HUMBLE PIE STORY
ROCK ON!
Hailed as the first pop ‘supergroup’ Humble Pie showcased the talents of Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton. The group was born in April 1969 and evolved into one of the most successful rock bands of the Seventies. Marriott was the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter from the Small Faces, Frampton the pop idol from The Herd, also a fine singer and guitarist.
Together with bass player Greg Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley, they set out to conquer the public’s hearts and minds. Their debut album ‘As Safe As Yesterday Is’ was first released on Andrew Oldham’s Immediate label. And the man who discovered the Rolling Stones also managed Humble Pie.
The vinyl LP arrived in record shops in the guise of a parcel wrapped in brown paper tied with string and sealing wax. The only pictures of the artists on the cover depicted their faces peeping out from blurred ‘postage stamps’. This low-key strategy was to avoid accusations of trading on past pop credentials. Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott had been pin up idols for a generation of teenage girls. Now they wanted to be accepted as serious heavy rock musicians.
Marriott, Frampton, Ridley and Shirley were certainly serious about creating original music and weren’t too keen on the ‘super group’ tag. But it helped gain publicity during the launch period. It wasn’t easy winning over British audiences and the group achieved its greatest success in America in the 1970s. 1969 was a busy year. While the first US astronauts were landing on the moon, Eric Clapton was landing his own ‘supergroup’ Blind Faith and Led Zeppelin was unleashing ‘Whole Lotta Love.’ How would Frampton and Marriott fit into this cauldron of activity?
Humble Pie was born out of a sense of frustration. Peter Frampton had grown tired of being billed as ‘The Face Of 68’ with The Herd. Steve Marriott had walked off stage during a chaotic Small Faces gig at Alexandra Palace in London. That night Steve telephoned Peter Frampton, who he’d met on a Small Faces recording session. Steve asked if Frampton would like to join a new group that would include Greg Ridley, an old mate from Spooky Tooth and Jerry Shirley from Mod band Apostolic Intervention.
VELVET LOONS
They began secret rehearsals at Steve’s ‘Beehive Cottage’ in the village of Moreton, Essex. They weren’t so secret because Peter drove me there, in his new Aston Martin one afternoon to check them out. The sports car was one of the first to have a fitted record player, which Peter loaded with the latest 45 rpm discs. It was a beautiful summer’s day and all the young dudes adapted to rural living, by rolling in the hay in their crushed velvet loons. The Pie men were nervous, excited and determined to make an impact. The idea was to write original material, chose some some ‘covers’ and cover a wide range of musical styles.
Steve loved Motown, Stax and country music. He also dug Blood, Sweat & Tears and their blend of brass and blues. Peter’s favourites included The Beatles and Rolling Stones and great guitarists like Kenny Burrell. The Marriott and Frampton compositions on the first album reflected these joint tastes in blues and country rock. Vocally speaking Steve had the strongest voice, but Pete was determined to match him as a soul shouter. Frampton was the more sophisticated guitarist, adept at jazz chords. Steve was a nifty lead player, with a Steve Cropper feel for a riff. Together in the studio and on stage, they were dynamite. Adding to the explosive mix was Jerry Shirley, a happy-go-lucky Keith Moon fan on drums. Greg provided deep bass lines and backing vocals, like John Entwistle of The Who.
Despite the promise of success with Humble Pie, there was an undercurrent of sadness evident in Steve Marriott. He was still smarting from the wounds of his abrupt departure from The Small Faces, and seemed angry and defensive. Peter meanwhile, always sunny and cheerful, was looking forward to the challenge of life beyond The Herd. It was an encouraging start when their first single ‘Natural Born Bugie’ got to Number 4 in the UK chart in July 1969. The hit augured well for their debut album ‘As Safe As Yesterday Is’ which got to Number 16 in the UK.
MUD BATH
A tremendous effort was put into ensuring Humble Pie would live up to expectations. They flew to Amsterdam for a short tour of Holland Belgium in the summer of ’69. On arrival the group was refused entry to the restaurant at the Amsterdam Esso Motor Hotel because Peter and Steve weren’t wearing ties. So Peter put on a tie – without a shirt. Later they drove in a white Cadillac limousine to Bilzen in Belgium for an horrendous rock festival. It was pouring with rain and the site was a mud bath patrolled by Hells Angels. It was like being in First World War trenches. Deep Purple came on first and were pelted with rotten tomatoes that splattered over Jon Lord’s Hammond organ. When Humble Pie came on in freezing rain, Steve shouted angry abuse into his microphone and clearly pissed off. The following day was much better at the famed Paradiso Club in Amsterdam where hippies openly smoked dope. Despite their comatose state, the audience seemed to approve of Humble Pie’s raucous set. As I stood at the back of the hall reviewing the show for Melody Maker, a posse of Interpol police marched in to make some arrests. “The fuzz have just arrived,” I muttered into my tape recorder, a phrase that so amused Steve he included the brief recording of my voice on the band’s next album ‘Town And Country’.
