The Count Bishops were a British rock band, formed in 1975 in London and which broke up in 1980. The Count Bishops had limited commercial success, but forged an important stylistic and chronological link between the root rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood and the proto punk sound of Eddie and the Hot Rods; together forming the foundation of the pub-rock scene, which influenced the emergence of punk rock. The group made history in England by releasing the first record from independent label Chiswick Records.[1][2][3] They splintered following the death of guitarist Zenon DeFleur on 18 March 1979.
The Count Bishops formed in spring 1975 when members of the group Chrome joined the American vocalist Mike Spenser. In July of that year, Spenser (née Scolnick) called fellow countryman Johnny Guitar from Paris for five days straight and finally convinced him to pack up two Les Pauls and fly to the UK and join up with Spenser and Zenon DeFleur (so named by Johnny after seeing him passed out on the floor at their first recording session). They found Steve Lewins (bass) and Paul Balbi (drums) within a few weeks. The new line-up recorded the next month at Pathway Studios with Barry Farmer at the desk and of these 13 tracks, four became the Speedball EP, the first release of Chiswick Records.
Shortly before the release (on Dutch label Dynamite) of the single "Taking it Easy" (released in the UK as "Train, Train"), Spenser left the band after an incident involving a glass door and his boot. Johnny and Zen handled lead vocals for the next year, including on the Dutch release "Good Gear" on the Dynamite label. After recording the backing tracks for their first LP on Chiswick, they decided to bring over Dave Tice (formerly of Australian band Buffalo).[4] With this lineup, the group finished recording its debut UK album, and toured heavily making a name for themselves and bringing to a new level their traditional influences of the 1960s: beat music (the Beatles, the Rolling Stones) and garage rock (the Standells, the Strangeloves).
For the rest of 1977, the Count Bishops toured continuously (including the support slot on the first Motörhead tour and John Cale's tour that year, as well as their own shows) and built a formidable army of fans - despite the fact that they did not fit the mold considered against the backdrop of old-fashioned punk movement. In the spring of 1978, they signed up for a live album with the participation of six groups of the Chiswick Records roster. The project was not fully realised, but the label released it as a mini-album called Live Bishops, reducing the band name to the Bishops. With this material (and a new bass player Pat McMullan, who replaced Steve Lewins) the Count Bishops toured extensively.
In 1978, two singles ("I Take What I Want" and "I Want Candy") led the Count Bishops to an appearance on the TV show Top of the Pops. A few days after the release of their album Cross Cuts, which had been a year and a half in production, Zenon Hierowski crashed his Aston Martin and died on 17 March 1979, and instead of the anticipated "breakthrough" the Bishops were forced to retrench. They toured with Blitz Krieg (of Blast Furnace fame) deputising for Zen, and then Paul Balbi (drums) was deported back to Australia after returning from a Spanish festival. The band carried on with Charlie Morgan (Tom Robinson Band, Elton John) on drums and just Johnny on guitar for some months, including a tour of Australia with Balbi, but Zen's death had taken much of the impetus away and they split up.[5][6]
"The Count Bishops were a fine, energetic, R&B-based band capable of kicking out a fierce racket of noise that sounded like a grimier version of seminal British R&B revivalists Dr. Feelgood." (John Dougan, Allmusic)[2]
"The sound of the Bishops in sensitive rockabilly mode has a swirling darkness and a restless rhythm, and it rattles by as hellbound as any classic blues locomotive." (Dave Thompson, Allmusic)[10]
"This solid, unpretentious debut album belongs in the home of every fan of English R&B from the Yardbirds to the Pretty Things to Dr. Feelgood." (John Dougan, Allmusic)[8]
"A laconic sneer, a greaseball grind, and one of the hottest guitarists of the age." (Dave Thompson, Allmusic)[9]
Referencesedit
^Roger, Armstrong, Chiswick Records - Early Days, punk77.co.uk, retrieved 18 February 2013
^ abDougan, John. The Count Bishops at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
^Atkinson, Mike (21 January 2010), "Give pub rock another chance", The Guardian, retrieved 18 February 2013
^Donovan, Patrick (6 January 2006), Sticky Carpet, The Age, retrieved 18 February 2013
^Schulps, Dave, Count Bishops, Trouser Press, retrieved 18 February 2013
^Roger, Armstrong (1995), Speedball Plus 11 (1975 multinational, powerful punky boogie pub rock), Rockasteria, retrieved 18 February 2013
^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Rollin' with the Count Bishops at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
^ abDougan, John. The Count Bishops (self titled) at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
^ abThompson, Dave. Speedball Plus 11 at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
^ abThompson, Dave. The Best of the Count Bishops at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
