Amazing Blondel - Biography
Always difficult to classify, Amazing Blondel was a 1970’s British phenomenon that fit someplace between folk and progressive rock. They recorded and performed their medieval folk rock for about nine years, building a large cult following in the process. However, like many other bands of the period, Amazing Blondel was swept away during the punk rebellion of the late 70s. The group reformed briefly for 1997’s Restoration (1997 Transatlantic UK) before going their separate ways. The band reunited again for tours at the turn of the millennium.
John David Gladwin and Terry Wincott were high school chums from Scunthorpe, a country town in the Northeast of England. They grew up playing in bands together, the most successful of which was Methuselah. Balancing folk rock with progressive blues metal, Methuselah also featured Gladwin and Wincott playing medieval acoustic instruments. Renaissance music was making a brief comeback at the time, thanks in part to the success of British folk rockers Pentangle. Methuselah made one album, Methuselah, Mark, Luke and John (1969 Elektra), before the band imploded.
Gladwin and Wincott left Methuselah and began writing songs based on medieval and Renaissance works. They delved into the folk and formal music of the era, and took their name from Blondel — the most famous musician in the court of King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart). They recruited Edward Baird, a more mainstream rock and folk guitarist, and began playing gigs. Bell Records snapped them up and in 1970 they recorded their debut album The Amazing Blondel (1970 Bell Records, reissued as The Amazing Blondel & A Few Faces in 1995 Edsel Records). Bell Records cajoled the band into augmenting their sound with studio musicians for a harder, more rock and roll sound.
Amazing Blondel’s friends in the English rock band Free, notably bassist Andy Fraiser, arranged for a meeting with Chris Blackwell of Island Records. The trio played live for Blackwell in his penthouse office and he signed them on the spot. They released 1970’s Evensong (1970 Island, reissued 1996 Edsel), changed their street clothes for medieval togs, and began speaking the archaic lingo of a bygone era. They were one of the first British bands to sing without the affectation of an American accent. Their musical expertise, outlandish costumes, and bawdy humor built them a large following.
The following year’s Fantasia Lindum (1971 Island, reissued 1996 Edsel) was a smash despite the fact that title track, a 20 minute suite, is sung in Latin. Fantasia Lindum is the band’s enduring masterpiece and features new member Adrian Hopkins on piano and harpsichord. In 1972, they released England (1972 Island, reissued 1996 Edsel), another winning bit of pastoral folk rock, although more folk and Renaissance than rock.
By the time they made Blondel (1973 Island, reissued 1996 Edsel) in 1973, Hopkins and Gladwin had left. The remaining duo of Baird and Wincott invited Stevie Winwood to join the sessions on bass, Paul Rodgers to sing on "Weavers Market," and fiddler Jack La Roche to fill out the sound, which had moved a little closer to mainstream folk rock.
Baird and Wincott signed with DJM Records, who had no American distribution at the time, and released Mulgrave Street (1974 DJM UK). This 1974 album moves closer to mainstream rock with the help of Paul Kossoff, Mick Ralphs, Paul Rodgers, Eddie Jobson, and Simon Kirke. The following year, they released Inspiration (1975 DJM UK), which was fairly successful. 1976 saw the release of Bad Dreams (1976 DJM UK) and then in 1977 they released live recordings from European gigs under the quizzically named Live in Tokyo (1977 DJM UK). Shortly thereafter, Baird and Wincott gave up performing under the Blondel name.
Gladwin, Wincott, and Baird reunited in 1996, dropped all the electric instruments, and kept the percussion to a minimum for Restoration (1997 Transatlantic UK). The album includes another song in Latin, “Benedictus Es Domine,” and the instrumental work is even stronger than it was in the band’s heyday. It was hailed as a masterpiece, but after brief British and European tours, the members went back to working on their solo careers.
Blondel reunited for another round of reunion tours in 1999 and 2000. The two CD/one DVD set, Going Where the Music Takes Me (2004 Shakedown UK), showcases the band in a unique way with 38 unreleased songs by individual members covering the years between the 60s and 80s.
