1973 - 1974

1973
January 14
The Sharks toured in UK.
Esmeralda's, Bletchley
18Malcolm's Club, Hull
19Penthouse, Scaborough
20York University
21Red Car Jazz Festival
22Quaintways, Chester
23Aberystwyth University
24Manchester University
25Granary, Bristol
26Cardiff University
27Glen Ballroom, Llanelli
28Sundown, Edmonton
29? / 30?Tricon Club, Plymouth
February 6The Sharks played for TV program 'Old Grey Whistle Trest'
They played 'World Park Junkies' and 'Snakes And Swallowtails'
9 Lancaster University
10 Imperial College, London
17 Loughborough University
19 Winter Gardens, Cleethopes
When Fraser, Simon and Spedding were returning to London in tehir 'Sharkmobile', it skidded on wet road and struck against a roadside tree. And Fraser sprained his wrist. Snips was travelling with friends.
24 Leicester University
26 Reading Top Rank
March 2
Technical College, Chelmstord
15 Nottingham University
16 Hard Rock Cafe, Manchester
17 Sports centre, Bracknell
18 Town Hall, Birmingham
19 De Montford Hall, Leicester
24 Guldhall, Plymouth
25 Festival Hall, Torby
27 Trentham Gardens, Stoke
28 City Hall, Sheffield
29 City Hall, Newcastle
31 Rainbow Theatre
April 1 Rainbow Theatre
One of the shows from Rainbow Theatre was tapes and aired on BBC radio program 'Golders Green'. It offered 'Snakes And Swallowtails', Follow Me', Ol' Jerry Roll', 'Colours' and 'World Park Junkies'.
4 Guildhall, Preston
5 Empire Theatre, Loverpool
6 Green's Playhouse, Glasgow
7 Odeon, Edinburgh
8 Grand Cinema, Leeds
11 Dome, Brighton
12 Gaumont, Southampton
13 Winter Gardens, Bournemouth
14 Colston Hall, Bristol
15 Capitol, Cardiff

First Water released this month.

May Chris says,
We've Known for some time that he would be going because he injured his finger and hasn't been able to play too well. This first in a long catalogue of errors.
We strated plating in very small clubs in Europe, came back to record an album, then we did the Roxy tour with a few gigs round England. Then we'd see what happened from there as far as America was concerned. We're very pleased that we've archived all those things.

Started auditions for a bass player. Tom Robinson, Rick Gretch and Boz Burrel came.

June Recorded three tracks at Advision Studios.
Colours with Rick Gretch
Surrender with Pat Donaldson
Sophiscation with Pat Donaldson
But not issued.

A keyboard player Nick Judd joined the Sharks.

July A bass player from Memphis Busta Jones joined. Mick Jagger recomends him.

The Sharks started rehearsal for their second album.

August 14 The Sharks II debut gig at Marquee.
Snips says
There was a lead bass guitarist. Chris is a consummate musician and if somebody else is playing lead, then he will play rhythm guitar. Because he felt a lack of rhythm section in the last group. Now he's got a rhythm section, he'll play lead guitar.

Their first album sells well in the States and Felix Pappalardi remixes Ol' Jerry Roll for their first single.


September 21
Kick off British tour.
Penthause, Scaborough
22 Cricket Club, Northampton
23 Roundhouse, London
30 Memorial Hall, Barry
October 5 Exeter University
6 St.Paul's College, Cheltenham
9 Marquee, London
15 Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton
19 Floral Hall, Hornsea
20
Leicester University
25 Locarno, Sunderland
26 Brunel University
27 Reading University
November 2
76 Club, Burton-On-Trent
9 Normal College, Bangor
10 Polytechnic, Hatfield
December 19 Quinton Kynaston, Marlbrough Hill

1974
January 11

Penthouse, Scarborough
15 Marquee, London
17 Cleopatra's, Derby
18 Polytechnic, North Staffordshire
25 Thomas Polytechnic, London Woolwich
26 Kent University
February 2 Queen Mary College, London
11 Penthaouse, Scarborough
15 Bedford College

March Jab It In Yore Eyes released.
One of the non-album tracks called 'Elevator Dancing' is offered on the B-side of their single 'Kung Fu' which was put out in West Germany, the States and some other countries. They recorded a song 'She Caught The Kady' writen by Albert King, as one of the out-takes.

