadn't turned up, they were just about to call it a day until i offered them my PA which they used, so yep i did save the day.

[KevB]

Completely lost track of what Tony McPhee was up to and didn't know about the stroke, just checked up on wiki. I only saw the Groundhogs once in the mid 80's when most of the bands of that ilk were falling on tough times. Small club gig in Nottingham, small but appreciative audience and the band were real pros and gave it their all, McPhee just ripping through stuff and showing why he was so highly regarded in his heyday. Glad to hear he's still getting up and playing despite the health problems, it would have made more than a few retire.