From rock ’n’ roll and raw R&B to soul, psychedelia and progressive rock, the Eel Pie Island hotel venue heard British music evolving in real time.
A tiny island on the Thames became a proving ground for emerging groups, American blues legends and future stars.
Across 80 tracks, this set traces how British rock and pop absorbed, transformed and moved beyond its American influences.
At the beginning of the 1960s, British rock ’n’ roll was already giving way to something tougher. Tony Holland & The Packabeats, Mike Berry with The Outlaws, Cliff Bennett and Screaming Lord Sutch still belonged to the Joe Meek era, but by 1963 the Yardbirds, Cyril Davies, Downliners Sect, Long John Baldry and John Mayall were bringing Chicago blues and R&B into the clubs.
As the decade progressed, that sound widened. Graham Bond and Brian Auger introduced jazz and the Hammond organ, while Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Herbie Goins, The Mike Cotton Sound and The Alan Bown Set reflected the growing influence of American soul.
Cream’s ‘Cat’s Squirrel’ then showed blues turning heavier, as freakbeat and psychedelia began to dissolve the old boundaries.
By 1967 and 1968, the musical landscape had changed again. The Foundations brought soul into mainstream British pop; Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack and Ten Years After pushed blues towards heavier rock; Fairport Convention pointed towards folk rock; and Blossom Toes, Arthur Brown, July and Jade Hexagram entered the psychedelic underground, while The Nice and Colosseum carried jazz, classical ideas and blues into the emerging progressive era.
Eel Pie Island did not create every one of these changes, but it became one of the places where they could be heard as they happened. These eighty tracks form a history of a remarkable venue and a compact history of British rock and pop discovering what it could become.
TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
1. Tony Holland & The Packabeats – Sidewalk Time G.B.
2. Mike Berry With The Outlaws – It’s So Easy
3. Cliff Bennett And The Rebel Rousers – I Get Up In The Morning
4. Screaming Lord Sutch – Jack The Ripper (Alt Intro)
5. Mike Forde & The Fortunes – Sweet Little Rhythm And Blues
6. The Yardbirds – I Wish You Would
7. Cyril Davies And His Rhythm & Blues All Stars – Chicago Calling
8. The Blue Flames – J.A. Blues
9. Downliners Sect – Be A Sect Maniac
10. Long John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men – You’ll Be Mine
11. Rod Stewart & P. P. Arnold – Come Home Baby
12. Bo Street Runners – Shame, Shame, Shame
13. Jimmy Powell & The Dimensions – Love Me Right
14. John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers – Mr. James
15. Manfred Mann – Cock-A-Hoop
16. Sonny Boy Williamson II – Don’t Start Me Talkin’ (Live 1963)
17. The Animals – Baby Let Me Take You Home
18. The Others – Oh Yeah!
19. Jimmy Reed – Help Yourself (Live 1964)
20. Jimmy Page – She Just Satisfies
21. The Artwoods – If I Ever Get My Hands On You
22. Memphis Slim Ft. Alexis Korner – Sun Gonna Shine On My Backdoor Someday
23. The Second Thoughts – Seventh Son
24. Little Walter – I'm A Business Man
25. The Soul Agents – I Just Wanna Make Love To You
26. Howlin' Wolf – Love Me Darlin' (Single Version)
27. Graham Bond Organisation – Tell Me (I’m Gonna Love Again)
28. The Creed – You've Had It So Good
29. Steampacket – Oh Baby, Don’t You Do It
DISC TWO
1. The Fairies – Don’t Mind
2. Buddy Guy – Let Me Love You Baby
3. The Mickey Finn – Night Comes Down
4. Champion Jack Dupree Ft. Jimmy Page – Track Number Nine
5. Dave Anthony’s Moods – New Directions
6. Jimmy James & The Vagabonds – Come To Me Softly
7. The Nightimers Featuring Herbie Goins – The Music Played On
8. The Worrying Kynde – Call Out My Name
9. The Herd – It’s Been A Long Time Baby
10. Phillip Goodhand-Tait & The Stormsville Shakers – Gettin’ Ready
11. Jimmy Witherspoon – Good Rockin’ Tonight
12. Mike Stuart Span – Rescue Me
13. Alan Price Set – Iechyd-Da
14. The Tea Set – Join The Tea Set
15. The Mark Leeman Five – Gather Up The Pieces
16. The Mike Cotton Sound – Like That
17. Wynder K Frog – Zooming
18. Soul System – Zilly Zally’s Room (Demo)
19. The V.I.P.’s – I Wanna Be Free
20. Cream – Cat's Squirrel
21. The Alan Bown Set – Baby Don’t Push Me
22. Ronnie Jones And The Blue Jays – Satisfy My Soul
23. Alexis Korner – Everyday (I Have The Blues)
24. John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers w/ Paul Butterfield – Ridin' On The L And N
25. Savoy Brown Blues Band – I Tried
26. Brian Auger Feat. Julie Driscoll – Save Me
27. David Essex – Thigh High
28. The Tribe – The Gamma Goochie
DISC THREE
1. Dr. K’s Blues Band – Walking
2. Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede – Crazy Feeling
3. The Fantastic Freddy Mack Show – Bare Footin’
4. Amboy Dukes – Judy In Disguise
5. The Foundations – Jerkin’ The Dog
6. Ten Years After – The Sounds
7. John Lee Hooker – Crawling King Snake
8. In Crowd – Blow Up
9. Fairport Convention – If (Stomp)
10. Root & Jenny Jackson – Lean On Me
11. The Web – Baby Won't You Leave Me Alone
12. Chicken Shack – It’s Ok With Me Baby
13. Blossom Toes – When The Alarm Clock Rings
14. Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Devil’s Grip
15. Jade Hexagram – Crushed Purple
16. The Nice – The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack
17. The Action – Brain
18. The Moody Blues – He Can Win
19. Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera – Mother Writes
20. July – Friendly Man (The Second Of July Version)
21. Colosseum – I Can’t Live Without You (Demo – November 1968)
22. Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments – Sandcastle (Morgan Studios 1968)
23. Hawkwind Zoo – Hurry On Sundown
