Ten Years After
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1966 in Nottingham, England |
| Headquarters | Nottingham , England |
| Products | Music albums, live performances |
| Website | www |
Ten Years After is a British blues rock ensemble established in Nottingham in 1966. Between 1968 and 1973, they secured eight straight Top 40 entries on the UK Albums Chart, while twelve of their albums charted on the US Billboard 200. Their well-known songs include "I'm Going Home", "Hear Me Calling", "I'd Love to Change the World", and "Love Like a Man".
Origins: 1962–1966
The band's beginnings date to late 1960 under the name Ivan Jay and the Jaycats, achieving regional popularity around Nottingham and Mansfield. In 1962, they rebranded as the Jaybirds, later adopting the name Ivan Jay and the Jaymen. Ivan Jay fronted as lead vocalist until 1962; drummer Ric Lee joined in August 1965. By 1966, the Jaybirds relocated to London to serve as backing musicians for the Ivy League.
Chick Churchill became their keyboardist in 1966. That November, they enlisted manager Chris Wright and changed their name to Blues Trip. Under the alias Blues Yard, they played once at the Marquee Club, opening for the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Later in 1966, with Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons joining forces, the group adopted the name Ten Years After—paying tribute to Elvis Presley’s landmark year, 1956, which inspired Lee. Some accounts claim the name originated from an advertisement for a book titled Suez Ten Years After, referencing the Suez Crisis.
Ten Years After: 1967–1974
As the inaugural act booked by what became the Chrysalis Agency, Ten Years After secured a residency at the Marquee and performed at the 1967 Windsor Jazz Festival. This exposure led to a deal with Deram, a subsidiary of Decca; notably, they were Deram’s first signing without a prior hit single. Their self-titled debut album Ten Years After was released in October 1967. Following tours throughout Scandinavia and North America in 1968, they issued Undead, a live album featuring an early rendition of "I'm Going Home".
The February 1969 studio album Stonedhenge produced a British hit with "Hear Me Calling", which was later covered by glam rock band Slade. That same year, Ten Years After appeared at the inaugural Newport Jazz Festival that welcomed rock acts and performed at the Seattle Pop Festival. Their significant breakthrough in the United States came with their performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, where their version of "I'm Going Home" gained widespread recognition through both the event’s documentary film and soundtrack release.
In 1970, they released "Love Like a Man", their sole UK Top 10 single, distinguished by its unusual format: one side featured a three-minute edit at 45 rpm while the flip side contained an eight-minute live version at 33 rpm. The complete studio version was included on their fifth album, Cricklewood Green, which became their most commercially successful release in Britain. That same year saw their participation in major festivals such as Strawberry Fields near Toronto and the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.
By 1971, Ten Years After had transitioned to Columbia Records in the US and continued with Chrysalis in the UK. They released A Space in Time, signaling a move toward more mainstream sounds and featuring their biggest hit single, "I'd Love to Change the World". Subsequent Columbia releases included Rock & Roll Music to the World (1972) and a live double album titled Ten Years After Recorded Live (1973). The group dissolved following their final Columbia album, Positive Vibrations, released in 1974.
Post-breakup and Subsequent Reunion
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Alvin Lee embarked on tours with a fresh ensemble named Ten Years Later.
The original lineup of Ten Years After came together again in 1983 for a performance at the Reading Festival, which was eventually issued as The Friday Rock Show Sessions – Live at Reading '83. In 1988, the band reunited for a series of concerts and went on to record About Time (1989) in Memphis, collaborating with producer Terry Manning. They continued performing through to 2003 without producing new studio albums, including a notable appearance at Budapest’s Eurowoodstock festival in 1994.
In 2003, Joe Gooch took over from Alvin Lee, leading to the release of Now. Live tour recordings were compiled into the 2005 double album Roadworks. After leaving the group, Alvin Lee pursued solo projects until his passing in 2013 due to complications following a routine medical procedure. Ric Lee currently fronts Ric Lee's Natural Born Swingers alongside Bob Hall. In January 2014, both Gooch and Lyons exited Ten Years After; their positions were filled by bassist Colin Hodgkinson and guitarist/vocalist Marcus Bonfanti. The band’s most recent studio release, A Sting in the Tale, came out in October 2017.
In September 2024, the lineup consisting of Lee, Churchill, Bonfanti, and Hodgkinson dissolved. Alvin Lee announced intentions to introduce a new configuration in early 2025. This fresh assembly features Ric Lee, Samuel C Lees, Craig Fletcher, and Dave Burgoyne, with scheduled performances planned throughout the UK and Europe.
Band members
- Current members
- Ric Lee – drums (1966–1974, 1983, 1988–present)
- Samuel C Lees – guitar, vocals (2025–present)
- Craig Fletcher – bass guitar, vocals (2025–present)
- Dave Burgoyne – keyboards, violin (2025–present)
- Former members
- Chick Churchill – keyboards (1966–1974, 1983, 1988–2024)
- Alvin Lee – guitar, vocals, harmonica (1966–1974, 1983, 1988–2003; died 2013)
- Leo Lyons – bass (1966–1974, 1983, 1988–2014)
- Joe Gooch – guitar, vocals (2003–2014)
- Marcus Bonfanti – guitar, vocals, harmonica (2014–2024)
- Colin Hodgkinson – bass (2014–2024)
Timeline
Discography
- Ten Years After (1967)
- Undead (1968; live at Klooks Kleek, London)
- Stonedhenge (1969)
- Ssssh (1969)
- Cricklewood Green (1970)
- Watt (1970)
- A Space in Time (1971)
- Rock & Roll Music to the World (1972)
- Recorded Live (1973; live in Frankfurt, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Paris)
- Positive Vibrations (1974)
- About Time (1989)
- Now (2004)
- Evolution (2008)
- A Sting in the Tale (2017)
Further reading
- The New Musical Express Book of Rock, Star Books, 1975. .
- Staehr, Herb (2001). Alvin Lee and Ten Years After: Visual History. Free Street Press.
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1966 establishments in England
- Chrysalis Records artists
- Columbia Records artists
- Decca Records artists
- Deram Records artists
- English blues rock musical groups
- English hard rock musical groups
- Musical groups from Nottingham
- Musical groups disbanded in 1974
- Musical groups formed in 1966
- Musical groups reunited in 1988
- Musical groups disestablished in 1974