Where Are They Now?
Ric Adams
The Groundhogs was the only name band that Ric was ever in. After the band folded he did a few things with Mick Cook
and later on played with local bands. He now lives in Whitstable and hasn’t
played in a band for many years.
Clive Brooks
After the Groundhogs split in 1975, Clive got involved with a soft rock band called Liar. He
stayed in the band for a few years before re-uniting in 1980 with Tony McPhee in
the short-lived Turbo. It had all come about because Tony’s wife’s second
cousin came to stay with them. His name was Paul Raven and he was a very good
bass player. This is what gave Tony the idea and he knew Clive lived local.
Keith Ferguson and Mike Lowe who owned a PA company managed the band. They also
played The Lyceum and Dingwalls in London, but gigs were few and far between.
They did manage to fit in a Capital Radio session where they played a few
tracks. Turbo ended when Paul Raven moved
to London he later ended up in Killing Joke.
Just after this Clive joined Pink
Floyd’s technical staff. He got the gig because a friend of his was Dave
Gilmour’s guitar tech and he told him Nick Mason’s drum tech had just left.
By being around at the right time he became Mason’s drum technician for the
famous Wall concerts of 1980/81. Another stroke of luck presented itself when an
illness to the other drummer in the show meant he actually performed one of the
shows, he remembers it very well: “Just minutes before one of the shows was
due to start the road manager came up to me and said Willie Wilson was sick and
couldn't play. He’d heard I was a drummer and he asked me to fill in.” The
good thing was the he knew the show and he coped brilliantly, although he
remembers he was very nervous. In fact, he was so good Dave Gilmour asked him to
play the last night and Willie Wilson took Clive’s place as the drum tech.
Clive also went on to do the world tours for the Momentary Lapse Of Reason
and Division Bell albums. He has since made the life of a roadie his full
time job.
He is still associated with Pink Floyd, in an indirect way, as he is the
technician for the Australian Pink Floyd tribute band. He travels the world with
them and is enjoying much success with them. But he still gets behind a kit
occasionally. For the last two decades he has played in a local band called the
Southside Blues Band and he loves it.
Mick Cook
Mick went on to played in a number of bands. In the late 80’s he
formed a duo with a young girl singer he was having a relationship with. He
thought she was talented but it didn’t work out. Tragedy struck in the early
90’s when he died of cancer.
John Cruickshank
He is still going strong: “I have been earning a living since the 70`s and
running a family of five kids. Music wise since 1988 I have been in another band
known as Dr Bob doing covers in pubs and clubs! I enjoy it thoroughly, trying to
keep rock and roll and blues alive.” However, he is keen to point out that he
hasn’t forgotten his roots: “I do love singing and gigging and hope to carry
on for as long as I can, I mean John Lee Hooker carried on till he was over 80,
an example to us all!” By all accounts he still has an amazing voice.
Pete Cruickshank
Pete was completely drained by the experience of the last few years of
the Groundhogs: “I was sick of the whole music business. I’d had enough of
Wilf Pine and WWA. I didn’t play the bass for three years.” The eventual
acrimonious parting with Tony didn’t help either. Eventually he helped to form
a band called Augustus Legiron and they were based around the Bury St
Edmunds area. The band was made up of a few friends. They wrote their own
material and they stuck to their policy of playing no covers. Another important
aspect of the band was that it was democratic. This was important to Pete after
his previous experience. They did have their problems though, especially when
one of their guitarists developed a drug habit. It climaxed when Ron Bantock
walked off stage in the middle of a gig. They managed to put a few tracks down
in a studio and listening to it recently Pete thinks they sound good. They
played a lot of gigs in south of England and the Midlands.
Pete left the band when his wife, Jan, was expecting another baby in 1983. He
didn¹t play at all for a couple of years but joined the Stonkin Blues Band in
1985. They were a seven-piece band and even had their own brass section. They
played a bit of soul but it was always in their own inimitable style just like
John Lees Groundhogs did in the 60’s. Amazingly after all these years they are
still together. They play a lot of gigs in the East Anglia area and Pete is
certain about one thing: “We all get on really well and have lots of laughs.
When we’ve played a few back to back gigs we are in great form.”
