Fat Grapple

Fat Grapple were a progressive rock band - often showing folk leanings - who were formed in the North-West of England in the early 1970's. Best known for featuring a young Eddie Jobson on violin and keyboards, the band are sometimes considered as contemporaries of Curved Air or East of Eden. When Jobson was 17 in 1972, Fat Grapple supported Curved Air and shortly afterwards Jobson left Fat Grapple to replace Darryl Way in that band. Other band members included Nick Liddell (bass guitar), John Saxby (vocals, percussion and theatrics), Rob Wilkinson (drums), Lionel Gibson (lead guitar), Phil Welton (vocals, guitar). Later members included Steve Bowers (drums) and John Prior (violin, keyboards and flute). The band seem to be particularly well remembered in the Sunderland area, where they often gigged at venues like the Locarno Ballroom and the Mecca. Song titles included 'The Whaling Song', 'Requiem', 'Mister' (a short paean to Phil Welton's dad!), 'Hava Nagila', 'Vun Choo', 'The Opener', 'Happy in the Lord', 'My Friends' and 'The Ballad of Skinhead Sandy'. They are also known to have performed the Curved Air track 'Vivaldi' at gigs as a showcase for Jobson. The band recorded a BBC session for Pete Drummond on 12/7/72 (broadcast 27/7/72) and again for John Peel on 2/7/73 (broadcast 5/7/73). The bands sole release, a 45 coupling 'Happy in the Lord' and 'My Friends' was issued by BeeB records in 1975, but was curiously also issued as a Phil Welton solo 45 in the same year, suggesting the band may have split around this time. John Saxby and Lionel Gibson later collaborated with members of Cirkus (4) in the band Future Shock (one album released in 1977).