Edgar Broughton Band

Formed in Warwick, England, Edgar Broughton Band arrived on the London underground music scene in 1968. Led by the Broughton brothers, vocalist/guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:7oAJzWGee2beEUbK6tkSXW">Edgar</a> and drummer Steve, and fleshed out by bassist Arthur Grant and guitarist Victor Unitt (who also briefly served with <a href="spotify:artist:5U16QlMnlSAhkQxBZpLyLO">the Pretty Things</a>), they soon signed with the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Harvest%22">Harvest</a> label and issued their debut, Wasa Wasa, a collection of underground electric blues jams anchored by <a href="spotify:artist:7oAJzWGee2beEUbK6tkSXW">Edgar</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:2ebK4ueGwhVaXUm060m1BS">Captain Beefheart</a>-like vocals, in late 1969. The Edgar Broughton Band returned in 1970 with Sing Brother Sing, which reached the U.K. Top 20 and spawned a pair of minor hit singles, "Out Demons Out" and "Apache Drop-Out" (a fusion of <a href="spotify:artist:2ebK4ueGwhVaXUm060m1BS">Beefheart</a>'s "Dropout Boogie" and <a href="spotify:artist:03hfAxVdAWj7kxDnSG0fLD">the Shadows</a>' "Apache"). The group seemed poised for a major commercial breakthrough, but even as their brand of heavy rock was flourishing thanks to groups like <a href="spotify:artist:5M52tdBnJaKSvOpJGz8mfZ">Black Sabbath</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:568ZhdwyaiCyOGJRtNYhWf">Deep Purple</a>, the Broughtons made an about-face, and their music became considerably more quiet and politically charged. Their chart momentum stalled, and a 1971 self-titled effort failed to catch on.

After both 1972's In Side Out and 1973's Oora met a similar fate, the group left <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Harvest%22">Harvest</a> for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22NEMS%22">NEMS</a>. Legal wrangles locked them out of the studio for a number of months, but they finally resurfaced in 1975 -- minus Unitt, who'd been replaced by guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:295ZRQJSZwb8lOX2dSNod8">John Thomas</a> -- with Bandages. A brief breakup followed, but in 1978 they returned with Live Hits Harder. By the release of 1979's Parlez-Vous English?, the group had expanded to a six-piece, formally using the name <a href="spotify:artist:60k5VZbXvNUD8Zs61YqPGz">the Broughtons</a>. Returning to the Edgar Broughton Band moniker, the band became a three-piece for 1982's Superchip, a concept album filled with synthesizers and new wave tempos. Touring continued throughout the '80s, '90s, and 2000s. Drummer Steve Broughton died on May 29, 2022 at the age of 72. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi