Mighty Baby
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | January 1969 |
| Founder | Former members of the Action |
| Defunct | 1971 |
| Headquarters | England |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
Mighty Baby was an English group formed in January 1969 by former members of the Action.[1] They issued two albums, Mighty Baby (1969) and A Jug of Love (1971).[2]
History
Following the departure of vocalist Reg King from the Action in 1968, keyboard player Ian Whiteman, who had temporarily left due to King's erratic behaviour, rejoined and shared lead vocals with Alan King.[2] Upon signing with Head Records, the band adopted the name Mighty Baby—suggested by Head Records' John Curd—and made their live debut at the Roundhouse in January 1969, opening for Fairport Convention.[2]
Their first album was recorded at Morgan Studios in March 1969 with producer Guy Stevens.[2] This psychedelic rock record was released in November 1969 by Head Records in the UK,[2] and Chess Records in the US. Although production quality was modest and promotional efforts from Head Records limited, it garnered praise within the underground music press.[2] In 2022, Mojo journalist Jim Irvin described it as "one of the great lost albums of the period; a facet of the shape-shifting, dawn-of-prog dynamic shared by contemporaries Traffic and Family; music rooted in R&B but reveling in the opportunity to go anywhere it likes".[2]
Between their albums, the band earned additional income by performing session work for artists such as Robin Scott, Andy Roberts, Keith Christmas, Shelagh McDonald, Sandy Denny, and Gary Farr.[2]
Mighty Baby performed on the opening day of the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.
In 1970, four out of five members (all except Alan King) embraced Islam within the Sufi tradition;[2] their sophomore album, A Jug of Love (October 1971), reflected this spiritual transformation through a significantly altered musical style. Initial reviews were unfavorable; however, Jim Irvin later hailed it in 2022 as "a low-key masterpiece; six unhurried songs, a beautiful account of musicians achieving long-sought musical concord; perhaps the closest a British group has come to the Grateful Dead's transcendent togetherness."[2]
The group disbanded at the close of 1971 due to conflicts arising from balancing their Muslim beliefs with the lifestyle demands of a secular rock band.[2]
Post-breakup
Following their split in 1971, Martin Stone co-founded Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers, Alan King contributed to forming Ace, and Roger Powell, Mike Evans, along with Ian Whiteman created the Habibiyya.[2]
Leslie Berman proposes that an encounter between Richard Thompson and Mighty Baby introduced Richard and Linda Thompson to Sufism.[3] Nevertheless, Richard Thompson maintains he discovered Sufism independently in 1972 after Mighty Baby had dissolved when he attended his first Sufi meeting where he met Ian Whiteman, Roger Powell, and Mike Evans; they later became his supporters.[2]
Mike Evans passed away on 15 January 2010 in London and was interred near Beaconsfield.
A live performance from 1970 at Malvern Winter Gardens was issued by Sunbeam in early 2010 using tapes preserved by Ian Whiteman. Additionally, an unreleased recording from Glastonbury Fayre 1971 sourced from Radio Geronimo's archive was included.
Martin Stone died in 2016.[2]
In 2019, Grapefruit Records released At a Point Between Fate and Destiny, a six-CD box set compiling all of the band's recordings. This collection includes their debut album alongside an alternate acetate version; A Jug of Love plus singles; rehearsal tracks previously featured on Slipstreams (Flashback, 2015); instrumental demos intended for an unissued second album with live bonus material; Live at Malvern; and a comprehensive cassette recording of their 1971 Glastonbury performance from Radio Geronimo DJs.[4] The set is accompanied by a detailed forty-page booklet containing band history derived from interviews and archival documents.[5]
Discography
- Action Speak Louder Than ... (recordings from 1968 by the lineup that evolved into Mighty Baby, issued in 1985)
- Mighty Baby (Head Records, released November 1969)
- "Egyptian Tomb" / "I'm from the Country" (single, Philips France, 1969)
- "Devil's Whisper" backed with "Virgin Spring" (Blue Horizon 2096-003, October 1971)
- A Jug of Love (Blue Horizon 2931-001, October 1971)
- Glastonbury Fayre – compilation featuring "A Blanket in My Muesli" (Revelation 1/2/3, April 1972; recorded live at Glastonbury Festival 1971)
- Live in the Attic (Rolled Gold Productions, December 2000)
- Tasting the Life – Live 1971 (double album from Sunbeam Records, 2010)
- At a Point Between Fate and Destiny – The Complete Recordings (Grapefruit Records, 2019)
Collaborations with Reg King
- Reg King (United Artists Records 29157, 1971)
Band members
- Alan 'Bam' King – vocals, guitar (born 18 September 1945 in Muswell Hill, North London)
- Martin Stone – guitar (born 11 December 1946 in Woking, Surrey)
- Ian Whiteman – piano, flute (born 18 May 1945 in Saffron Walden, Essex)
- Mike 'Ace' Evans – bass guitar (Michael Evans; born 10 July 1945 in Henley, Berkshire)
- Roger Powell – drums (born 4 July 1944 in Camden Town, London)
External links
Interview with Ian Whiteman discussing his tenure with The Action and Mighty Baby, including an in-depth track-by-track review of the self-titled 1969 album Mighty Baby, featured on the Psychedelic Relics podcast, February 2024: Episode 02: "Mighty Baby". https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/29858183
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