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Splinter (band)

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Splinter (band), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 29 November 2025
Splinter
Company typeVocal duo
IndustryMusic
FoundedEarly 1970s
Headquarters
South Shields
,
England
ProductsMusic albums and singles

Splinter was a vocal duo from South Shields, England, consisting of Bill Elliott and Bobby Purvis, who emerged in the early 1970s.

The duo maintained a close association with former Beatle George Harrison and collaborated with various instrumentalists on their albums. Splinter was the inaugural signing to Harrison's Dark Horse Records label, which operated in partnership with A&M Records. Their musical style frequently invited comparisons to The Beatles (especially Harrison and John Lennon) as well as Badfinger. Their debut record, the critically praised The Place I Love (1974), included the popular track "Costafine Town". All their albums have since been remastered and reissued on CD by South Korea’s Big Pink Music and the UK’s Grey Scale label.

Bill Elliott passed away on 7 June 2021 following a sudden illness. The Legacy Project website highlighted his unwavering support for their work and announced the forthcoming release of Splinter Live In England, capturing the duo’s live performance in an unprecedented way.

Debut album

Active within the music scenes of Newcastle and London, Splinter attracted Harrison’s attention through his assistant Mal Evans, who identified their song "Lonely Man" as fitting for a film Harrison was producing based on Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs. Harrison and Patti Boyd were present at the play’s premiere in 1966.

Although initially intending to sign them to Apple Records, Harrison conducted sessions at Apple Studio in London during mid-1973 with Splinter and Pete Ham (Badfinger). The track "Lonely Man" was planned as an Apple single and featured in an Apple film. In 1971, Bill Elliott had appeared on an Apple single released under "Bill Elliot and The Plastic Oz Band".

When Apple declined to proceed, Harrison established Dark Horse Records, with offices based in London and Los Angeles. Impressed by additional material from Splinter, he invited them to record an album over a 17-month period at his Friar Park studio (FPSHOT). During this time, Purvis and Elliott co-wrote "Kyle" alongside Gary Wright, who also contributed to the sessions; this song later appeared on Spooky Tooth’s 1974 album The Mirror.

Harrison produced every track on their Dark Horse debut, The Place I Love, playing several instruments including guitars, dobro, bass, and harmonium. Featured musicians included Wright, Alvin Lee, Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voormann, Willie Weeks, and Mel Collins. Due to Harrison’s significant involvement, rumors circulated suggesting that Splinter was effectively his new band.

Most compositions were by Purvis; Elliott contributed lyrics on "China Light" and "Costafine Town". The latter became an international success, reaching the top ten in Australia and South Africa, top 20 in the UK charts, and entering the US Billboard. Their subsequent single "Drink All Day" was banned by the UK BBC due to its language content.

Working in the 70s

For their sophomore album, Harder to Live, Harrison arranged recording sessions at A&M Studios in Los Angeles during spring–summer 1975. However, Purvis was unable to utilize this studio time because of hay fever likely caused by LA’s smog. Harrison used these pre-booked sessions instead to record his own album, Extra Texture, which became his final release on Apple.

Harrison’s contribution to Harder to Live was limited to one track—a re-recording of "Lonely Man". Co-produced by Harrison and Tom Scott, it featured Harrison on guitar. The song gained popularity in Japan where Splinter recorded a Japanese-language version with assistance from actor-singer Masatoshi Nakamura, making them among the first Western artists to perform in Japanese. This Japanese single credited B Pervis/M Evans as writers and included backing musicians such as Chris Spedding, Waddy Wachtel, and John Taylor.

During this era, Splinter earned the Outstanding Song Award at the 1976 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo with "Love Is Not Enough". This performance was included on a festival compilation album, and the song was released as a single exclusively in Japan. Initially produced by Tom Scott, this version differed from that which later appeared on Two Man Band.

After releasing Two Man Band, Splinter produced two albums distributed only in limited markets. Streets at Night (1979) was launched solely in Japan, self-produced by Purvis and Elliott, featuring keyboardist Alan Clark playing keyboards, synthesizers, and clavinet.

During this period, Splinter collaborated with Japanese music television station NTVM and rock group Godiego. They released a single covering Godiego's "Ghandara" (from the TV series Monkey) and contributed to the compilation album Our Favourite Songs, led by members of Godiego. In 1979, a UK single titled "Danger Zone" b/w "Swear to God" was issued on Barn Records.

Final albums and disbandment

Splinter briefly toured the United States, serving as the opening act for Duran Duran alongside other notable British bands from the 1980s. The partnership of Purvis and Elliott remained active until 1984. Their last widely distributed album, Two Man Band, was also their final release on Dark Horse Records, featuring George Harrison as co-executive producer and guitarist, with production overseen by Norbert Putnam. This album included singles such as "Round & Round" backed with the non-album track "I'll Bend for You" and the promotional double-sided release "Motions of Love" (1977), which was later reissued in 1978 paired with "I Need Your Love" as the B-side.

Their concluding album, titled Splinter, came out in the UK in 1980 under Bellaphon Records and was released in Japan in 1981 under the name Sail Away, replacing the track "All That Love" with "Pigalle". The duo parted ways in 1984. Following this, Purvis returned to performing and composing, contributing to a British cancer research charity.

Legacy initiative

In 2019, acknowledging that most of their recordings were out of print except for unofficial releases, Splinter initiated a Legacy Project aimed at unveiling previously unreleased material. In October 2020, they released Never Went Back, an album composed of rehearsal recordings from their 1981 tour.

