MEMORIES:
Far from ‘average,’ in the 70s the Average White Band became synonymous with great funk and soul – not something most people would expect from a bunch of Scottish musicians. They got their foot in the door with legendary concerts at The Marquee in London, and while the road wasn’t always an easy one to travel, they’ve entertained their fans ever since.
Formed in 1971 by Alan Gorrie, Malcom “Molly” Duncan, Onnie McIntyre, Hamish Stuart, Roger Ball and Robby McIntosh, Average White Band got their break supporting Eric Clapton’s ‘comeback’ concert in 1973. MCA picked up their first LP, Show Your Hand, and released it to relatively poor sales. Shortly after, the band packed up and moved to New York City and signed with Atlantic Records, shortening their name to AWB along the way, and released their follow-up, the self-titled album AWB, now cleverly referred to as “The White Album.” The album reached #1 on the charts, with the song “Pick Up the Pieces” making it as one of the biggest hits on the disco, pop and ‘black’ charts – cutting across color lines to bring funk to the masses.
A somber note intruded on the record’s tremendous success with the death of drummer Robbie McIntosh at the end of 1974. The following year, with new drummer Steve Ferrone, the band released Cut the Cake. The title single became a Top10 hit, and two other singles from the album went into the Top 40: “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” and “School Boy Crush.” The same year, AWB re-titled and re-packaged Show Your Hand as Put It Where You Want It. In 1976 they released Soul Searching, which would bring them their final Top 40 hit, “Queen of My Soul.”
The band started drifting away from one another, working on careers of their own, and officially broke up in 1982. Ferrone went on to play with Duran Duran. Hamish Stuart joined up with Paul McCartney. Alan Gorrie released a solo album in 1985, and eventually got together with Ball & McIntyre to record Aftershock in 1989, bringing in Eliot Lewis to replace lead singer Hamish Stuart. The Average White Band’s most recent album was recorded with Klyde Jones replacing Eliot Lewis. Over the years they continued to record and perform to the delight of their fans, keeping it funky, but not so average.
