Dog Soldier (3)

UK mid-70s rock band. Dog Soldier were put together in mid-1974 by the renowned drummer Keef Hartley with two musicians with whom he had already previously played - the guitarist Miller Anderson (Keef Hartley Band) and the guitarist Derek Griffiths (Artwood) - plus the lesser knowns Paul Bliss (bass) and Mel Simpson (keyboards). The name of the group was taken from the Native American cultural tradition, which has always been a distinctive feature of Keef Hartley's history. The band signed to United Artists, which immediately began to push to produce a more commercial album compared to the different expectations of the quintet. Obviously all this generated tension and disagreements between the record label and the band. Dog Soldier recorded the album in late 74 at Island's Basing Street Studios in London which was later issued in June 1975. The music of the group is a warm and enveloping rock-blues with funky and hard veins. Infortunately Miller Anderson was hospitalised in January 1975 suffering from peritonitis, causing the cancellation of Dog Soldier's five scheduled UK gigs in that month. In the meantime a schism of sorts quickly developed between old stagers Hartley, Anderson and Griffiths on the one hand, and newbies Simpson and Bliss on the other. At this point inexorably the story took an increasingly worse turn, leading the band to an inevitable dissolution. Miller Anderson - Vocals, Guitar Keef Hartley - Drums Mel Simpson - Keyboards, Vocals Derek Griffiths - Guitar, Vocals Paul Bliss - Bass, Vocals