An evening with John Fiddler ("Medicine Head - unplugged and beyond") | Temperance
Rock
Concerts
Welcome to an evening with John Fiddler, playing an intimate solo set (“
Medicine Head
Unplugged and Beyond”) which spans his long and varied career.
John Fiddler
and Medicine Head have a new album
‘Heartwork’
featuring ten brand new songs, a fresh and vibrant set of blues rock that once more centre the band’s founder John Fiddler and Medicine Head in the core of this wonderful tradition.
‘Heartwork’
follows the very well received
‘Warriors of Love’
, album which was the first new album in a decade.
Medicine Head began life in 1968 when singer and guitarist John Fiddler and harmonica player
Peter Hope-Evans
began performing in the Midlands. They quickly came to the attention of
John Peel
and – at the insistence of
John Lennon
– the DJ signed the band to his own Dandelion Records label.
Eric Clapton
and
Pete Townshend
were also early cheerleaders. Peel declared the band’s debut 1968
single ‘His Guiding Hand’
to be one of the classics of all time – and a copy featured in Peel’s legendary Record Box.
Medicine Head released three albums via Dandelion Records, with Hope-Evans leaving and returning to the fold during that time. The first album, 1970’s
‘New Bottles, Old Medicine’
featured
‘His Guiding Hand’
and was recorded in a two-hour session and Medicine Head toured with the DJ at many of Peel’s shows. The band followed that with the single
‘(And The) Pictures in the Sky’
and then a second album in 1971,
‘Heavy on the Drum’
, both produced by the Yardbirds’
Keith Relf
. After their 1972 album,
‘Dark Side of the Moon’
(yes, before Pink Floyd!), also produced by Keith, the band signed to Polydor Records.
Medicine Head then released
‘One & One Is One’
. The single charted at No.3 in the charts and the album of the same name garnered them even more fans. The following album
‘Thru’ A Five’
gave them more hits with
‘Rising Sun’
and
‘Slip and Slide’
. Soon after that the band became a duo again, releasing the fittingly titled album
‘Two Man Band’
in 1976. The following year, Peter Hope-Evans left for the final time, although John Fiddler continues to work and record as Medicine Head – releasing two critically acclaimed albums in the last 3 years:
‘Warriors of Love’
and
‘Heartwork.’
At various stages, the band has included stellar musicians such as
Laurence Archer
,
Clive Edwards
,
Keith Relf
,
Tony Ashton
,
Roger Saunders
,
George Ford
,
John Davies
,
Rob Townsend
and
Morgan Fisher
.
In the 1980s, John joined
Box of Frogs
, with the surviving members of the original
Yardbirds
,
Chris Dreja
,
Paul Samwell-Smith
and
Jim McCarty
. They released two albums on Epic Records,
Box of Frogs
(1984) – which appeared in the Billboard Top 50 - and
Strange Land
(1986). Guest artists on the albums included
Jeff Beck
,
Jimmy Page
,
Ray Majors
,
Rory Gallagher
and
Steve Hackett
.
Jeff Beck once said of John:
“You won’t find anyone better in LA.”
John also played with
British Lions
, which included former members of
Mott the Hoople
and
Mott
.
John Fiddler has retained both his voice and his musical freedom: this is an artist with a massive pedigree and a fascinating story.
‘Heartwork’
is cut through with experience and integrity and sits well within that Medicine Head catalogue.
John will be playing songs from the album, along with many others from across the whole breadth of his legendary career. We look forward to you joining him for a unique evening.
Information Source: Temperance | eventbrite