52-478: Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks ; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group , Rainbow , Michael Schenker Group , Gary Moore , Graham Bonnet , Brian May , Whitesnake , Emerson, Lake & Powell , and Black Sabbath . Powell appeared on at least 66 albums, with contributions on many other recordings. He
104-740: A Time", was released one month before the first show of their first series in 1976. Joan Jett became aware of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" while on tour with her band the Runaways in England in 1976 and saw the group perform the song on their weekly show. The band's only US TV appearance was on Don Kirshner 's Rock Concert in February 1975. They played their UK hits, "Touch Too Much" and "Toughen Up". One of Liverpool's most renowned Beatles biographers and editor of 1960s British invasion bible Mersey Beat , Bill Harry wrote his first published book about
156-523: A bandmate of his from Steampacket . Waller went on to play with the band all through 1968 and early 1969, and was their longest-lasting drummer. Peter Grant , a road manager at the time, had been to the U.S. with the New Vaudeville Band , and was aware of the new concert and album-oriented rock FM radio format developing there. It was now possible to break out a band without using the "hit single" formula. Grant realised that Beck's band
208-463: A car crash while driving his Saab 9000 at 104 mph (167 km/h) in bad weather on the M4 motorway near Bristol. He had been dating a married woman who was having problems with her husband. Upset, she phoned him and asked him to come quickly to her house which was approximately 35 miles (56 km) away. As he was driving to her house, she phoned him again and asked "Where are you?" He informed her he
260-512: A deal - unsuccessfully—until Powell would join Black Sabbath. In 1975, Powell joined Rainbow . Over the next five years he and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore were the only constants in the line-up. During this time, Blackmore developed the band's sound from neoclassical hard rock-heavy metal to a more commercial AOR sound. Powell grew concerned with the overtly commercial direction and decided to leave, although not before Rainbow headlined
312-602: A motorcycle accident. A memorial plaque at the Corn Hall in Cirencester was unveiled in January 2016 in a ceremony led by Brian May , with Suzi Quatro , Bernie Marsden , Neil Murray , Don Airey and Tony Iommi in attendance. In October 2005, Powell made a "new" appearance on an album. Former Black Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin released a studio album ( Scream ), and on it is a track named "Raising Hell". This
364-604: A revamped version of ELP: Emerson, Lake and Powell . Powell worked with Gary Moore in 1988, followed by stints with Black Sabbath from 1988 to 1991, and again in 1994–1995. Between late 1992 and early 1993, Powell put together an occasional touring band using the old band name 'Cozy Powell's Hammer' featuring himself on drums, Mario Parga on guitar and fellow Sabbath members Neil Murray on bass, Tony Martin on vocals, and occasional rhythm guitar/synth module. The band performed throughout Europe and appeared on German television. Powell made headlines in 1986 when he appeared on
416-556: A slow puncture in a rear tyre that, it was suggested, could well have caused a sudden collapse of the tyre with a consequent loss of control of the car. He was living in Lambourn in Berkshire at the time and had returned to the studio shortly before his death to record with Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green . At the time of death, Powell had recently pulled out of tour rehearsals with Yngwie Malmsteen , having suffered an injury in
468-648: A spell with blues guitarist Peter Green in the mid-nineties. Powell briefly joined Yngwie Malmsteen for the album Facing the Animal in 1997. Powell's last recording session was for Colin Blunstone 's The Light Inside , alongside Don Airey , which was released shortly after Powell's death. The final solo album by Cozy Powell Especially for You was released in 1998 after his death, and featured American vocalist John West , Neil Murray, Lonnie Park, Michael Casswell and others. Powell died on 5 April 1998 following
520-504: A state of pandemonium the likes of which hadn't been witnessed since the Beatles hit town." By the time they wrapped up the tour at San Francisco's Fillmore West , Peter Grant had secured them a new album contract with Epic Records . The band quickly returned to England to record the album Truth (under the name "Jeff Beck"), which reached No. 15 in the U.S. charts. The tracks were recorded within two weeks, with overdubs added
