Ariel Bender
| Luther James Grosvenor | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Ariel Bender |
| Born |
23 December 1946 Evesham, Worcestershire, England |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Associated acts | Spooky Tooth, Stealers Wheel, Mott the Hoople, Widowmaker |
Luther James Grosvenor (born 23 December 1946 in Evesham, Worcestershire) is an English rock musician, who played guitar in Spooky Tooth, briefly in Stealers Wheel and, under the pseudonym Ariel Bender, in Mott the Hoople and Widowmaker.
Grosvenor first began playing in local bands in his hometown of Evesham. He met Jim Capaldi, who later played with Traffic, with whom he formed a group called Deep Feelin.
Later he joined a group called The V.I.P.'s, in which Keith Emerson played for some time. The V.I.P.'s were renamed Art and later became Spooky Tooth. After leaving Spooky Tooth, he released a solo album, Under Open Skies (Island Records, 1971).
For contractual reasons, he changed his name to Ariel Bender at the suggestion of singer-songwriter Lynsey De Paul for his stint with the Mott the Hoople. According to Mott's lead singer Ian Hunter, interviewed in the documentary The Ballad of Mott the Hoople, the band were in Germany with Lynsey De Paul for a TV show when lead guitarist Mick Ralphs walked down a street bending a succession of car aerials in frustration. De Paul came out with the phrase "aerial bender" which Hunter later suggested to Grosvenor as a stage name. Grosvenor joined the band in 1973, replacing Ralphs. Grosvenor toured with Mott in 1973 and 1974 and performed on the band's seventh album, The Hoople (1974).
The years with Spooky Tooth (1967 to 1970), Stealers Wheel (1973) and Mott the Hoople (1973 to 1974) were the most successful years in Grosvenor's musical career. After leaving Mott in 1974 - he was replaced by Mick Ronson - Grosvenor published a few solo albums, and formed Widowmaker, releasing Widowmaker in 1976 and Too Late to Cry in 1977.
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