Pete Haycock
| Pete Haycock | |
|---|---|
Haycock with the Climax Blues Band in 1974
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Peter John Haycock |
| Born |
4 March 1951 Stafford, Staffordshire, England |
| Died | 30 October 2013 (aged 62) Frankfurt, Germany |
| Genres | Rock, blues rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1968–2013 |
| Associated acts | Climax Blues Band, Electric Light Orchestra Part II, The LovePower Band |
| Website | www |
Peter John "Pete" Haycock (4 March 1951 – 30 October 2013) was an English musician and film score composer. He began his career as lead guitarist, vocalist, and founding member of the Climax Blues Band.
Haycock was born in Stafford, and here he attended St. John's Primary School and King Edward VI Boys Grammar School. As a child, he was impressed by the guitar solos of Hank Marvin of The Shadows. He played his first electric guitar at a miners club when he was 12. He then played guitar at school and college dances. Along with local boys, he formed a blues band, the Mason–Dixon Line. In 1967, Haycock met Colin Cooper and joined his soul band The Gospel Truth. In 1968, they founded a new band, the Climax Chicago Blues Band, and then they eventually changed its name to the Climax Blues Band, in 1970. The band's original line-up consisted of Haycock (lead guitar, vocals), Cooper (harmonica, vocals), Derek Holt (guitar, vocals), Richard Jones (bass), Arthur Wood (keyboards), George Newsome (drums).
During the early 1970s, the Climax Blues Band went through a few personnel changes, before arriving at their most stable, creative, and successful line-up, which consisted of Haycock, Cooper, Holt (switched to bass guitar), and John Cuffley (drums). In 1976, the line-up with keyboardist Richard Jones wrote the band's biggest hit "Couldn't Get It Right". The song included the vocal harmonies of Haycock and Holt, behind Cooper’s lead. Haycock, an underrated vocalist, sang lead on several of the band's tracks, particularly on the Sense of Direction (1974), Stamp Album (1975), Gold Plated (1976), Shine On (1978), and Flying The Flag (1980). albums. The band with the core line-up of Haycock, Cooper, Holt, and John Cuffley toured heavily in the 1970s and 1980s. During much of this period, Haycock played concerts with his rare trademark instrument, a gold-plated Veleno guitar, which was also on the cover of the album Gold Plated.
Holt and Cuffley left in 1983. Haycock and Cooper went their separate ways after their final Climax Blues Band album together, 1983's Sample and Hold.
In May 2012, the Major League Productions Ltd record label released an until-then unknown vault recording of a 1976 live performance, featuring the Climax Blues Band at the top of their game: Climax Blues Band / World Tour 1976. Haycock provided some insightful liner notes for the CD's insert, and the recording further demonstrates the tight musicianship that was found in the band's line-up at that time.
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