Albums

  • 1974: The Place I Love (US Dark Horse SP 22001) (UK AMLH 22001) (Japan King AML-220)
  • 1975: Splinter (Dark Horse DH2) – Acoustic demo promos limited to approximately 100 copies
  • 1975: Harder to Live (US Dark Horse SP-22006) (UK AMLH 22006) (Japan King GP-270)
  • 1976: World Popular Song Festival in Tokio '76 (Yamaha YL 7615)
  • 1977: Two Man Band (US Dark Horse DH 3073 / Warner K 17009) (UK DRC 8439) (Japan Warner P-10425D)
  • 1979: Streets at Night (Columbia YX-7228-AX)
  • 1979: Our Favourite Songs (Columbia YX-7240-AX)
  • 1980: Splinter (Bellaphon BPLP 002)
    • 1981: Sail Away (Columbia Japan YX-7292-AX; identical tracks to Splinter)
  • 2020: Never Went Back (Gonzo Multimedia, Cat No 207916)

The Place I Love

Refer to The Place I Love

Harder to Live

Track list:

  1. "Please Help Me"
  2. "Sixty Miles Too Far"
  3. "Harder to Live"
  4. "Half Way There"
  5. "Which Way Will I Get Home"
  6. "Berkley House Hotel"
  7. "After Five Years"
  8. "Green Line Bus"
  9. "Lonely Man"
  10. "What Is It (If You Never Ever Tried It Yourself)"

Two Man Band

Track list:

  1. "Little Girl"
  2. "Round & Round"
  3. "Baby Love"
  4. "I Apologize"
  5. "Black Friday"
  6. "New York City (Who Am I)"
  7. "I Need Your Love"
  8. "Motions of Love"
  9. "Silver"
  10. "Love Is Not Enough"

Streets At Night

Track list:

  1. "Streets At Night"
  2. "I Can't Turn You On"
  3. "Is It for Life"
  4. "Stateside Girl"
  5. "Evergreen"
  6. "Danger Zone"
  7. "When Will You Let Go"
  8. "Where Do I Go from Here?"
  9. "Took My Breath Away"
  10. "Flyin' Blind"

Splinter

Track list:

  1. "Innocent"
  2. "Plane Leaving Tokyo"
  3. "Another Time Another Place"
  4. "Too Far Down the Line"
  5. "Take It or Leave It"
  6. "Passing Through"
  7. "Touch Yet Never Feel"
  8. "Don't Leave Me Now"
  9. "All That Love"
  10. "Sailaway"

Singles

  • 1971: "God Save Us" by Bill Elliot and The Elastic Oz Band / B-side "Do the Oz" by Elastic Oz Band (Apple 1835)
  • 1974: "Costafine Town" / "Elly-May" (UK AMS 7135) (US DH 10002) (Japan King AM-232) (Germany 13 607 AT) – Reached UK No. 17, Australia No. 16
  • 1975: "Drink All Day" / "Haven't Got Time" (UK AMS 5501) (Germany 13 842 AT)
  • 1975: "China Light" / "Drink All Day" (UK AMS 5502)
  • 1975: "China Light" / "Haven't Got Time" (US DH 10003)
  • 1975: "Which Way Will I Get Home" / "Green Line Bus" (UK AMS 5503)
  • 1976: "Which Way Will I Get Home" / "What Is It" (US DH 10007)
  • 1976: "Half Way There" / "What Is It" (UK AMS 5506) – Australia charted at No. 85
  • 1976: "After Five Years" / "Half Way There" (US DH 10010)
  • 1976: "Lonely Man" Japanese edition / English edition (Japan King CM 2006)
  • 1976: "Love Is Not Enough" / "White Shoe Weather" (Japan Warner P-77D)
  • 1977: "Sun Shine on Me" / "What Is It" (Japan Warner P-94D)
  • 1977: "Round and Round" / "I'll Bend for You" (US DRC 8439) (UK K 17009)
  • 1977: "Motions of Love" / Promotional version (DRC 8523)
  • 1977: "Black Friday" / "Silver" (Japan Warner P-239D)
  • 1978: "Motions of Love" / "I Need Your Love" (US DRC 8523)
  • 1978: "New York City" / "Baby Love" (UK K 17116)
  • 1978: "Taking Off" / "Touch and Go" (Japan Columbia YK-113-AX)
  • 1979: "I Can't Turn You On" / "Where Do I Go from Here?" (Japan Columbia YK-115-AX)
  • 1979: “If Somewhere and Somehow” / “Gandhara” (Japan Columbia YK-129-AX)
  • 1979: “Danger Zone” / “Swear to God” (UK Barn Records Barn 004)
  • 1981: “Touch Yet Never Feel” / “Pigalle” (Japan Columbia YH-2-AX)
  • 1981: “I Can't Turn You On” / “Touch Yet Never Feel” (Japan Columbia TD-1067; sample release only)

References

  • Alan Clayson, George Harrison, Sanctuary, London, 2003.
  • Simon Leng, While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison, Hal Leonard, Milwaukee, WI, 2006.
  • Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium, 44.1 Productions, Chesterfield, MO, 2000.
  • David Roberts, British Hit Singles & Albums (19th edition), Guinness World Records, London, 2006.
  • Nigel Pearce/JK Media, The Splinter Legacy project 2019/2020.

External links

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