DAVE
'CLEM' CLEMPSON
Exquisite guitarist, as well as skilled keyboardist,
Dave Clempson (more known as Clem Clempson) was born on September 5, 1949,
in Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK. As we're going to read, he has performed
a very prolific career. More than 30 years playing and recording, and he's
now working more than ever.
BAKERLOO
His first professional group was Bakerloo, a
British blues-rock outfit, in the same style as Cream; a power-trio, formed
in March 1968. They started under the name The Bakerloo Blues Line, with
this lineup:
Finally, the band established in early 1969 with:
and then, they shortened its name to Bakerloo. They
toured with Earth (later, worldwide-known as Black Sabbath), Locomotive
and the band Tea and Symphony (this would lead Clem to play sessions with
some of these bands).
Their only album, Bakerloo, is a
great album. It reminds me sometimes to Ten Years After, and sometimes
to Cream, but they definitely had their own style. Great playing on it.
There is a track from the album appearing on Picnic
compilation (Harvest). The track is called 'This worried feeling'
(co-written by Clem and Poole). In that compilation, we can find other
groups like Deep Purple, Pretty Things, Pink Floyd, Quatermass, Michael
Chapman, and Tea & Symphony, etc.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Terry
Poole
John
Hinch
Keith
Baker
UNNAMED TRIO
After Bakerloo's breakup in Summer 1969, Clem
tried to form another trio, this time with Dave Pegg and Cozy Powell. They
played only one gig in September 1969.
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Dave
Pegg
COLOSSEUM
But soon after, Clem was offered to join excellent
band Colosseum. This band was formed around late 1968 by former members
of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, being drummer Jon Hiseman their leader
along all their different lineups. Clem joined them in October 1969.
Tony Reeves leaves the band before Summer 1970, and
Louis Cennamo joins them:
They played some big festivals (including Bath Festival
in June 1970), but in the middle of recording their new studio album, Louis
left. Anyway, he still appears in several tracks of Daughter of time,
as we're going to read.
Two new, experienced members arrive to the band:
Their music was jazz/rock, where every instrumentist
played a very important role in their music, but with Clem's arrival, they
changed slightly into more rocking ways (although the previous guitarists
in the band were fantastic: Jimmy Roche and Jimmy Litherland). Daughter
of time is a very strong album, including a live track, basically
a drum solo, 'The time machine' (recorded live at the Royal Albert
Hall, July 1970). The CD edition includes one bonus track, the instrumental
'Jumping off the sun'. Apart from the band members, there are guest
appearances by Barbara Thompson (flute, sax, vocals) and Louis Cennamo
(bass).
After this album, they abandoned their record label,
Vertigo, switching to Bronze.
Next release was a double live album, Colosseum
live, recorded in Manchester & Brighton, March 1971. The CD
release includes a bonus track, 'I can't live without you'. It's
a very powerful album, with lenghty renditions of their own tracks, plus
covers of Jack Bruce ('Rope ladder to the moon'), Graham Bond ('Walking
in the park'), T-Bone Walker ('Stormy Monday blues'), etc.
Soon after, they broke, and their new label, Bronze,
released a compilation, The Collectors Colosseum, with several
unreleased cuts.
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Chris
Farlowe
Tony
Reeves
Louis
Cennamo
Dave
Greenslade
Dick
Heckstall-Smith
Mark
Clarke
Jon
Hiseman
HUMBLE PIE
Clem's next step was to substitute Peter Frampton
in Humble Pie. This group was established under the command of two leaders:
Steve Marriott (from the Small Faces) and Peter Frampton (from The Herd).
But after two years, Frampton left to pursue a very successful solo career;
Clem Clempson carried this difficult task in October 1971.
After the very succesful double live album Performance:
Rockin' the Fillmore (still with Frampton, not Clem), the group
kept on increasing their popularity, with subsequent albums.
Their first album with Clem was very good, Smokin',
which contained the hit '30 days in the hole' (years later, it was
covered by Mr. Big (Paul Gilbert's
band) in their 1st album), and a cover of the classic 'C'mon everybody'.
It still is their best selling album. Here we can find help from Stephen
Stills, Alexis Korner and Rick
Wills, plus wonderful vocalists Doris Troy and Madeline Bell.
In the double album Eat it (3 sides
studio, 1 side live), they changed their heavy sound into a derivative
of soul music, including in their concerts a backing vocal trio, The Blackberries
(Venetta Fields, Clydie King and Billie Barnum). B.J. Cole (from Cochise)
appears on pedal steel guitar. But things never were the same, and sales
began to fail.
