Climax Blues Band formed in Stafford, England in1968 was originally called the Climax Chicago Blues Band. The founder members were Peter Haycock (vocals and lead guitar) and Colin Cooper (vocals, sax and harmonica). Others musicians included Derek Holt, Arthur Wood, George Newsome, John Cuffley and Richard Jones. They became one of the top groups in the British blues boom era before spreading their musical wings.

In 1970 they shorted their name to Climax Blues Band began a long and successful career during which they released some 17 albums and enjoyed a major Top Ten UK hit with ‘Couldn’t Get It Right’. They also had an American hit with the same song in 1977 and another with ‘I Love You’ that peaked at Number 12 in 1981. The song still receives heavy plays on U.S. radio.

As the group’s musical policy now embraced blues, funky pop and rock they weren’t afraid to broaden their appeal, particularly on the U.S touring circuit. The band was also very popular throughout Europe.

Their album releases includes ‘A Lot Of Bottle’, ‘Tightly Knit’ and ‘Stamp Album’ all released on Repertoire. One of their most successful was ‘Gold Plated’ released in 1976 and during their heyday the band drew crowds of 20,000 at their U.S. concerts. Peter Haycock left in 1985 and later joined ELO while developing a career as a composer of film scores. He formed his own blues band and returned to touring and released a ‘live’ album in 2008.

Climax Blues Band minus Peter but with guitarist Lester Hunt continued to perform. Sadly Colin Cooper died of cancer aged 69 in July 2008, but the band continues to perform to the present day.