count, bishops, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Count Bishops news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Count Bishops were a British rock band formed in 1975 in London and which broke up in 1980 The Count Bishops had limited commercial success but forged an important stylistic and chronological link between the root rhythm and blues band Dr Feelgood and the proto punk sound of Eddie and the Hot Rods together forming the foundation of the pub rock scene which influenced the emergence of punk rock The group made history in England by releasing the first record from independent label Chiswick Records 1 2 3 They splintered following the death of guitarist Zenon DeFleur on 18 March 1979 The Count BishopsBackground informationOriginLondon EnglandGenresRock indie rock garage punk pub rockYears active1975 1980LabelsChiswick Records LolitaPast membersMike SpenserZenon HierowskiBrian TurringtonBob BurgusRob MurlyDave RotchelleJohnny GuitarDave TicePaul BalbiPat McMullanSteve Lewins Contents 1 History 2 Discography 2 1 EPs 2 2 Albums 2 3 Compilation albums 3 Reception 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe Count Bishops formed in spring 1975 when members of the group Chrome joined the American vocalist Mike Spenser In July of that year Spenser nee Scolnick called fellow countryman Johnny Guitar from Paris for five days straight and finally convinced him to pack up two Les Pauls and fly to the UK and join up with Spenser and Zenon DeFleur so named by Johnny after seeing him passed out on the floor at their first recording session They found Steve Lewins bass and Paul Balbi drums within a few weeks The new line up recorded the next month at Pathway Studios with Barry Farmer at the desk and of these 13 tracks four became the Speedball EP the first release of Chiswick Records Shortly before the release on Dutch label Dynamite of the single Taking it Easy released in the UK as Train Train Spenser left the band after an incident involving a glass door and his boot Johnny and Zen handled lead vocals for the next year including on the Dutch release Good Gear on the Dynamite label After recording the backing tracks for their first LP on Chiswick they decided to bring over Dave Tice formerly of Australian band Buffalo 4 With this lineup the group finished recording its debut UK album and toured heavily making a name for themselves and bringing to a new level their traditional influences of the 1960s beat music the Beatles the Rolling Stones and garage rock the Standells the Strangeloves For the rest of 1977 the Count Bishops toured continuously including the support slot on the first Motorhead tour and John Cale s tour that year as well as their own shows and built a formidable army of fans despite the fact that they did not fit the mold considered against the backdrop of old fashioned punk movement In the spring of 1978 they signed up for a live album with the participation of six groups of the Chiswick Records roster The project was not fully realised but the label released it as a mini album called Live Bishops reducing the band name to the Bishops With this material and a new bass player Pat McMullan who replaced Steve Lewins the Count Bishops toured extensively In 1978 two singles I Take What I Want and I Want Candy led the Count Bishops to an appearance on the TV show Top of the Pops A few days after the release of their album Cross Cuts which had been a year and a half in production Zenon Hierowski crashed his Aston Martin and died on 17 March 1979 and instead of the anticipated breakthrough the Bishops were forced to retrench They toured with Blitz Krieg of Blast Furnace fame deputising for Zen and then Paul Balbi drums was deported back to Australia after returning from a Spanish festival The band carried on with Charlie Morgan Tom Robinson Band Elton John on drums and just Johnny on guitar for some months including a tour of Australia with Balbi but Zen s death had taken much of the impetus away and they split up 5 6 Discography editEPs edit Speedball 1975 Rollin with the Count Bishops 2006 7 Albums edit The Count Bishops 1977 8 Good Gear 1977 Live 1978 Cross Cuts 1979 Speedball Plus 11 1995 9 Compilation albums edit The Best of the Count Bishops 1995 10 Reception edit The Count Bishops were a fine energetic R amp B based band capable of kicking out a fierce racket of noise that sounded like a grimier version of seminal British R amp B revivalists Dr Feelgood John Dougan Allmusic 2 The sound of the Bishops in sensitive rockabilly mode has a swirling darkness and a restless rhythm and it rattles by as hellbound as any classic blues locomotive Dave Thompson Allmusic 10 This solid unpretentious debut album belongs in the home of every fan of English R amp B from the Yardbirds to the Pretty Things to Dr Feelgood John Dougan Allmusic 8 A laconic sneer a greaseball grind and one of the hottest guitarists of the age Dave Thompson Allmusic 9 References edit Roger Armstrong Chiswick Records Early Days punk77 co uk retrieved 18 February 2013 a b Dougan John The Count Bishops at AllMusic Retrieved 18 February 2013 Atkinson Mike 21 January 2010 Give pub rock another chance The Guardian retrieved 18 February 2013 Donovan Patrick 6 January 2006 Sticky Carpet The Age retrieved 18 February 2013 Schulps Dave Count Bishops Trouser Press retrieved 18 February 2013 Roger Armstrong 1995 Speedball Plus 11 1975 multinational powerful punky boogie pub rock Rockasteria retrieved 18 February 2013 Erlewine Stephen Thomas Rollin with the Count Bishops at AllMusic Retrieved 18 February 2013 a b Dougan John The Count Bishops self titled at AllMusic Retrieved 18 February 2013 a b Thompson Dave Speedball Plus 11 at AllMusic Retrieved 18 February 2013 a b Thompson Dave The Best of the Count Bishops at AllMusic Retrieved 18 February 2013 External links editThe Count Bishops discography at Discogs Homepage out of date Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Count Bishops amp oldid 1188484140, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
