Eire Apparent was formed as The People in early 1967, in Blackpool, Lancs by Ernie Graham vocals, guitar (born Ernest Harold Graham, 1.4.1946, in Belfast, Antrim, Northern Ireland died 29.4.2001) (ex Tony and the Telstars); Chris Stewart bass (born Eric Christopher Stewart) (ex Tony and the Telstars); Henry McCullough lead guitar (born 21.7.1943, in Portstewart, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland) (ex The Sky Rockets, Gene and the Gents) and Dave Lutton drums (born William David Lutton) (ex Tony and the Telstars). (see Tony and the Telstars).  

 

By the early summer the band had gone to back to Ireland - to Dublin this time, where the local scene had eventually taken off. Such was the difference in their music that within 3 months they were voted top local band. The scene was still small though and by spring of 1967 it was time to move again. This time they went straight to London (Sep? 1967) - and starved again, living in a van parked in Camden Town. The bands fortunes changed in the early summer when they ran into their ex manager Dave Robinson (born in 1942, in Dublin, Co Dublin), who promised to get them a couple of gigs. These were the Speakesy Club and more importantly the UFO Club, the same night as Procol Harum, coming on after them. They soon ha about six of the top British managers knocking at their dressing room door say not to sign to anyone until you have spoken to them. In the end they were signed up within 24 hours by Mike Jeffery, who along with Chas Chandler (born Bryan James Chandler, 18.12.1938, in Heaton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumbs died 17.7.1996) (ex Animals bass player) were the managers of Jimi Hendrix and The Soft Machine. The band then changed their name again - Jeffrey wanted to exploit their Irish dimension and his wife came up with the new name - Eire Apparent.

 

In short order the band were doing prestigious supports at the Saville Theatre in London and Olympia in Paris and on Tues 14.11.1967 they joined what amounted to be the last great UK package tour with The Move, The Pink Floyd, The Nice, Amen Corner, The Outer Limits and, of course, Hendrix himself. This was The Jimi Hendrix Tour, their second proper UK tour. On Tues 14.11.1967 Eire Apparent played The Alchemical Wedding, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, West London (the opening night); on Wed 15.11.1967, at The Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, Dorset; on Frid 17.11.1967, at The City Hall, Sheffield, Yorks; on Sat 18.11.1967, at The Empire Theatre, Liverpool, Lancs; on Sun 19.11.1967, at The Coventry Theatre, Coventry, Warks; on Wed 22.11.1967, at Guildhall, Portsmouth, Hants; on Thur 23.11.1967, at The Sophia Gardens Pavilion, Cardiff, Glamorgan, South Wales; on Frid 24.11.1967, at Colston Hall, Bristol, Somerset; on Sat 25.11.1967, at The Opera House, Blackpool, Lancs; on Sun 26.11.1967, at The Palace Theatre, Manchester, Lancs; on Mon 27.11.1967, at The Festival '67, The Whitla Hall, Queens College, Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. On Tues 28.11.1967, The Hendrix tour flew from Belfast to Gatwick. The tour continued, on Frid 1.12.1967, at The Central Hall, Chatham, Kent; on Sat 2.12.1967, at The Dome Brighton, Sussex; on Sun 3.12.1967, at The Theatre Royal, Nottingham, Notts; on Mon 4.12.1967, at The City Hall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumbs; on Tues 5.12.1967, at Green's Playhouse, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland (final date of The Hendrix second proper UK Tour). 

 

Things started to look really good for Eire Apparent and at the end of the tour the band went into the studio and cut their debut single for Track Records, 'Follow Me' / 'Here I Go Again' (Truck 604 019, Jan 1968). This was a non-hit, but 1968 proved to be their most successful year. At the beginning of Feb they flew to the States, basically as support to either Hendrix or Eric Burdon and the Animals. Their first gig was on Frid 9.2.1968, at The Anaheim Convention Centre, Anaheim, California, with both acts and The Soft Machine. Subsequently they toured with The Animals up until the end of May. Although technically the support, they built up a solid following playing to huge audiences and making a substantial amount of money.

 

They returned to Europe - briefly - to play at the riot torn Beat Monster Festival, in Zurich (Thur 30th May 1968) before heading back to the States and eventually joining up with Hendrix at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium on the 17th of Aug 1968, and playing with him and The Soft Machine. They went onto play on most of his subsequent gigs until late Sep 1968 (not middle of Oct as stated in the Eire Apparent CD). Other gigs were on Sun 18.8.1968, at Curtis Hixton Hall, Tampa, Florida; on Tues 20.8.1968, at The Mosque, Richmond, Virginia; on Wed 21.8.1968, at The Civic Dome, Virginia Beach, California (these all with The Soft Machine); Sat 24.8.1968, at The Bushnell Memorial, Hartford, Connecticut; on Mon 26.8.1968, at Kennedy Stadium, Bridgeport, Connecticut (with The Soft Machine); on Sun 1.9.1968, at The Red Rocks Park, Denver, Colorado (with The Soft Machine, plus Vanilla Fudge). The next day Hendrix and his band The Experience, plus Eire Apparent toured the mountains around Denver. More Hendrix / Eire Apparent / Vanilla Fudge / The Soft Machine gigs were on Tues 3.9.1968 at The Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California; on Wed 4.9.1968, at The Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona; on Frid 6.9.1968, at The Coliseum, Seattle, Washington.

