Skin Alley
Encyclopedia
Skin Alley was a progressive
British
- rock
combo
, that existed from 1969 to 1974. They are best known for their track
, "Living In Sin".
for their self-titled debut in 1969 and its 1970 follow-up, To Pagham & Beyond. Crimble moved on that year to play bass with Hawkwind
and organising the Glastonbury Festival
, and was replaced by Nick Graham
(formerly of Atomic Rooster
, though not the same-named musician from The End and Tucky Buzzard
) before the album was completed, Graham singing on two of the tracks. Pope was later replaced by Tony Knight (real name Tony Brown), formerly of The Chessmen and Bronx Cheer.
In May 1972, Skin Alley appeared in the NME
sponsored 'Giants of Tomorrow' marquee, as part of the Lincoln Festival. A switch to the Transatlantic Records
label in 1972 heralded the release of the band's third LP, Two Quid Deal. By the time their fourth album
, Skintight was released in 1973, they were playing more commercial, mainstream rock with lots of orchestration
and brass
arrangement
s. The band split shortly thereafter, with Graham having the most successful post-Skin career with his groups Alibi and the Humans in the early 1980s.
U.S. based Columbia Records
had no interest in the band and declined to release either CBS album in the U.S. The third and fourth albums were issued in the U.S. by Stax Records
. Even though Stax was keen on expanding their repertoire into rock, they were not successful in promoting any of their rock acts and both Skin Alley albums were totally ignored in the U.S. (although there were plenty of promotional copies to be found in record shop
s at the time).
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
combo
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, that existed from 1969 to 1974. They are best known for their track
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, "Living In Sin".
Career
Thomas Crimble (bass/keyboards/vocals), Alvin Pope (drums), Krzysztof Henryk Juszkiewicz (keyboards), and Bob James (sax/guitar) made inroads quickly and found themselves signed to CBS RecordsCBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
for their self-titled debut in 1969 and its 1970 follow-up, To Pagham & Beyond. Crimble moved on that year to play bass with Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
and organising the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, and was replaced by Nick Graham
Nick Graham (musician)
Nick Graham is a British vocalist, songwriter, flautist, pianist and bassist. He was one of the original members of the British progressive rock band Atomic Rooster from 1969-1970.-Bands:...
(formerly of Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...
, though not the same-named musician from The End and Tucky Buzzard
Tucky Buzzard
Tucky Buzzard were a British hard rock band formed in 1969 by three former members of The End. Band members were David Brown , Paul Francis , Nick Graham , Jimmy Henderson , Chris Johnson , Terry Taylor , Paul Kendrick . Tucky Buzzard produced a total of five albums between 1969 and 1973...
) before the album was completed, Graham singing on two of the tracks. Pope was later replaced by Tony Knight (real name Tony Brown), formerly of The Chessmen and Bronx Cheer.
In May 1972, Skin Alley appeared in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
sponsored 'Giants of Tomorrow' marquee, as part of the Lincoln Festival. A switch to the Transatlantic Records
Transatlantic Records
Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. It was established in 1961. It started began primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records - by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom. Within a couple of years, the company had...
label in 1972 heralded the release of the band's third LP, Two Quid Deal. By the time their fourth album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Skintight was released in 1973, they were playing more commercial, mainstream rock with lots of orchestration
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
and brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s. The band split shortly thereafter, with Graham having the most successful post-Skin career with his groups Alibi and the Humans in the early 1980s.
Band members
- Thomas Crimble - BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
(born in StainesStainesStaines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and Greater London Urban Area, as well as the London Commuter Belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in...
, MiddlesexMiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) - Bob James - SaxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Krzysztof Henryk Juszkiewicz - Organ, piano,accordion, harpsichord, melotron, vocals, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Giles 'Alvin' Pope - DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussion - Nick GrahamNick Graham (musician)Nick Graham is a British vocalist, songwriter, flautist, pianist and bassist. He was one of the original members of the British progressive rock band Atomic Rooster from 1969-1970.-Bands:...
- Vocals, keyboards, bass, flute - Tony Knight - Drums, vocals
Albums
- Skin Alley (CBS 63847) 1969
- To Pagham and Beyond (CBS 64140) 1970
- Two Quid Deal (Transatlantic Big T TRA 260) 1972
- Skintight (Transatlantic Big T TRA 273) 1973
U.S. based Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
had no interest in the band and declined to release either CBS album in the U.S. The third and fourth albums were issued in the U.S. by Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. Even though Stax was keen on expanding their repertoire into rock, they were not successful in promoting any of their rock acts and both Skin Alley albums were totally ignored in the U.S. (although there were plenty of promotional copies to be found in record shop
Record shop
A record shop or record store is an outlet that sells recorded music. Although vinyl records and audio cassettes are no longer sold in the majority of music stores, in favour of compact discs and home video recordings products, people in some countries, like the UK, still use the term "record...
s at the time).
Singles
- "Tell Me" / "Better Be Blind" (CBS 5045) 1970
- "You Got Me Danglin'" / "Skin Valley Serenade" (Big T BIG 506) 1972
- "In The Midnight Hour" / "Broken Eggs" (Big T BIG 511) 1972