More famed for his time in the Sensational Alex Harvey Band (SAHB), and tragically dying of a heart attack on 4th February 1982, a day short of his 47th birthday, in Zeebrugge, Belgium, Alex Harvey was considered too be one of the best showmen on the pop circuit.
Born in Govan, Glasgow, on the 5th February 1935, legend has it that Alex Harvey had over 36 jobs before setting out on a career as a performer and started of playing the trumpet circa 1955, before he moved to a singer/songwriter. After several name changes they decided on the Alex Harvey Soul Band circa 1962. It was considered at the time, that the Scottish R+B scene was a few years ahead of artists such as Georgie Fame and his Blueflames, and Graham Bond, but as these artists were London based they got the recognition for being the pioneers of this sound.
In 1963 Alex Harvey leaves Scotland for Germany and is playing clubs in Hamburg like “The Top Ten Club” as there isn’t enough work for him here, and by all accounts built up an atmosphere with the crowd at his gigs, considered to be way ahead of anything better than what the Merseybeat sound could offer.
Polydor signed up Harvey, but his original band were back in Scotland, and so the backing band, was mainly members from Kingsize Taylor And The Dominoes, mainly due too the fact it was contractual and sadly we never get to hear the real Soul Band. What was put out was an LP for the German market, and so it never got the acclaim it richly deserved.
It wasn’t until February 1964 that The Soul Band debuted in Londons Jazz Club, 100 Oxford Street and further gigs in Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow followed. A second LP was recorded in Hamburg in June 1964 and was recorded over two days. By 1965 the band was in debt and disbanded, but recorded an excellent version of Edwin Starr’s soul classic “Agent 00 Soul” but unfortunately that sound wasn’t commercial enough and the song didn’t chart.
Alex Harvey returned to Scotland in 1966, musically a different place to the one he left three years earlier and was now embittered about the way his music career was heading. Another 45 was soon released, this time a version of “Work Song” and sadly yet again never made any impression on the charts.
This was to be the same outcome for Harvey over the next few years until the formation of the SAHB. These two classic Alex Harvey 45s “Agent 00 Soul” and “Work Song” are hear for all too enjoy, and to give an insight to what was being played on the Scottish club scene in the mid 1960s. There is a book by an Edinburgh publisher on the life of Alex Harvey, they have recognised the glasgowmods.co.uk appreciation for the band. If your interested in buying the book you can get here BirLinn Publishers.
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