 

Then something bad happened to the band, unfortunately at their next gig at The Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada on Sat 7th Sept 1968, Henry McCullough was busted and basically had to leave the country to avoid doing time, but the others wanted to stay on, so effectively he had to quit the band. McCullough found his feet quick enough, joining up with Sweeney's Men, Joe Cocker and the Grease Band, Oct 1968 - Feb 1970, The Grease Band, Jun 1970 - Dec 1971, Paul McCartney's Wings, Jan 1972 - Jul 1973, The Joe Cocker Band, Jul - Aug 1974 and Frankie Miller. His replacement in Eire Apparent was taken by Mick Cox lead guitar (born Michael Charles Box) (ex The End, Alleykatz), who was flown out from England immediately. Other gigs Eire Apparent did on the Hendrix were on Sun 8.9.1968, at The Coliseum, Spokane, Washington; on Frid 13.8.1968, at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California (both gigs with Vanilla Fudge, The Soft Machine); Sun. 15.9.1968, at The Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California (with Vanilla Fudge). This it the last gig I can find that Eire Apparent played on the Hendrix US tour.

 

At the end of Oct 1968 Eire Apparent recorded the bulk of their debut album at TTG in Los Angeles, California. On Wed 30.10.1968, at Sunset-Highland Studios, Los Angeles, California, the band recorded 'Let Me Stay' (M Cox), 'Magic Carpet' (E Graham), 'Morning Glory' (M Cox), 'Mr Guy Fawkes' (M Cox) and 'Yes I Need Someone' (C Stewart / E Graham / M Cox / D Lutton), while 'Captive In The Sun' (M Cox), and 'The Clown' (C Stewart) (Hendrix added extra magic to this track) which were recorded on Wed 30.10.1968, also at Sunset-Highland Studios, plus 'Rock 'N' Roll Band' (Taylor / Graham) recorded on 5.1.1969, at Polydor Studios, London, all with Jimi Hendrix on guitar. This last session was produced by Carlos Olms. In fact he appeared on all the tracks ('Someone Is Sure To (Want You)' (E Graham), except for 'Got To Get Away' (E Graham) and '1026' (E Graham / C Stewart) (produced by Jack Hunt). Hendrix also produced the group's solo album, called Sun Rise (Sunrise) (Buddah 203 021, 1969), which was a crafted blend of pop and neo-psychedelia. Hendrix had produced and played on their album as a consequence of Eire Apparent touring with him in the States. 

 

Eire Apparent's association with Hendrix, Jeffrey and Chandler was starting to draw to an end. Basically the band felt they could no longer rely on Jeffrey to find them gigs in the States. Their final involvement was as support on part of the Experience's European in Germany in Jan 1969. The gigs were on Sat 1.11.1969, at The Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany; on Sun 12.1.1969, at The Rheinhalle, Dusseldorf; on Tue 14.1.1969, at The Halle Munsterland, Munster, Germany; on Wed 15.1.1969, at The Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany; on Thur 16.1.1969, at The Meistersinghalle, Nuremburg, Germany; on Frid 17.1.1969, at The Jahrunderhalle, Frankfurt, Germany; on Sun 19.1.1969, at The Liederhalle, Stuttgart, Germany; on 20.1.1969; on Tue 21.1.1969, at The Wacken Halle, Strasbourg, France; on Wed 22.1.1969, at The Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria; on Thur 23.1.1969, at The Sportpalast, Berlin, Germany.

 

Mick Cox was replaced by Tiger Taylor on lead guitar in Jan 1969. Most of '69 was spent slogging round the English clubs and universities, trying to re-establish themselves in a country that had largely forgotten them. It was to prove an uphill task. On 20.4.1969 the band recorded three tracks for a Top Gear session, 'Yes I Need Someone,' 'Highway 61' and 'Gloria.' Peter Tolson guitar / vocals (born 10.9.1951, in Bishops Stortford, Herts) was a short time member just before they called it a day at the end of the year, finally having given up. Eire Apparent also released another single Rock 'N' Roll Band' / 'Yes I Need Someone' (Buddah 201 039, 1969). Singer Graham later joined, Clancy, Help Yourself, Aug - Nov 1971, and then recorded a solo album backed by Brinsley Schwatz. Drummer Lutton was later in T-Rex, Jan - Dec 1974, Jan 1975 - Aug 1976, Nov 1976 - Sep 1977 and Stewart was later in Poco, while Tilson went to The Pretty Things, Nov 1971 - Jun 1976, and Metropolis, Jun 1976 - Dec 1977.