1 Durham University
2Polytechnic, Sunderland
3 Hard Rock Cafe, London
9 School Of Economies, London
13 Keele University
15 Westfield College, London
16 Bishop Otter College, Chichester
22 Maria Gray College, Twickenham
23 North East London Polytechnic, London
24 Roundhouse, London
26Tauton Art College, Tauton
27Leicester College Of Education

April - May

First US tour for nine weeks

Spedding says
After all the hassles we've had in Britain, all the hard times and that... when we landed in America, even before we played a note, we thought everything fitted. Everything we've been working towards seemed right

April  19    Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, USA
20    Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, USA
21    (Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, USA)
22    Georgetown University, McDonough Theater, Washington, DC, USA
23    Akron Armory, Akron, OH, USA
24    Mershon Auditorium, Columbus, OH, USA
26    Fieldhouse Gym, Rockland Community College, Suffern, NY, USA
27    University of Hartford, Hartford, CT, USA
28    University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
29    Clarkson College Arena, Potsdam, NY, USA
May  4    Elon College Gym, Elon, NC, USA
  ?    Fayetteville, NC, USA
 ?    Chatanooga, TN, USA
 8    (Sports Arena, Toledo, OH, USA)
 9    (RKO Albee Theater, Cincinnati, OH, USA)
 10    Performing Arts Facility, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL, USA
 11    (Evansville, IN, USA)
 12    Indiana University Auditorium, Bloominton, IN, USA
 13    Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, IN, USA
 15    (Kean College, Union, NJ, USA)
 18    Century Theater, Buffalo, NY, USA
 19    (Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT, USA)
 23    Palace Theater, Providence, RI, USA
        Thanks Greg for your help.

Spedding bought Gibson Flying V guitar in Memphis for US$ 600.

June Recorded the third album under the Richard Williams production. And had some dates in UK.

July Nick Judd quit the Sharks. Then Marty Simon left. It is said that Simon was fired by Spedding and Parsons. Drummer Stuart Francis joins the group and begins rehearsals.

August 19 The Sharks III debut gig at Biba's Rainbow, London
But Busta Jones never appears. He went back to the States the previous day without returning Spedding's Stratocaster (he sold it to a shop for his fare to the States), Rickenbacker bass which Trentdale lent him and the masters for their next album.
It is said that Marty Simon convinced Jones to go back to his country.
Snips says
Busta and Marty were both depressed to be back in England. Marty maintained the sessions were 'a disaster', although he didn't blame Williams. They were both good but they weren't as good as our our situation demanded.

September 13 Dave Cochran joined as a bass player.
Began rehearsal and recording their third album with two producers, John Entwistle from the Who and John Alcock. This album was to be called 'Music Breakout'.
The first mixes were taken around people in the business. Island Records didn't like them, we talked to a few other companies and they didn't like them. There were so many tensions that the only way we produced any music at all was with an incredible amount of hassle. But that was probably the thing that was producing all the music.

24 Re-debut gig at Marquee
This may be the first and the last gig for the Sharks.

October The Sharks split - Island Records announced.
Snips recalls
The Sharks was a point of honour. We shed tears of frustration and disappointment. What we were doing had never been attempted before. I'd lived on the edge all the time with the Sharks. When it came to the end I was exhausted. I couldn't possibly have done the same thing again

Spedding says
The Sharks was my only serious attempt at being part of a group. from 1972 to 1974 I concentrated solely on the group and cut out all freelance work and sessions for other people so I would not be distracted. Andy Fraser was and remains my all time favorite bass player. Plus he's a great song writer and all-round musician. I learned a great deal from him. My only regret is we never really got to realize the potential of our collaboration. During 'First Water' the band fought and argued so much that I'm surprised it sounds as good as it does. My role in the band was just to be the guitar player and I was satisfied with that. I now realize that the two years spent away from other distractions enabled me to develop a strong, recognizable and individual style because when I returned to freelance in 1974, I noticed I would get hired not just as a guitar player, which was usually the case before 1972, but because they wanted the 'Chris Spedding Sound'.

Even when things weren't going well I don't leave the Sharks, because people would say, 'Oh, he didn't last long, did he? He hasn't got much stamina - he's not a rock and roller'. I wanted to prove that I was a lead guitarist in a group and dug being onstage in front of people. And I think I got the point over, because people now think of me as a guitarist who can do a good live concert.

We never really had a manager. We wanted to managed by Chris Blackwell but he didn't have time, so we got some other guy ... a hell of a lot of money was wasted.

As he mentiones, he didn't work for other people except Mike Batt (the Wombles), Steve Davis with Jeff Wayne (see Spedding's comment), David Essex and, also maybe, the Drifters.
Spedding Recalls the session for the Drifters.
I remember the session. I spent a week doing rhythm section for writer/producer Roger Greenaway sometime in the mid-1970's. There wasn't a black face in the studio. Greenaway sang the vocals at the time. I just happened to recognize a lick of mine that I put in on the Drifters single that was number one about one month later. Another group he was producing at the time was the Fortunes. I think some of the tracks we did came out as the Fortunes.
(Their first single from this session seems to be Like Sister And Brother which was out in May 1973. Guessed the session was done in the late 1972 or in April 1973.)

December Spedding started the sessions and went into the studio for his own solo single. It was in December or in January 1975.

John Cale's Slow Dazzle session.


1971-1972 / biography / 1975-1976