See the end of Ken’s section
[Hoggin' The Page Book] to see what Pete is up to now.
Fred (sax)
Joined a band called Assegai. Last seen in the back of a taxi! See below
Terry Goldberg
At the end of his short stint in the band Goldberg joined a band called
Freeman who played regular gigs at the Royal Ballroom in Tottenham, London. In
the late 60’s he joined the Sands of Time and they took their cabaret act to
South Africa. In 1971 he decided to take the test to become a London cab driver
and that is what he is still doing now. In fact, a few years ago he gave a lift
to Fred, who was the only permanent part of the brass section when the band went
through their soul period. Terry recognized him immediately: “I told him ‘I
know who you are’. Fred was amazed I remembered him but he didn’t remember
me.”
In 2003 the remaining members of the Mark Leeman Five had a reunion in London
and they spoke of the possibility of making a musical comeback. However, it
never came to fruition. He plays semi-pro in a band called Good Company and they
play in the Bournemouth area. He plays a Roland piano and a Korg synth. His
daughter occasionally sings in the band too.
Bob Hall
After leaving John Lees Groundhogs he joined Savoy Brown for four years and
as many studio albums. In the early 70’s he joined original Fleetwood
Mac bass player, Bob Brunning, in the Brunning Sunflower Band. The latter
developed into the De-Luxe Band and between them the band released thirty albums
up to the late 70’s. During this period they backed a lot of blues artists
from the United States. They were all signed to Jim Simpson¹s Big Bear Records
he had been Black Sabbath’s first manager.
In the early 80’s Bob formed the super groups of all super groups. The band
was called Rocket 88 and included Charlie Watts, Jack Bruce, Alexis Korner and
Ian Stewart on a double piano attack. They managed to record one album for
Atlantic but they played many gigs. The band came to an abrupt end with Bob’s
illness. He didn¹t play again until the middle of the decade when he joined the
legendary Blues Band. Even though it’s been a few years since he was a
permanent member he still plays the occasional gigs with them.
In the last ten years he has formed a band with his bass playing partner,
Hilary, and guess what? He’s still playing the blues! He still manages to fit
the odd gig in with Savoy Brown. He has also formed another all-star band
recently. The British Blues All Stars boasts an impressive roster of occasional
players. These are some of the musicians who have lent a hand; Long John Baldry,
Peter Green, Dave Kelly, Tom McGuiness and Dick Heckstall-Smith (sadly passed
away in 2004). In 2004 they played the San Francisco Blues Festival before a
20,000 crowd. They played the afternoon show with Buddy Guy and Santana. Bob
recalled recently with a grin: “There were two local bands and us!”
Tom Parker
It was
very soon after leaving John Lees Groundhogs that he moved into the area of
arranging music. In 1972 he scored a world-wide hit with “Joy” from Apollo
100. The record was number 1 in the USA and several other countries, including
Holland. He also had a string of hit records under his belt from chart toppers
such as Mack & Katy Kissoon, Don Fardon, The Nolan Sisters and The Dooleys.
In 1979 he hatched an idea of staging a rock opera version of Handel’s Messiah with the full gamut of orchestra, choir, singers and a rhythm section. MCA Records financed the project. The project was called Young Messiah and was very successful, and the song ‘Stay With Me Till The Morning’ from the album became a huge hit for Vicki Brown, who quickly became one the best-loved stars in Holland. His Young Messiah was followed by Young Amadeus and Young Verdi; the latter two sold over 200,000 copies in Holland.
He is still writing and performing and lives in Spain with his wife, Marissa, and their two youngest children, Josephine and Elizabeth.
Ken Pustelnik
After leaving the Groundhogs he formed a band called Gunner Kade, the name came
from a book he’d read about fighting monks. They played mainly instrumentals.
The band included his old guitarist friend J D Fanger. Ken approached a German
band he liked called Can; he fixed a gig at the Rainbow, London, for them, and
then toured the UK as their support. The band evolved into Gunner
Kade Mk2 and this line-up played more ‘avant garde’ material. They toured
Europe including Holland, Germany, and Italy. When the band split one of the
girls joined Dexy’s Midnight Runners. J D Fanger went to work with Depeche
Mode as a road manager.
