The Classic Years 
Alvin Lee Ric Lee Chick Churchill Leo Lyons
Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart.In addition they have had twelve albums enter the US Billboard 200, and are best known for their tracks "I'm Going Home", "Hear Me Calling", "I'd Love To Change the World" and "Love Like a Man".
After several years of local success in the Nottingham/Mansfield area as a band known since 1962 as The Jaybirds (its core was formed in late 1960 as Ivan Jay and the Jaycats), and later as Ivan Jay and the Jaymen, Ten Years After was founded by Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons. Ivan Jay sang lead vocals from late 1960 to 1962 and was joined by Ric Lee in August 1965, replacing drummer Dave Quickmire, who had replaced Pete Evans in 1962. In 1966 The Jaybirds moved to London, where Chick Churchill joined the group. That November the quartet signed a manager, Chris Wright, and decided to change its name to Blues Trip, Blues Yard (under which they played a show at the Marquee Club supporting theBonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band), and finally in November 1966, to Ten Years After (in honor of Elvis Presley, an idol of Lee's whose momentous year in rock, 1956, helps to better explain the band's title). The group became the first act booked by the soon-to-be Chrysalis Agency. It secured a residency at the Marquee, and received an invitation to play at the Windsor Jazz Festival in 1967. That performance led to a contract withDeram, a subsidiary of Decca – the first band so signed without a hit single. In October, its 1967 self-titled debut album was released.
History
In 1968, after touring Scandinavia and the United States, Ten Years After released its second album, live Undead, which brought the noteworthy, "I'm Going Home". This was followed in February 1969 by the studio issue, Stonedhenge, a British hit, that included another well known track, "Hear Me Calling" (it was released also as a single, and covered in 1972 by the British glam rock rising stars, Slade). In July 1969 the group appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, in the first event to which rock bands were invited. In August, the band performed a breakthrough American appearance at Woodstock; their rendition of "I'm Going Home" featuring Alvin Lee as lead singer, was featured in both the subsequent film and soundtrack album and catapulted them to star status.
During 1970, Ten Years After released "Love Like a Man", the group's only hit in the UK Singles Chart. This song was on the band's fifth album, Cricklewood Green. The name of the album comes from a friend of the group who lived in Cricklewood, London. He grew a sort of plant which was said to have hallucinogenic effects. The band did not know the name of this plant, so the members called their album Cricklewood Green. It was the first record to be issued with a different playing speed on each side – one a three-minute edit at 45rpm, the other, a nine-minute live version at 33rpm. In August 1970, Ten Years After played the Strawberry Fields Festival near Toronto, and the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.
In 1971, the band released the album A Space in Time, which marked a move toward more commercial material. It featured the group's biggest hit, "I'd Love To Change The World". But the band broke up after the 1974 album Positive Vibrations. The members re-united in 1983 to play the Reading Festival, and this performance was later released on CD as The Friday Rock Show Sessions - Live At Reading '83' . In 1988, the members re-united for a few concerts and recorded the album About Time (1989). Finally, in 1994, they participated in theEurowoodstock festival in Budapest.
Alvin Lee has since then mostly played and recorded under his own name. In 2004, the other band members replaced him with Joe Gooch, and recorded the album, Now. Material from the following tour was used for the 2005 double album, Roadworks. Ric Lee is currently in a band called The Breakers, along with Ian Ellis (ex-Clouds).
Band members
- Alvin Lee – guitar, vocals, harp; born Graham Barnes, 19 December 1944, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire.
- Leo Lyons – bass; born David William Lyons, 30 November 1943, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
- Chick Churchill – keyboards; born Michael George Churchill, 2 January 1946, Mold, Flintshire, North Wales.
- Ric Lee – drums; born Richard Lee, 20 October 1945, Cannock, Staffordshire.
- Joe Gooch – guitar, vocals; born 3 May 1977, Highbury, London (joined in 2003).
Discography
Studio and live albums
| Ten Years After | 1967 | |
| Undead | 1968 | |
| Stonedhenge | 1969 | |
| Ssssh | 1969 | |
| Cricklewood Green | 1970 | |
| Watt | 1970 | |
| A Space in Time | 1971 | |
| Alvin Lee And Company | 1972 | |
| Rock & Roll Music To The World | 1972 | |
| Recorded Live (double album) | 1973 | |
| Positive Vibrations | 1974 | |
| About Time | 1989 | |
| Live At The Fillmore East 1970 (double live album) | 2001 | |
| Now | 2004 | |
| Roadworks (double live album) | 2005 | |
| Evolution | 2008 | |
| Live at Fiesta City (live DVD) | 2009 |
Compilations
- Double Deluxe (1970)
- Ten Years After (1971)
- Classic Performances (1976)
- Goin' Home (1977)
- Greatest Hits (1977)
- Profile (1979)
- Ten Years After (1980)
- Timewarps (1983)
- The Collection (1985)
- At Their Peak (1987)
- Universal Music Co. (Classic Rock Gold – 2 discs) (1987)
- Portfolio - A History (1988)
- The Collection (1991)
- Essential (1991)
- Pure Blues (1995)
- I'm Going Home (1996)
- Premium Gold Collection (1998)
- The Best of (2000)
- Very Best Ten Years After Album Ever (2001)
- Ten Years After Anthology (2002)
Bibliography
- The New Musical Express Book of Rock, Star Books, 1975. ISBN 0 352 300744.
