Wizzo Band | |
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Origin | Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, UK |
Genres | Jazz |
Years active | 1975–78 |
Labels | Warner Bros. |
Associated acts | Electric Light Orchestra, The Move, Wizzard |
Past members |
Roy Wood Rick Price Bob Wilson Billy Paul Paul Robbins Graham Gallery Dave Donovan |
Wizzo Band was formed by Roy Wood after Wizzard split in 1975, fulfilling his ambitions to create an ensemble that was more jazz-orientated than rock or pop. The line-up included former Wizzard and Move member Rick Price (pedal steel guitar), alongside Bob Wilson (trombone), Billy Paul (alto and baritone saxes), Paul Robbins (keyboards, backing vocals), Graham Gallery (bass), and Dave Donovan (drums).
A lot of people had been doing jazz-rock stuff. There had been jazz musicians getting into the rock field, like Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke, but it's very rare that you find a band doing it the other way around a rock and roll band getting into jazz, and it's quite interesting. The rhythm section is very heavy, almost Zeppelinish, the horns are very jazzy and the songs are very commercial, so it makes for quite an interesting combination.
They played one show, broadcast live by BBC Television and BBC Radio 1 in the 'Sight and Sound In Concert' series, on 2 April 1977. Most of the material they played was new, though they also included The Move's "California Man", interpolating the basic riff from another Move oldie, "Brontosaurus", and Wizzard's "Are You Ready to Rock". Several of the songs appeared on their only album Super Active Wizzo, released in September 1977 on the Warner Bros. record label. They also issued two singles, "The Stroll" (1977), and "Dancin’ At The Rainbow’s End" (1978). None of these ever charted.