Another formative influence on him was the British blues harmonica player Cyril Davies (who would die in 1964 aged 31). “I used to go and see him at the Marquee Club,” said McPhee. “Somebody said something about this R&B band and they were there every Thursday and they were just magic.” He never seemed fond of the spotlight. The Groundhogs sold a lot of records in the early 70s: after supporting the Rolling Stones on their 1971 UK tour, they found themselves subsequently filling the same venues as headliners. But to the end of his life, McPhee maintained that the highlight of his career wasn’t their run of Top 10 albums but the time he had spent in the 60s as a sideman with John Lee Hooker. He downplayed his shift from playing straight blues to something more experimental as merely a matter of pragmatism – “to keep the Groundhogs working and recording” when the late 60s blues boom began to wane – which didn’t really account for how far out he was prepared to take his music. Plenty of blues players diverted into heavier territory, but few released a 19-minute conceptual synthesiser piece bemoaning the cruelty of foxhunting and “the English upper classes … [who] I loathe”. The Bluesbreakers and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac were resuscitating the British blues scene and in 1968 Liberty Records’ young head of A&R, Andrew Lauder, asked McPhee to re-form his old band. He was married twice before, to Christine Payne, with whom he had a son, Conan, and Susan Harrison, with whom he had a son, Vincent. Both marriages ended in divorce. Joanna survives him, as do his children, two grandchildren, Scarlett and Victor, and his sister Olive.

The Groundhog’s’ acclaimed 1970 album Thank Christ for the Bomb, which saw the band move away from the blues Groundhogs". BBC. 2005 . Retrieved 20 October 2023. : Recorded on 14 May 1970 at Paris Cinema, London; broadcast on 24 May 1970; "Eccentric Man", "Garden", "Unknown Title", "Catfish";Unterberger, Richie. "Groundhogs – Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network . Retrieved 28 October 2016. Breaking from their traditional influences, the first stepping stone for the power trio who would blossom with ‘Thank Christ For the Bomb’, ‘Split’ and ‘Who Will Save The World?’. Undaunted, McPhee continued to take the band in a more progressive direction, adding an ARP 2600 synthesiser to their musical armoury. And following the departure of Pustelnik, the band’s new drummer was none other than Clive Brooks from Canterbury scene stalwarts Egg, who had supported the Groundhogs on tour. “Clive was a lovely man and there was a lot less stress involved with getting together on time playing and touring,” says McPhee. “He was a powerful player who suited the times and new material that I was writing.” The group's personnel continued to be changed; a live album Who Said Cherry Red? was recorded with Pete Chymon (bass) and Dale Iviss (drums) at a "secret location" in 1996, and two studio albums with Eric Chipulina and Pete Correa, Hogs in Wolf's Clothing (1998) in tribute of Howlin' Wolf and The Muddy Waters Song Book (1999) in tribute of Muddy Waters were released, being the last studio recordings issued as The Groundhogs.

a b c d e f Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (Seconded.). Guinness Publishing. p.155. ISBN 0-85112-656-1.Blues Night: Bob Bowles with the legendary Groundhogs Rhythm Section! – Saturday 19 February 2011 at 19:30 | Riffs Bar – Live Originals & Covers Music Venue in Swindon, Wiltshire". Riffs Bar. 19 February 2011 . Retrieved 7 March 2012. a b c d BBC Live In Concert (Media notes). Strange Fruit Records. 2002. :"Cherry Red" and "Split Part 1" from 24 February 1972; "You Had A Lesson", "3-7-4-4 James Road", "Sad Is The Hunter", "Split Part 2" and "Split Part 4" from 7 December 1972; "Ship On The Ocean" and "Soldier" from 23 May 1974 The beginning of their domination as the hardest working band on the circuit, a testament to their creativity as they re-tooled the blues into a neo-psyche groove. a b Andrew Male (7 June 2023). "Tony McPhee And Groundhogs: The Best Albums Ranked". Mojo . Retrieved 22 October 2023. a b c The Radio 1 Sessions (Media notes). Strange Fruit Records. 2002. : "Garden" from 21 July 1970; "Still A Fool" and "Cherry Red" from 17 February 1971; "Eccentric Man" and "Split Part 1" from 29 March 1971; "Split Part 2" and "Mistreated" from 26 July 1971

