So
you want to
know more about Juicy Lucy and the individuals who make
up the band? You've come to the right place. Click on any of the
pictures to go to a page about each player. Scroll down for a history
of the enigma that is Juicy Lucy.
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In
the beginning there was a band
called The
Misunderstood. Hailed in
the late sixties as pioneers of the psychedelic movement by the likes
of
Pink Floyd, their cause had been championed by John Peel who discovered
them whilst he was working as a DJ in the US. He was so
impressed by them that he produced their first recordings in 1966
and invited them to come to the UK, an offer they later took up.
However, having made it to the UK the Vietnam draft in the US and
problems with UK
immigration services caused personnel problems and associated line up
chages. Juicy Lucy was born out of their final line up in July
1969.
Taking their name from a character in Leslie Thomas' "Virgin
Soldiers"
Juicy Lucy were aiming to move away from the psychedelic sound of The
Misunderstood to
something more contemporary and commercial. Well, they certainly got
that right with the first single from the self titled debut album. "Who
Do You Love?", a cover of a Bo Diddley song, stamped it's way up the
singles charts in the UK and several European countries in the spring
of
1970, finally reaching number 14 in the UK and staying on the chart for
three months. The album cover itself caused quite a stir, featuring as
it did a woman lying naked, surrounded (and modesty preserved) by fruit!
Unfortunately
all was not well in the Lucy camp. Personal differences
took their toll and the band went through several line up changes to
the extent that by the time of the band's last album "Pieces" none of
the original members who had seared their way onto the scene with Who
Do You Love remained in the band.
And so Juicy Lucy disappeared from sight. However, 1994 saw
the return
of the band with singer Ray Owen taking the position centre stage on
vocals and
guitar and ably assisted by Mike Jarvis (guitar) Spencer Blackledge
(drums) and Andy Doughty (bass) the album "Here She Comes Again" saw
the light of day. The band toured in support of the album, but could
not reach out to either their old fans, or the new audience which they
desired. Dispirited, that line-up called it a day in 1997.
Soon after the collapse of that incarnation of Juicy Lucy, Ray
came
into contact with Mr Fish. It was immediately obvious to each of them
that the other had talent and so they decided to work together. Legal
considerations at the time prevented them using the Juicy Lucy name, so
they gigged and recorded as "Ray Owen's Moon", a name originally used
for Ray's 1973 solo album. Over the course of the next few
years
there were several changes of personnel working alongside the dynamic
duo; another guitarist as well as various drummers and bass players.
Finally in 2002
Fletch came on to the scene. Possessing a remakable combination of
skill, power and imagination he instantly fitted into place as the
final piece of the puzzle and the band achieved a new level.
With a renewed enthusiasm the band set about writing,
rehearsing and
gigging. Although still out in the cold as far as the mainstream of the
music industry was concerned, they set about working at the grass roots
level. Doing the unthinkable, they were playing original music in pubs
and small clubs, getting a great response and building up a following.
By 2004 the situation with the Juicy Lucy name had been resolved and it
was clear that the band had the capability to repeat, or even exceed,
it's earlier success. Sanctuary Records had released "Who Do You Love -
the anthology" and interest in the band was being shown from all over
the world. By mid-2004 a management deal had been struck and Juicy Lucy
was back in business!
Following a very successful relaunch of the band on an
unsuspecting
public on 16th February 2005, held at the famous Eel Pie Club in
Twickenham, April 2005 saw the band setting out to gig across the UK.
Kicking off supporting Saxon and Wishbone Ash in front of a
crowd
of 4000, they played at venues from Plymouth to Aberdeen and back
again. Whether playing to long time fans from the '70s or to student
audiences the response was the same; ecstatic! As one happy audience
member was heard to say in Dundee "They're real live f******
rock stars, but nobody knows it yet!".
February 2006 saw the band supporting rock legends
Nazareth at a string of dates up and down England as well as continuing
to headline in their own right.
In June 2006 the band went in to The Levellers'
Metway
Studios in
Brighton to work on the first new recordings for twelve years.
The
value of extensive live performance showed when it came to the
recording sessions, with the band completing the tracking for
eleven songs in four days! The result of these sessions was "Do That
And You'll Lose It", released in September 2006.
Over the next two years the band continued to do things
the old fashoined way; travelling the length and breadth of
the UK, bringing their distinctive brand of blues-rock to the music
loving public, building their fan base through hard work, determination
and talent. In June 2008 bass player Fudge decided to leave for
personal reasons and his role was taken up by the previously unseen but
always present James. Not long after that upheaval Ray was taken
seriously ill with a collapsed lung. This took him out of
action during the height of the summer festival season. While he
recovered the band continued to perform as a trio with Mr. Fish taking
on vocal duties. Ray returned to the stage after only seven
weeks but never managed to achieve full fitness and suffered a
re-occurence of his lung problem at the end of October 2008 which
required surgery on the lung itself to remove the damaged area.
Ray was expected to be fit enough to return to the band early in 2009,
but the remaining trio of Mr. Fish, Fletch and James had realised in
Ray's absence that changes needed to be made in order for the band to
continue to develop both it's music and it's audience. When this was
put to Ray in January 2009 he was not in agreement and decided not to
return, leaving the core "power trio" to carry the Juicy Lucy legacy
into it's 40th year.
In June 2012 James decided that for personal reasons he was no
longer able to devote 100% of his time to the band. He was replaced on
bass duties by Frank Cokayne, ex of Brighton based Southern-rock band
Under The Gun. Frank's arrival gave the band a second vocalist and
access to a repertoire of classic rock songs with which to broaden
their appeal.