572-616: A three-piece in the vein of Cream remained; recordings with Tipton , Entwistle & Powell are testament to this as much as sessions with Cream's Jack Bruce and on guitar Uli Jon Roth , briefly after recording for Cinderella : "to get him (Uli Roth) had been the idea of Larry Mazer (at the time manager of Cinderella), Jack met him, but at the time Uli was busy with a symphony. I don't think it would have worked, we had him in mind as well as some other people, like Gary Moore , ideally Jeff Beck really", followed by Clem Clempson, Pat Travers and Pat Thrall with whom they recorded, shopped for
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#1732779902215624-402: Is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drummers of all time; many rock drummers have cited him as a major influence. Colin Trevor Flooks (Cozy Powell) was born in Cirencester , Gloucestershire, and was adopted. He never knowingly met his birth parents. He started playing drums aged 12 in the school orchestra, thereafter playing along in his spare time to popular singles of
676-569: The BBC children's programme Record Breakers , where he set a world record for the most drums (400) played in under one minute, live on television. Powell and Neil Murray were members of Brian May 's band, playing on the Back to the Light and Another World albums. He played with May opening for Guns N' Roses on the second American leg of their Use Your Illusion tour in 1993. The duo also served
728-533: The BBC Radio 1 " In Concert " series, which was recorded on 29 June 1972. During this session they played "Definitely Maybe", which featured Tench playing guitar, a rare occasion while Tench was associated with Beck. On 24 July 1972, the Jeff Beck Group was officially disbanded and Beck's management put out this statement: "The fusion of musical styles of the various members has been successful, within
780-516: The "Jeff Beck Group", returned to the U.S. for a tour to promote the release of Truth . Long-time Beck fan Jimi Hendrix jammed with the band at Cafe Wha? during this and their following tours. They embarked on their third tour in December 1968 with Hopkins who, although in poor health, decided he wanted to play live. He accepted Beck's invitation, even though he had been offered more money by Led Zeppelin . Later, he lamented that "We lost one of
832-594: The Ace Kefford album Ace The Face , released by Sanctuary Records in 2003. Powell also began session work and, with fellow Sorcerers Dave and Denny Ball, formed Big Bertha. Powell also played with swamp rocker Tony Joe White at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 . Powell landed the then highly prestigious drumming job with Jeff Beck 's group in April 1970. Their first project was to record an album of Motown covers in
884-521: The Arrows, Arrows : The Official Story , published on Everest books in 1976. Terry Taylor who joined the band in the autumn of 1976 for the band's second weekly TV series, is currently with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings band. The Arrows song "Moving Next Door to You" (composed by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker) was used on the BBC1 TV show Homes Under The Hammer series 18, episode 70. The song
936-645: The German club scene of the 1960s. By 1968 the band had returned to England, basing themselves in the Birmingham area. Powell struck up friendships with notable local musicians, including Robert Plant , John Bonham , future Slade vocalist Noddy Holder , bassist Dave Pegg and Tony Iommi . The Sorcerers, then renamed Youngblood, released a series of singles in late 1968 and 1969. The group then linked up with The Move 's bassist/singer Ace Kefford to form The Ace Kefford Stand. Five recorded tracks are available on
988-554: The U.S. followed and the album eventually reached No. 46 in the album charts. In January 1972, the band travelled to the U.S. to join Beck at TMI studios in Memphis, Tennessee. This is where they recorded the album Jeff Beck Group , using Steve Cropper as producer. Jeff Beck Group was released in the UK on 9 June 1972. The promotional tour that followed included an appearance on
1040-487: The UK called Arrows in 1976 and 1977, which were broadcast on Granada Television and produced by Muriel Young . They are the only band to have two weekly TV series and no records released during the run of either series; a result of a conflict between the band's manager Ian Wright of the M.A.M. Agency, and the group's mentor/producer Mickie Most. Each series consisted of 14 shows, 30 minutes in length. There were 28 shows broadcast in total. Their final single, "Once Upon
1092-542: The UK club circuit and appeared several times on BBC Radio . Beck signed a personal management contract with record producer and manager Mickie Most , who had no interest in the group, only in Beck as a solo artist. During 1967, the band released three singles in Europe and two in the United States, the first, " Hi Ho Silver Lining ", being the most successful, reaching No. 14 on the UK singles chart; it included