BBC Live In Concert (2002, Strange Fruit) from 24 February 1972, 7 December 1972 and 23 May 1974. [12] Music Classic Concert - The Groundhogs". BBC. 2017 . Retrieved 21 October 2021. "Ship On My Ocean"; "I Love Miss Ogyny"; "Free From All Alarm"; "Dog Me Bitch"; "Light My Light" [PH]; "Soldier"; "Sins Of The Father" [PH] - introductions by Mike Harding; credited as from Paris Theatre 1974, except [PH] Playhouse Theatre 23 May 1974 I think it was own fault that I didn’t get on in the same way,” reflected McPhee. “I think I had something different, but I just couldn’t be bothered; it was good enough for me to drift along. Groundhogs". BBC. 2005 . Retrieved 20 October 2023. : Recorded on 29 February 1972 at Maida Vale 4; broadcast on 14 March 1972; "Earth Is Not Room Enough", "Music Is The Food Of Thought", "Bogroll Blues" The Radio 1 Sessions (2002, Strange Fruit) from 21 July 1970, 17 February 1971, 29 March 1971 and 26 July 1971. [8]

The Groundhogs “Split”

Clarke, Patricia (5 August 2021). "High On The Hogs: Artists On The Genius Of The Groundhogs". theQuietus . Retrieved 27 December 2021. In 1966, the Groundhogs evolved into Herbal Mixture, which (as if you couldn’t guess from the name) had more of a psychedelic flavor than a blues one. Their sole single, “Machines,” would actually appear on psychedelic rarity compilations decades later. The Groundhogs/Herbal Mixture singles, along with some unreleased material, has been compiled on a reissue CD on Distortions. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2016) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Inspired by a Yardbirds’ freak out, hearing authentic Indian drumming and the magic that existed between this legendary trio, ‘Blues Obituary’ is a juggernaut of riffs. BBC Radio One Live In Concert (1994, Windsong International) from 24 February 1972 and 23 May 1974. [10]

The strength of their performances led to John Lee Hooker dubbing them the “number one British blues band” and further gigs with other blues icons soon followed, including stints with Little Walter and Jimmy Reed.In 2003, original manager Roy Fisher put together a short-lived 'original line-up' to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. McPhee left the band to pursue an acoustic career, embarking on a major tour in 2004 with Edgar Winter and Alvin Lee and issued an acoustic blues album Blues at Ten. Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs was promoted in 1972 with BBC Radio In Concert broadcast on 24 February, [10] and session on 29 February at Maida Vale 4 for John Peel. [11] [12] Rye left the band leaving them as a power trio to record Blues Obituary (September 1969), [2] titled after McPhee "realised that the audience for 12-bar blues was dwindling". [3] A single from the album " B.D.D." (Blind Deaf Dumb), flopped in the UK but peaked at number one in Lebanon. [1] The LP which actually achieved that milestone was ‘Thank Christ For The Bomb’, released in 1970, which peaked in the Top 10 of the UK album chart. In 1997, McPhee recalled the circumstances behind the album with the attention-grabbing title, which ran against fashionable philosophy at the time (although some say that fearsome weapons like the Atom Bomb and the Hydrogen Bomb are the major reason for it being over 50 years since the last World War). McPhee refuses to take the entire credit for this revolutionary theory, admitting: “Well, it was forced on me a bit”. Roy Fisher suggested that McPhee should think of something controversial for the new LP. “John Lennon had just made his famous quote about The Beatles being more popular than Christ, and everyone was up in arms. So Roy said ‘Let’s marry it up with the bomb. How about ‘Thank Christ For The Bomb?’. So I went home and I had to write these lyrics, and my initial thoughts were that in the First World War, if you were injured you were sent home. And that was my first idea – a soldier is blown up and his toes are blown off so he goes home again. No, that’s not enough. So I thought, well, let’s make it the atomic bomb, really piss people off. My thought was, and it’s been said by other people, that once something is invented you can’t forget it, it’s there, so there’s no point in trying to pretend it doesn’t exist. I always felt that through the ages, the broadsword must have been the ultimate weapon at one point, because they could chop people’s heads off all over the place, and the crossbow and the longbow – there’s always been the ultimate weapon, it’s just a question of degree, really”. a b c Groundhogs On Air 1970-72 (Media notes). Strange Fruit Records. 1998. : "Garden" from 21 July 1970; "Eccentric Man", "Split Part 1" from 29 March 1971; "Split Part 2", "Mistreated" from 26 July 1971; "I Love You Miss Ogyny", "You Had A Lesson", "Earth Shanty", "3744 James Road", "Sad Is The Hunter", "Split Part 4", "Cherry Red" from 7 December 1972