The post punk period was a difficult time for Ken so he decided to explore another
side of the business. He got his own PA and started hiring it out. He was also
involved in organizing stage crew for the Donnington Monsters of Rock. He
acquired a small demo studio and started a small record label called Embyro.
Ken and Tony got back together again in 1986 when he re-joined the Groundhogs for
three gigs. These were at the General Wolfe in Coventry, the Bridge Inn in
Bristol and the Top Rank at Wolverhampton. They even managed to record a session
for BBC’s Rhythm & Blues series on Radio 2. They played ‘Still A
Fool’, ‘Groundhog’ and ‘Express Man’. The latter was included on an
album called Blues On Two and was released in June of 1986.
Then, in 2003, the classic line-up of the Groundhogs reformed. In early 2004
Tony embarked on his Alvin Lee tour, so Ken and Pete Cruickshank hooked up with
American guitarist Chaz DePaolo for a tour of Ireland. After Tony split The
Groundhogs up in October 2004 it seemed logical to them to continue with Chaz.
In late 2004 they completed a short tour of the UK that was combined with radio
appearances and recording. They are excited about the future and have plans to
go to Europe. They are billed as Chaz DePaolo & The Groundhogs Rhythm
Section. In 2005 they had a self-penned track on a various artists album to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Cadillac (also on the album
is a track by Jeff Beck).
Steve Rye
After leaving the Groundhogs he went back to play permanently with Simon Prager
in their acoustic blues duo. He had played with Prager since 1965 and had fitted
in gigs with him during his stint with the Groundhogs. Later on they became a
trio when Bob Hall joined them and at various times a quartet. The fourth member
was John Pilgrim who played washboard; he’d been in the Vipers. The
arrangement was pretty fluid as each line-up was enacted as convenient to the
musician¹s diary.
In the early 70’s Rye and Prager formed the All Star Medicine Show and they
recorded an album. During this time they also played a lot with Jo-Ann Kelly.
Rye's drinking was
causing problems. Simon Prager recalls: “Steve was a very talented man. I
thought he was interesting when he was sober but he didn¹t think so.” It came
to a head in the late 70’s when the All Star Medicine Show was due to tour
Belgium and Holland. Without warning Rye disappeared on the morning of
departure, leaving Prager and Hall in a fix. It was at this time that Prager¹s
patience had run out. He decided to end his musical association with Rye.
In September 1987 they got back together for a one off gig at the Enterprise pub
in Hampstead, London. Prager remembers it well: “Steve was in a bad way but I
rehearsed him for a couple of days and by the end he was great, just like the
old Steve.” They played a handful of gigs after that but Prager recalls
another depressing encounter: “We were at Jo-Ann Kelly’s funeral in 1990 and
he told me: ‘me next, old boy!’ ” Within two years Steve Rye was dead, he
was forty six years old.
Keith Scott
Played with Cyril Davies All Stars and Alexis Korner. In the late 60’s he
left the music business to become a farmer in Scotland.
Terry Slade
In the early 70's he joined Renaissance, which was formed by ex Yardbirds man,
Keith Relf. He featured on the album Illusion and he stayed in the band
for about a year. He joined Kevin Coyne after that venture and played on his
album Blame It On The Night. He also toured with him for about a year and
played on some BBC sessions. In 1976 he joined US southern boogie rocker George
Hatcher for a couple of years. He recorded two studio albums: Dry Run and
Talkin Turkey. One of these sleeves featured a policeman holding a joint.
During this period they also recorded a live EP at Olympic studios, which was
called Have Band Will Travel. Shortly after leaving the band Slade moved
from London to Bognor Regis in the south of England in 1978.
It was at the seafront on Bognor Regis that he recently got involved in a
project called The Rox. This consisted of seafront gigs. The project has
charitable status. The festivals consist of smaller bands but they
get good attendances. He is currently in two bands at the moment. The
first is a blues and Hendrix covers outfit called The Mark Keen Band. The second
is a spin-off from the seaside project called The Rox Band.
Dave
Wellbelove
He joined the John Miles
band for a USA tour directly after leaving the Groundhogs.