- Paytress, Mark (January 1997). "Ten Years After". Record Collector (221): 84-89.
Ten years after
| TEN YEARS AFTER Now |
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| LEO LYONS | RIC LEE | CHICK CHURCHILL | JOE GOOCH |
24. September 2009
Photos by Thomas Henzler
TEN YEARS AFTER - Love Like A Man
Formado por Alvin Lee, Leo Lyons, Chick Churchill e Ric Lee, em 1967, o Ten Years After iniciou sua entrada no hall da fama do rock no lendário Club Marquee de Londres. Uma apresentação apoteótica num domingo à noite no clube foi suficiente para torná-los revelação de 1967. O grupo foi convidado a participar do WindsorJazz and Blues Festival, em 1967, onde roubou a cena do festival e, com isto, marcou sua entrada no show business.
No outono de 1967, a banda assinou contrato com a gravadora Decca e gravou seu primeiro álbum. Comlançamento simultâneo nos Estados Unidos, o impacto foi suficiente para o promotor de eventos Bill Graham levá-los para fazerem o show no lendário Fillmore West, famoso reduto de rock dos anos 60/70. Através desta primeira tour nos Estados Unidos a banda ganhou notoriedade e chamou atenção pelo virtuosismo de seu jovem guitarrista, Alvin Lee. Tocando de uma forma singular Alvin cativava a platéia com seus solos e sua rapidez no instrumento, o que o levou várias vezes a ser indicado como o melhor guitarrista dos festivais por onde se apresentavam.
Rapidamente o grupo fez grande sucesso, sendo sempre considerado a atração principal por todos os locais por onde se apresentava. Em 1969 tocaram no festival Woodstock, onde estavam os maiores nomes do rock da época, entre eles, JIMI HENDRIX, The Who e muitos outros. Mesmo com uma quantidade enorme de grupos consagrados no festival, o Ten Years After foi convidado para o encerramento de uma das noites, parte nobre dos eventos. Junto com JIMI HENDRIX, Alvin Lee foi considerado o melhor guitarrista do festival. levando o Ten Years After a colocar um de seus singles no Top 10 das paradas americanas.
Entre 1968 e 1975 o grupo realizou 28 tours pelos Estados Unidos, e um número ainda superior na Europa e Asia. Durante este período, os maiores sucessos foram “Love Like a Man” (Top 10 nos USA e Inglaterra), “I´d Love to Change the World” (Top 10 na Inglaterra e Top 20 nos USA) e o grande hit de Woodstock, “I´m going Home”, que chegou a obter o primeiro lugar de execução nas rádios americanas por 18 semanas entre 1969 e 1970.
Em 1975, cansados das tours e devido a um desgaste natural de relacionamento, o grupo resolveu se desfazer. Seus integrantes buscariam seus próprios caminhos. Inevitavelmente, Alvin Lee usou toda sua popularidade para desenvolver sua carreira solo.
Em 1983, ano em que o Marquee Club completou 25 anos, a banda foi convidada a realizar uma série de shows comemorativos. Novamente os resultados e a aclamação do público foram surpreendentes, porém nem isto foi suficiente para reintegrá-los como grupo novamente.
Em 1988 uma proposta milionária dos produtores de festivais alemães, convenceu os músicos a se unirem para se apresentarem em 4 festivais. Novamente os resultados foram surpreendentes e o grupo resolveu gravar um disco pela Columbia Records/Chrysalis, “About Time”. O sucesso do disco levou-os a realizar uma tour pelos USA e Europa para uma série limitada de shows.
Em 1994, a banda novamente reuniu-se para as comemorações dos 25 anos do Festival Woodstock , onde gravaram sua apresentação ao vivo para a coletânea do festival.
Em 1997, comemorando seus 30 anos de carreira, a banda lança pela Chrysalis um CD comemorativo chamado “Solid rock”, que será lançado durante sua tour pelo Brasil pela EMI / CRYSALIS. O disco possui uma seleção dos melhores momentos da carreira do grupo além de três faixas inéditas.
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