In their next album Thunderbox, there
is a guest appearance by Mel Collins on sax.
Clem left the group in 1974. Humble Pie continued
a bit under the trio format, but soon after, Marriott and Clem would be
together again for a short time. Anyway, Clem still appears in next Humble
Pie album, Street rats, along with Mel Collins and Tim Hinkley.
This was a strange album, including three Beatles covers.
Humble Pie in concert is a recently
released live CD recorded on May 6, 1973, at the Winterland Theater in
San Francisco, from a King Biscuit Flower Hour radio broadcast. The quality
is very good, it's a smashing performance by the whole band plus The Blackberries.
Including several covers, such as Rolling Stones' 'Honky tonk woman',
and soul classics like 'Hallelujah, I love you so' or 'I don't
need no doctor'. They also sing some brief excerpts from Sly &
The Family Stone's 'I want to take you higher', as an intro for
another song.
There are some other album credited to Steve Marriott,
featuring Humble Pie recordings with Clem. Please, refer to Clem
sessions page for details.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Steve
Marriott
Venetta
Fields
Clydie
King
Billie
Barnum
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Greg
Ridley
Jerry
Shirley
STRANGE BREW
It was July 1975, and we find Clem rejoining
old companions Cozy Powell and Greg Ridley in a new band, Strange Brew.
They only stayed for two months, because of an accident
that happened to Clem, who broke his wrist.
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Greg
Ridley
(Almost) DEEP PURPLE
An interesting fact in Clem's career is that
he was approached by Deep Purple to join them, when Ritchie Blackmore left
the band in 1975.
Clem went to rehearse for some days with the band,
but they finally decided not staying together. A pity...
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Glenn
Hughes
Someday,
these musicians will have a short tribute here:
David
Coverdale
Jon
Lord
Ian
Paice
STEVE MARRIOTT'S
ALL STARS
In January 1976, he rejoined with Steve Marriott,
under the monicker Steve Marriott's All Stars.
They augmented the lineup with a keyboardist in March
1976:
They didn't record, as Marriott broke the band in
May 1976, to put together next month a new version of his old band, Small
Faces, after noticing the succesful reissue of old hit 'Itchycoo Park'.
Do you want some trivia? Guitarist Mickey Finn
was the same Mickey Waller who played in Heavy Metal Kids with Danny
Peyronel. He changed his name not to be confused with drummer Micky
Waller (also featured in my site).
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Steve
Marriott
Mickey
Finn
Venetta
Fields
Clydie
King
Billie
Barnum
Damon
Butcher
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Greg
Ridley
Ian
Wallace
UNNAMED TRIO
There was an attempt to continue part of Marriott's
backing band together, but it didn't work out.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Damon
Butcher
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Ian
Wallace
ROUGH DIAMOND
In September 1976, Clempson and Butcher joined
forces with David Byron, the superb singer in Uriah Heep, who had decided
to start his own solo career. They adopted the name Rough Diamond.
There are very good songs in the album, like 'Seasong'.
Anyway, this band had no success, they suffered
many problems. They were sued by a former band called The Rough Diamonds.
They made their live debut on April 1977, but the band parted ways with
Byron after a few months, in September 1977. [David Byron released a solo
album, Baby faced killer, and several years later formed
The Byron Band (including Robin George on guitar and Mel Collins on sax),
until his sad death in 1985].
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Willie
Bath
Damon
Butcher
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Geoff
Britton
Someday,
these musicians will have a short tribute here:
David
Byron
CHAMPION
The remainder of Rough Diamond recruited another
singer, and changed name to Champion. This was October 1977.
They changed their drummer, and Jeff Rich (later in
Status Quo for many years) joined the band.
They broke up in March 1979, after a self-titled album,
Champion.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Garry
Bell
Willie
Bath
Damon
Butcher
Jeff
Rich
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Geoff
Britton
SNAFU
This was a great band assembled by Bobby Harrison,
who was the first drummer in superb band Procol Harum. When their guitarist,
Micky Moody, left them to join Whitesnake, Clem was recruited. Sadly, the
band split very soon. Can somebody help with the approximate period when
this happened?
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Bobby
Harrison
Colin
Gibson
Terry
Popple
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Tim
Hinkley
ROGER CHAPMAN'S SHORTLIST
Clem joined singer Roger Chapman (from Family
fame, later in Streetwalkers, and now with his own solo career), who was
assembling a live band for promoting his brand new album Chappo.