After the hectic Paradiso Show, the Pie party flew back to England, bumping into David Bowie at Schipol Airport . Although about to hit the charts with ‘Space Oddity’ he seemed lonely and pleased to meet old school pal Peter Frampton. The European trip was an adventure but back in England the group was reduced to playing small venues. Despite the encouraging response to ‘Safe As Yesterday Is’ their follow up album ‘Town And Country’ released in November 1969 during the group’s first U.S. tour, didn’t sell so well. The band was in debt and then Immediate Records suddenly collapsed. NEW START t was a great blow but Humble Pie signed to A&M Records and acquired dynamic American manager, Dee Anthony, who also looked after ELP and the J.Geils Band. Dee insisted the Pie drop its rather drab acoustic set and concentrate on heavy rock. He also wanted Marriott as the front man and set the group to work touring America. This strategy paid off as they became one of the most popular ‘live’ acts in the States.
A strong new album ‘Humble Pie’ (A&M) in 1970 was followed by ‘Rock On’ (1971) and the best selling ‘Performance – Rockin’ At The Fillmore (1971). By now the Pie had recovered its momentum and flew to Los Angeles in 1971 to play at the Hollywood Bowl. The next gig was in New York where T.Rex was the support act. Marc Bolan was going down like a led balloon in front of a rowdy crowd. Humble Pie did much better and seemed very happy. Even so, Steve and Peter were not hanging out together between gigs. Steve would be off playing pool and sipping beer while Peter would prefer a meal in a vegetarian restaurant with lots of brown rice.
Frampton was miffed at Marriott increasing dominance, not to say belligerence and eventually left Humble Pie a few months after the US trip. In October 1971 Peter formed his own group and eventually attained megastar status with ‘Frampton Comes Alive’ became the biggest selling ‘live’ album of all time. His replacement in Humble Pie was singer and guitarist Dave ‘Clem’ Clempson, formerly of Bakerloo and Colosseum. Marriott and Clempson got on well and the group set about touring the States with a hard dged rock act. Steve sang his heart out on such albums as ‘Rock On’ (1971), ‘Smokin’ (1972) and ‘Thunderbox’ (1975) and yet could not produce any hit singles. It was a source of great chagrin that Rod Stewart, who had replaced him in The Faces, was enjoying the chart success that eludged Marriott.
BREAKING UP
Humble Pie broke up in March 1975 and was replaced by the short-lived outfit Steve Marriott’s All Stars with Clempson and Ridley that attempted an unsuccessful U.S. tour. In 1980 Steve tried to revive Humble Pie with Jerry Shirley but over the next ten years Marriott’s reputation suffered as he sang with pub combos like Packet Of Three to dwindling audiences. One night I saw his name on a billboard while driving past a pub. I strode into a dimly lit back room and there was Steve singing to a handful of fans. When he saw me he rushed over, threw his arms around me and sobbed. The days of the Hollywood Bowl were long gone and so had all his money. Nevertheless, he became chirpy and funny as we chatted in a cramped dressing room. Later we met for an interview and he told me the story of The Small Faces and promised to chat another day about Humble Pie.
Sadly, we never had the chance to finish our conversation. Steve Marriott died in a fire at his country cottage in Essex on April 20, 1991 aged 44. Peter Frampton also had a chequered career beyond Humble Pie. After touring with his own bands he worked with his old school mate David Bowie for a while and was actually in talks about a Humble Pie reunion just before Steve’s tragic death. In the aftermath the Pie’s drummer formed a group with different musicians called Humble Pie featuring Jerry Shirley. He was the only original member as Steve was disheartened by previous attempts at a reformation and wouldn’t join. The group toured America for many years with Charlie Huhn as their lead vocalist. This outfit disbanded when it seemed like Marriott and Frampton would reunite in 1991. There was a reunion however in 2001 when a concert was staged at London’s Astoria to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Marriott’s death. Among those taking part were Peter Frampton, Clem Clempson, Jerry Shirley and Greg Ridley. Jerry reactivated the group for a tour and it would proved to be their last chance to play together as Greg Ridley subsequently died from pneumonia aged 56 on November 19, 2003. Before passing away Greg proudly recalled the heyday of Humble Pie when they played sell out shows in America. ‘We put fear into other bands – we were a little army on stage – ready for battle.’
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 in Those Were The Days.
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