Little Egypt - the next Rossi generation and their band

I enjoyed spending some time getting to know the Rossi brothers by following their band 'Little Egypt' in the mid to late nineties. From support slots with Quo in massive venues to tiny backroom pub gigs, their brand of rock was always very enjoyable and their recorded material top notch. The band used to have a mailing list and a website but they no longer appear to be in operation since the band wound down.

"Little Egypt" were formed in 1992 with front man, Nick Rossi, son of Francis Rossi. More recently, Kieran Rossi has joined the band on bass so the Quo connection grows ever stronger. Here I give a brief history of the band and the links presented below discuss other aspects of the band in more detail.

The band initially based themselves in the North of England, gigging regularly in and around Middlesborough. It was not long, though, before they relocated to London and embarked on the pub and club scene in order to try to gain a following. 1993 was spent gigging and writing material - the year being even more noteable for giving the band their first big chance, a support slot for Quo's "Just For The Record" tour. This nationwide tour would be "Little Egypt"'s first opportunity to play to large crowds and hopefully gain a following of their own.

After the successful support slot, the band spent 1994 recording their debut album "Eyes of the World" and also supporting major British rock band Magnum on their "Rock Art" tour in Germany. They also helped Quo again, this time acting as support at the one-off "Appointment" gig at the Royal Albert Hall on March 30th, in the presence of Prince Charles.

Since then, no new recorded material has surfaced from the band, although some new songs have appeared in their live sets over the last couple of years. It is their live work which has formed their mainstay since the release of "Eyes of the World" - through support slots with Peter Green and again Quo (on their Scandanavian and German tours in 1996), as well as numerous small gigs of their own and a 1997 German tour.

To find out more, try one of the following links:

- Little Egypt band members

- Discography

- Little Egypt gig dates and reviews

- Pictures

The Little Egypt band members

The band have gone through a number of different line-ups in their brief history. They consisted of the following members for the recording of their "Eyes of the World" album:

Nick Rossi (lead guitar and vocals)
Duncan Turmaine (guitar and vocals)
Dan Eames (drums and vocals)
David Conti (bass guitar and vocals)

Their most recent line-up looks like

Nick Rossi (lead guitar and vocals)
Duncan Turmaine (guitar and vocals)
Ian Wilkinson (drums and vocals)
Kieran Rossi (bass guitar and vocals)

The Little Egypt discography

To date, only two "Little Egypt" CDs have been released and only one of these is a proper release. The band's 4-track EP was a self-produced effort only available through their mailing list service, while the 13-track debut album was released on the German SPV Recordings label, with catalogue number 084-89092.

Eyes of the World - produced by Francis Rossi and Tim Summerhayes. Engineered by Tim Summerhayes. Recorded at Arsis (Francis Rossi's studio - "A Roof Somewhere In Surrey"). Engineers assistant Kieran Rossi. Management is given as David Walker (for Handle) and Bob Young. Production and tour manager Jamie Young (son of Bob Young). All tracks written by Nick Rossi except "The Who" cover version "You Better You Bet", penned by Pete Townsend. The track listing is

When It Rains (3:46)
Deal With The Preacher (4:02)
Hide Your Love Away (3:54)
By Myself (4:11)
Joanna (5:18)
Garden of Eden (5:24)
Shine All Over You (4:56)
Tryin' (3:58)
I Should Have Known (4:55)
Don't Belong 'Round Here (4:22)
Won't Back Down (5:07)
You Better You Bet (4:28)
Eyes of the World (6:21)

Shine All Over EP - 4-track self-made sampler CD, with catalogue number LECD001. The track listing is

Shine All Over
Hide Your Love Away
You Better You Bet
Won't Back Down

Little Egypt gig dates and reviews

Here follows an incomplete list of the band's gigs in recent years. Some of these gigs have associated reviews, so click where appropriate to read the review.

December 1993 - support for Status Quo on the "Just For The Record" tour
30/03/94 - support for Status Quo at "The Appointment" at the Royal Albert Hall
1994 - support for Magnum on the German leg of their "Rock Art" tour
March/April 1996 - support for Status Quo on the Scandanavian leg of the "Don't Stop" tour
May 1996 - support for Status Quo on the German leg of the "Don't Stop" tour (more)
06/09/96 - support for '4 Bills And A Ben' at The Half Moon, Putney (more)
13/09/96 - The King's Head, Fulham
30/09/96 - The Half Moon, Putney
08/11/96 - Riders Cafe, Lübeck (supported by 'Dustpipe', from Hildesheim)
09/11/96 - MARX, Hamburg (supported by 'Dustpipe')
10/11/96 - Traumraum, Elmshorn (supported by 'Dustpipe')
13/11/96 - Speicher, Rostock
14/11/96 - La'salle, Edemissen (supported by 'Dustpipe')
15/11/96 - Scheune, Nordhorn (support to 'Subway to Sally')
17/11/96 - Capitol, Hannover (support to 'Peter Green')
18/11/96 - Fabrik, Hamburg (support to 'Peter Green')
01/02/97 - support for Who cover band at Shepherds Bush Empire
20/04/97 - The Half Moon, Putney
07/05/97 - Wallsbüll Open-Air,Main Stage
08/05/97 - Stadtfest Winsen-Luhe
09/05/97 - Harbour Festival, Hamburg
10/05/97 - Harbour Festival, Hamburg (Main Stage)
??/05/97 - Rhine Army Summer Show, Bad Lippspringe
11/07/97 - Norgelbuff, Gottingen, Germany
12/07/97 - Borum, Germany
13/07/97 - Daytona Nachtcafe, Kassel, Germany
02/08/97 - Mr Smiths, Bournemouth
22/10/97 - The Cool Room, Croydon
08/11/97 - The Golden Martlett, Hellingly, near Eastbourne (more)
09/01/98 - The Borderline, Manette Street, W1 (more)
04/02/98 - The Half Moon, Putney (more)

Little Egypt pictures

Gallery 1 - Live at the Golden Martlett, Hellingly, on 8th November 1997 (6 pictures, approx 82K)
Gallery 2 - Live at The Half Moon, Putney, on 4th February 1998 (6 pictures, approx 62K)