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#17327799022151144-495: The UK singles chart during January 1974), Bedlam fell apart. "Dance With The Devil" was his only solo hit in the United States, peaking at No. 49. The track featured Suzi Quatro on bass. Powell's second hit during 1974 was with "The Man in Black", which reached No. 18. Arrows front man Alan Merrill , also a RAK records artist, played electric bass on '"The Man in Black'" and the b-side '"After Dark". Jeff Beck's studio producer
1196-489: The UK singles chart. For the rest of the 1980s, Powell assumed short-term journeyman roles with a number of major bands including The Michael Schenker Group . In 1985 he started recording with Phenomena for their self-titled first album, which was released the same year. He also worked briefly with another new supergroup named Forcefield along with Bonnet and later Tony Martin on vocals, former Ian Gillan Band member Ray Fenwick and former Focus member Jan Akkerman on
1248-449: The US. This was never finished and remains unreleased. During the sessions, photographs show Cozy Powell and Jeff Beck present at the recording of Stevie Wonder 's " Superstition ", on which Beck appears. Cozy has stated in interviews he plays on the record, but this remains to be confirmed. After the recording of two albums, Rough and Ready (October 1971) and Jeff Beck Group (July 1972),
1300-505: The World , was released under the moniker of Tipton, Entwistle & Powell in memory of John Entwistle and Powell. Text in bold indicates solo work. Powell had a fascination with fast cars and motorbikes, and raced a Mazda RX3 sponsored by Hitachi on the UK saloon car circuit for a few months in the mid-seventies. He was quoted as saying in an interview, "I drive like I drum – madly". The Jeff Beck Group The Jeff Beck Group
1352-454: The album Beck-Ola at De Lane Lea Studios , engineered by Martin Birch . They released the single "Plynth" and laid down three Donovan backing tracks as a favour to Most. Two of them were used for his single " Barabajagal (Love Is Hot) ". In May 1969, the Jeff Beck Group embarked on their fourth U.S. tour, this time with Hopkins as a full-fledged member. The tour went smoothly, Beck-Ola
1404-718: The album was remixed with the help of producer Keith Olsen for the American market with Cozy, guitarist Mel Galley and keyboardist Jon Lord the only remaining members of the previous line up along with singer David Coverdale and new guitarist John Sykes . Powell's tenure with the band ended in January 1985 after an appearance at the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil . After that he was offered to join Keith Emerson and Greg Lake in
1456-587: The band fell apart. In 1972 Powell drummed for two tracks ("Hey Sandy" and "Martha") on Harvey Andrews ' album Writer of Songs . By late 1972 he had joined up with the Ball brothers and singer Frank Aiello to form Bedlam, whose eponymous album was recorded for Chrysalis and released in August 1973. With Powell's session work at RAK and subsequent solo success (including " Dance with the Devil ", which reached No. 3 in
1508-655: The band in Europe, but after the success of the Saints & Sinners album in the British and Japanese charts, and a successful tour that culminated in a memorable performance at the Monsters of Rock Festival in August 1983, the band signed with the American label Geffen Records . Due to contractual obligations, the band had to release one more album for their previous label Liberty which would be 1984's Slide It In . Now under guidance of A&R executive John Kalodner ,
1560-486: The band's history). They had UK chart hit singles in 1974 and 1975 with " Touch Too Much " and " My Last Night with You ", produced by Mickie Most on RAK Records . They recorded the original version of Merrill's song " I Love Rock 'n' Roll ", later covered by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts . The first manager of The Arrows was Peter Meaden , who had also managed The Who in the early 1960s. He came up with
1612-552: The band's name, which originates from The Who's logo, with the arrow pointing up. The Arrows highest reaching chart hit was "Touch Too Much" in 1974 which went to number 2 in the South African charts and was in the top 20 there for 15 weeks. The band's second single "Toughen Up" made number 51 in the UK chart in 1974. That year Arrows won the Golden Lion award (Belgium) in the "best new band" category and performed at
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1664-583: The bill to the Grateful Dead . The New York Times ran a Robert Shelton article, "Jeff Beck Group Cheered in Debut", with the secondary headline "British Pop Singers Delight Fillmore East Audience," proclaiming that Beck and his group had upstaged the Grateful Dead. The reviews from The Boston Tea Party were as good or better: "By the time he got to his last number ... (the fans) were in
