ROBIN TROWER

I saw Robin Trower play at Winterland, SF, 
on 3 occasions. First time, 8/11/73. Then 
again on 11/3/73 and 5/25/74. As you can see,
he toured the US a lot in those days. 
He always put on a great performance
with great music. My friends and I 
were able to meet him, James Dewar
and Reg Isidore after one concert
and get their autographs. You can see 
our photos from those concerts and 
read our memoirs at - 
Robin started out in a band 
called The Paramounts with 
Gary Brooker and B. J. Wilson,
which later became 
Procol Harum. Robin and B.J.
Wilson were not in that
 band at first. They were added 
later after Procol Harum
was unable to reproduce
the sound of their hit, "A 
Whiter Shade of Pale" live. 
An early promo shot of The Paramounts.
Photographer is unknown. Copyright 
by Scalo 1997.
A review of HOME. An
early Procol Harum album
with Robin. 

James Dewar, (second in line behind Lulu),
started out as one of Lulu & The Luvvers.
Lulu was a popular British singer with hits
like, "To Sir, with love".
Lulu & the Luvvers (live clip)
Photo is from "Then, Now and Rare,
British Beat 1960-1969.
Copyright Terry Rawlings.
He later joined a band titled, Stone the Crows.
That band also included Les Harvey
and Maggie Bell, one of England's
most respected female rock vocalists. 
She might be called the Janis Joplin of 
Britain. She joined Rod Stewart on
"Every Picture Tells a Story." She also 
over shadowed James Dewar which may 
 have led to his leaving the band.
A review of Stone the Crows.
Les Harvey, guitarist for 
the band and Maggie's lover, 
was electrocuted on stage and 
died shortly after in the hospital. 
He was replaced with Jimmy
McCulloch, who later joined 
Paul McCartney and Wings.
He died from an overdose
in 1979.
Robin Trower left Procol Harum
and James Dewar left Stone the Crows
to form The Robin Trower Band. 
Their first album, "Twice Removed 
From Yesterday" was a 
huge success.  Their drummer
was Reg Isidore. His producer was
Matthew Fisher, keyboard player
with Procol Harum.

James Dewar was a
talented singer and song writer
and contributed much to
Robin Trower's albums.
He was in the shadow of others
his whole career. Being a soft spoken
man he never received the
accolades he deserved. He did
record a solo album, "Stumbledown
Romancer" that was released
 in 1998, many years after it
was recorded.
James Dewar (audio clip)

Their second album, Bridge
of Sighs, was another huge
success for the band.
It was the last album that
Reg Isidore played on.
Reg Isidore
I always loved the graphics of 
the early albums. 
This album by Stone the Crows 1970
includes Les Harvey, Maggie Bell and
James Dewar. They also released
Teenage Licks and Ode To John Law.
Neither had James Dewar. 

An early Procol Harum album with Robin
Trower and B. J. Wilson. Keith Reid, (left),
wrote all their lyrics, but did not play
on any of the albums.
Matthew Fisher's first solo album, Journey's 
End, 1973. His solo albums are highly recommended.
He has fought for writing credit on
Procol's hit, "Whiter Shade of Pale" for many 
years. It is a landmark legal battle over royalties.

Inside cover.

James Dewar passed away on
May, 16th 2002
Tribute Website to James Dewar
James Dewar Memorial

1 comment:

  1. Listening to Robin, Jimmy and Reg as I type. Wow!! What great music and memories. God speed.

    ReplyDelete