Although Clem doesn't play in the album, he was chosen for the superb live
band:
A killer lineup for a great artist!
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Roger
Chapman
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Tim
Hinkley
Jerome
Rimson
Raf
Ravenscroft
COZY POWELL AND FRIENDS
In January 1980, Cozy asks some of his friends
to back him in some BBC broadcasts. What a lineup!!!
They appeared in the 'Old Grey Whistle Test' TV show,
as well as a radio broadcast for an 'In concert' program. Those recordings
are very powerful, with Clem also playing the tracks originally played
by Gary Moore in Cozy's Over the top album. Amazing lineup
and amazing playing. The track listing included songs from Cozy's 1st album,
plus Jack Bruce's own 'Ticket to waterfalls'.
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Don
Airey
Max
Middleton
Someday,
these musicians will have a short tribute here:
Jack
Bruce
KEN HENSLEY BAND
Sometime between 1980 and 1981, Clem joined
Ken Hensley (from Uriah Heep), but the group life was very short.
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Milt
Muth
David
Michael
Pete
Thompson
JACK BRUCE AND FRIENDS
In March 1980, Jack Bruce was trying to resurrect
his career, and he recruited a very talented and powerful band.
In the Rockpalast website, you can find some sound
files (RA and WAV) from this band in concert, jamming with Graham Parker
and Brinsley Schwarz (from Graham Parker and the Rumour). Watch at my links
page.
They finished the tour in May 1981. But when Jack
called them again for a concert in December 1981, Billy Cobham is not available,
and he's substituted by a former Jack Bruce bandmate, Bruce Gary:
In 1998, it has been released a new live album by
Jack Bruce, Live on the Old Grey Whistle Test, featuring
live BBC recordings from 1975 (7 tracks) and 1981 (8 tracks). The tracks
from 1981 are from the Bruce/Clempson/Sancious/Cobham lineup.
On August 1999, there is a new live recording from
1980; the Bruce/Clempson/Sancious/Cobham lineup. It's called Concert
classics, vol. 9.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Billy
Cobham
Bruce
Gary
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
David
Sancious
Someday,
these musicians will have a short tribute here:
Jack
Bruce
JON ANDERSON BAND
Later (please, help with approximate month!),
Clem (along with Sancious) joined Jon Anderson's 1981 live band, to promote
the Animation album, where Clem had played in a session basis.
They also played Yes songs in their concerts. Oh,
who may have a concert by them? :) :)
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Jon
Anderson
Stefano
Cerri
Guy
Shiffman
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
David
Sancious
JACK BRUCE BAND
Clem rejoined with Jack Bruce again (after Bruce's
team with Robin Trower) on May 1983 until August 1983. A slightly different
band than in 1981, this time with fine, veteran keyboardist Ronnie Leahy.
There was a 7" single release, 'I Feel Free' /
'Make Love Pt. 2' by Jack Bruce in 1983. It was released to co-incide
with, and used in, a Renault cars advertising campaign. Rumoured to have
been performed by this lineup, but unconfirmed. Anybody knows?
In August 1983, Jack Bruce changes the band, this
time without Clem.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Bruce
Gary
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Ronnie
Leahy
Someday,
these musicians will have a short tribute here:
Jack
Bruce
JACK BRUCE AND FRIENDS
(again)
A new change in the band's name, and again,
with Clem. It was May 1984, and the 'new' guy was a veteran, the great
Mark Nauseef on drums (he has played in many bands, from Velvet Underground
to Elf, G-Force, Thin Lizzy for a while, and many others).
But a couple of months later, in July 1984, Mark Nauseef
leaves, and Bruce Gary returns.
They stay together touring until November 1984. But
they made some more concerts in August 1985. Don't know if they stayed
together, or if they reunited for these new concerts.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Bruce
Gary
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Ronnie
Leahy
Mark
Nauseef
Someday,
these musicians will have a short tribute here:
Jack
Bruce
JACK BRUCE BAND
In January 1986, a different lineup played some
concerts in Israel.
But only some days later, still in January, Bruce
Gary comes back to finish the tour until February 1986.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Anton
Fier
Bruce
Gary
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Ronnie
Leahy
Someday,
these musicians will have a short tribute here:
Jack
Bruce
BOB DYLAN BAND
Bob Dylan appeared as an actor in the movie
'Hearts on fire', alongside Fiona Flanagan. It was assembled a band for
appearing in the movie, although it's not clear if they really played in
the soundtrack, or if it was just miming (I don't have the soundtrack,
so any help would be very welcomed!).