1716-464: The ceremonies on Belgian television. Arrows are the only band in the history to have hit records before their weekly TV series, and no records released during the run of their two television series. The band's last single was released a month before their first TV show was broadcast. Eamonn Carr of later Freddie + The Dreamers/St Cecilia fame toured as piano/keys player for The Arrows live performances. The Arrows had two 14-week television shows in
1768-570: The day. The first band Powell was in, called the Corals, played each week at the youth club in Cirencester. The Corals also played at a youth club in Latton, a small village seven miles (11 km) from Cirencester. During this time the band broke the world record for non-stop playing without playing the song twice. Aged 15, Cozy had already worked out an impressive drum solo. The stage name Cozy
1820-435: The first Monsters of Rock show at Castle Donington , England, on 16 August 1980. This was his last show with the band. (Powell became the first musician to appear at Monsters of Rock with different bands, when he returned with Whitesnake in 1983.) After leaving Rainbow, Powell again worked with vocalist Graham Bonnet, their most notable single being "Night Games" from Bonnet's solo album Line-Up , which reached number 6 in
1872-425: The following month. Mickie Most was busy with other projects at the time and delegated most of the work to Ken Scott , who basically recorded the band playing their live set in the studio. Beck's amplifier was apparently so loud, it was recorded from inside a closet. The extra lineup for these sessions included John Paul Jones on Hammond organ , drummer Keith Moon and Nicky Hopkins on piano. The core group, billed as
1924-539: The greatest bands in Rock history." Even with his best intentions, the last leg of the tour was curtailed by illness. Beck then postponed a fourth, February 1969 U.S. tour. This was also because he felt they should not keep playing the same material with nothing new to add. New material was written, Waller was replaced by power drummer Tony Newman and Wood was dismissed, only to be rehired almost immediately. The success of Truth ignited new interest from Most and they recorded
1976-457: The guitars, Neil Murray and later Laurence Cottle on bass. Cottle would eventually join as a session player for the recording of Black Sabbath's Headless Cross album in 1989 and again was replaced by Murray following that tour. Powell was invited to join Whitesnake in late of 1982 after his departure from Michael Schenker Group to replace Ian Paice for a presumed farewell tour with
2028-498: The instrumental " Beck's Bolero " as the B-side, which had been recorded several months earlier. The lineup for that session included guitarist Jimmy Page on rhythm guitar, John Paul Jones on bass, Keith Moon on drums, and Nicky Hopkins on piano. Frustrated that the band were not playing a strict enough blues set for his taste, drummer Dunbar left and was replaced by Roy Cook for one show, before Stewart recommended Micky Waller ,
2080-618: The music not being quite right". Ronnie Wood has stated he considered it a shame, but Rod Stewart said he was glad they did not attend. Late in 1970, Jeff Beck reformed the Jeff Beck Group with vocalist Alex Ligertwood , keyboardist Max Middleton , drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Clive Chaman . During June 1971, Beck signed a record deal with CBS and was looking for a new singer. After hearing Bobby Tench perform with his band Gass , "Upstairs" at Ronnie Scott 's club in Soho , London, Beck employed him as vocalist and second guitarist. Tench
2132-626: The terms of individual musicians, but they didn't feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought." Beck, along with Max Middleton and later Bobby Tench also used the name with Beck, Bogert and Appice . Arrows (British band) The Arrows were a band based in London , England. The group, which formed in 1974 and disbanded in 1977, included American singer/bassist Alan Merrill , American guitarist Jake Hooker and English drummer Paul Varley (who had replaced Clive Williams relatively early in
Cozy Powell - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-790: The tour and returned to England, only to return to the States in July 1969 for their fifth and final time. It was a short tour, mostly along the East Coast, including Maryland, their final Fillmore East appearance, and the Newport Jazz Festival . Beck broke up the band on the eve of the Woodstock Music Festival , at which they had been scheduled to perform, believing they were "not ready for that", later reminiscing that they would be "dated, frozen with that image, with