This is the lineup that backed Bob Dylan in the
song 'Had a dream about you, baby':
Clem also backed Richie Havens in the song 'Fear,
hate, envy, jealousy':
The soundtrack was released in 1987.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Bob
Dylan
Ron
Wood
Richie
Havens
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Terry
Williams
missing info...
And I have a very great gap here, since I don't
know if Mr. Clem Clempson was in any band from 1986 to 1992. As we can
check in the sessions page, he performed intensive session work in many
albums, but I'd like to know if anyone can help me to trace his bands during
this period. Thanks.
JACK BRUCE BAND
Again, Clem joins Jack Bruce for a one-off concert
in April 1992. New drummer, the exquisite Gary Husband!
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Ronnie
Leahy
Gary
Husband
Someday,
these musicians will have a short tribute here:
Jack
Bruce
GRAHAM & THE
DOLPHINS
Barry Venn is a great guitarist and a friend
of Clem. He had a band, under the name Graham & The Dolphins. The guitarist
used to be Bob Weston, but when he left, Clem joined them:
When Robin Lumley left the band, they changed their
name to Barry Venn & The Dolphins.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Barry
Venn
Rob
Burns
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Robin
Lumley
John
'Willie' Wilson
BARRY VENN &
THE DOLPHINS
Barry Venn changed the band name, as it started
to be his own band without a stable lineup, only friends and colleagues
that played with him. Clem appeared several times with them. In September
1993, the lineup was:
They used to play lots of blues standards, as well
as covers of songs by Fleetwood Mac and Cream.
The lineup in March 1994 included another great
musician, Tony O'Malley:
Barry Venn continued under this name with some other
famous musicians (such as Neil Hubbard). Other great guests and friends
that used to play with the band were: Phil May (from Pretty Things), David
Gilmour (from Pink Floyd fame), Tim
Renwick, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Raf Ravenscroft, just to name a few.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Barry
Venn
Rob
Burns
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Tim
Hinkley
Tony
O'Malley
John
'Willie' Wilson
THE BARRACUDAS
The band changed its name again, this time to
The Barracudas, although this time the 'boss' was Clem. The band also included
Clem's son, Joel, a great drummer:
Barry Venn is currently leading Barry Venn & False
Pretences, whose album was produced by ... Clem Clempson and Jon Hiseman.
Barry also acts as stage manager for Colosseum. A nice 'family'... :)
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Barry
Venn
Rob
Burns
Joel
Clempson
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Ronnie
Leahy
COLOSSEUM (again)
1994 was the year where an unexpected fact happens.
As the Colosseum albums were being succesful in their new CD reissues,
Jon Hiseman thinks it's time for Colosseum to live again, with their most
famous lineup:
They made a 66 date European tour, and it was released
a video and a live album, recorded in 1994, in Freiburg and Cologne, with
all their classics including a new rendition of Jack Bruce's tune 'Theme
for an imaginary western'. Absolutely brilliant!!! They're back with
a vengeance!! These concerts are nothing else than a complete masterpiece.
The video shows them in great shape, and I'm willing to say that, to me,
Colosseum never sounded as fantastic as now! Everybody in the band performs
a superb work, but as this one is the page about Clem, I need to say that
he amazes me more and more every time I watch it.
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Chris
Farlowe
Dave
Greenslade
Dick
Heckstall-Smith
Mark
Clarke
Jon
Hiseman
CHRIS DE BURGH BAND
In 1995, Clem was in Chris De Burgh band.
They released a live album and video, Beautiful
dreams, in 1995.
Click
for short, additional info on bandmates:
Chris
De Burgh
John
Themis
Peter
Oxendale
Ian
Thomas
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
John
Giblin
COLOSSEUM (again)
For those who thought they had reunited just
for a few concerts, the surprise arrived in the shape of a new studio album.
It was called Bread and circuses. They toured again, and
the people who has written me giving me reviews of their concerts all agree
about the superb quality of the shows. Oh, when will they play in Spain?
:)
In October 1999, as Chris Farlowe is busy touring
as special guest for The Manfreds, the British concerts by Colosseum featured
Paul Williams on vocals:
There are news about Colosseum recording a new studio
album along the year 2000. I'm anxiously waiting!!!
Someday,
these musicians will be fully covered here:
Chris
Farlowe
Paul
Williams
Dave
Greenslade
Dick
Heckstall-Smith
Mark
Clarke
Jon
Hiseman