2236-415: Was Mickie Most and Powell soon found himself drafted into sessions for artists signed to Most's RAK label, including Julie Felix , Hot Chocolate , Donovan and Suzi Quatro . To cash in on his chart success, the drummer formed "Cozy Powell's Hammer" in April 1974. The line-up included Bernie Marsden (guitar), Clive Chaman (bass), Don Airey (keyboards) and Frank Aiello (Bedlam) on vocals. Clive Chaman
2288-791: Was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck . Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues , rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music . The first Jeff Beck Group formed in London in early 1967 and included guitarist Jeff Beck, vocalist Rod Stewart , and rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood , with bass players and drummers changing regularly. Early bass players were Jet Harris and Dave Ambrose, with Clem Cattini and Viv Prince trying out on drums. The lineup went through months of personnel changes, notably no fewer than four drummers, before settling on Aynsley Dunbar and switching Wood to bass. This lineup spent most of 1967 playing
2340-452: Was a track Powell had recorded the drum track for when he and Martin were in Hammer in 1992, and gave to Martin for "future use". There are apparently as many as 19 additional drum tracks also recorded that could turn up in the future. Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton has also released material recorded during the 1997 Baptizm of Fire sessions; this 2006 collection, entitled Edge of
2392-410: Was borrowed from the jazz drummer Cozy Cole . His last name Powell was taken from his adoptive mother's maiden name. The semi-professional circuit was next with The Sorcerers, a vocal-harmony pop band. The late nights and usual on-the-road exploits began to affect his education, and Powell left to take an office job to finance the purchase of his first set of Premier drums. The Sorcerers performed in
2444-442: Was given only a few weeks to write new lyrics and add his vocals to the album Rough and Ready , before mixing resumed on tracks previously recorded in London by Beck and the other band members. The album was finished in July 1971 and they toured Finland, Holland, Switzerland and Germany. Rough and Ready was released in the UK on 25 October 1971, with the U.S. release following during February 1972. A sixteen-day promotional tour in
2496-468: Was ideal for this market and tried several times to buy Beck's contract from Most, who refused to let Beck go. By early 1968 the band was considering disbanding, but Grant convinced them not to, and booked a short U.S. tour. Beck said "We were literally down to one change of clothing each". Grant's first stop for them was in New York City, for four shows at Fillmore East , where they played second on
2548-407: Was on his way and she then heard him say "Oh shit!" followed by a loud bang. Powell was ejected through the windscreen and died at the scene. According to the BBC report, at the time of the crash Powell's blood-alcohol reading was over the legal limit, and he was not wearing a seat belt, in addition to talking with his girlfriend on his mobile phone. The official investigation also found evidence of
2600-554: Was received extremely well, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard 200 album chart, but it was reported that there was now terrible in-fighting within the band. To illustrate, Rod Stewart's plans to leave the band may have been under consideration by this time; in July 1969, he brought current bandmate Wood and former bandmate Waller into the studio to record his debut full-length solo album, An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down , for Mercury Records . The Jeff Beck Group finished
2652-531: Was replaced on bass by Neil Murray in the band in early 1975 for the RAK Rocks Britain Tour. "Na Na Na" was a UK No. 10 hit, and another single "Le Souk" was recorded but never released. Sharing a love of the power-trio set up (Cream), Cozy Powell formed a band with guitarist Clem Clempson and bassist Greg Ridley ( Humble Pie ), but when this fell apart Cozy temporarily quit the music business to take up motorcycle racing. His desire to launch
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#17327799022152704-605: Was the B-side of "My Last Night with You", produced by Mickie Most in 1975. After that, the BBC TV show used the Arrows song "We Can Make It Together" in series 19, episode 53, the b-side of the band's single "Touch Too Much". The Arrows album First Hit was reissued in Japan on 11 March 2015, with bonus tracks on Warner Brothers Japan. The Arrows founding band members Paul Varley (1952 – 2008), Jake Hooker (1953 – 2014) and Alan Merrill (1951 – 2020) are all deceased. The following
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