Jackson Heights (band)

Jackson Heights were an English musical group formed by bassist and vocalist Lee Jackson. The group was formed in 1970, when keyboardist Keith Emerson left The Nice to form ELP. In 1973, Jackson teamed up again with The Nice drummer Brian "Blinky" Davison to form Refugee with Patrick Moraz.

History

After the break-up of The Nice in 1969, each of that group's three members formed a group of his own, and those three groups toured together : Emerson formed Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Davison's group was named Every Which Way, and Jackson appeared with Jackson Heights.

Jackson Heights' debut album, King Progress, included a reworking of "The Cry Of Eugene", a song originally recorded by The Nice, and new material including "Doubting Thomas" and "Insomnia". The group, which included Charlie Harcourt on lead guitar, Mario Enrique Covarrubias Tapia on bass and Tommy Sloane on drums, produced a radically different sound from that with which Jackson had become well-known, centred upon songs and led by acoustic guitar played by Lee Jackson mostly.

This group disbanded shortly after the first album's release and reformed as a trio featuring pianist Brian Chatton (born 19 July 1948, Bolton, Lancashire) - who played with Jon Anderson's Warriors and Phil Collins's Flaming Youth - and singer/songwriter/guitarist John McBurnie, with Jackson mainly playing bass as well as acoustic guitars. The group left the Charisma label and signed with Vertigo, for whom they recorded three albums, The Fifth Avenue Bus and Ragamuffins Fool (1972) and Bump 'n' Grind (1973). And then the group disbanded when Jackson teamed up with Patrick Moraz and Brian Davison and formed Refugee in 1973. Godfrey Salmon, who played violins on the last album Bump n' grind , would later meet Keith Emerson in ELP, as he led the orchestra on the Works Volume one album and tour in 1977.

Band members

• Lee Jackson - electric bass, acoustic 6 and 12 string guitars, percussion, harp, vocals
• Charlie Harcourt - electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, vocals (first album only)
• Tommy Sloane - drums, percussion (first album only)
• Mario Enrique Covarrubias Tapia - bass, Spanish guitars, vocals (first album only)
• Brian Chatton - keyboards, vocals ( last three albums)
• John McBurnie - acoustic 6 and 12 string guitars, Mellotron, keyboards, percussion, vocals ( last three albums)

Guests

• Chris Laurence - bass on Bump 'n' Grind
• Bill Bell - banjo on Bump 'n' Grind
• Michael Giles - drums, percussions on the last three albums
• Ian Wallace - drums, percussions on Bump 'n' Grind
• Ian Paice - drums on Bump 'n' Grind
• Keith Emerson - Moog programming on Bump 'n' Grind
• Ian Green : Orchestra conductor (on Bump n' Grind)
• Johnny Van Derrick : Violin soloist (on Bump n' Grind)
• Alan Travers, Andy Babynchuk, Cathy Wei, Clare Farmer, David Woodcock, Eddy Roberts, Liz Edwards, Gavyn Wright, Godfrey Salmon, Jeff Grey, Louise Jopling, Paul Pearce : Violins (on Bump n' Grind)
• Brian Hawkins, Brian Mack, Don McVay, Jan Schlapp : Violas (on Bump n' Grind)
• Helen Liebmann, Lynden Cranham, Martin Robinson, Mike Hurwitz : Cello (on Bump n' Grind)
• Billy Bell : Banjo (on Bump n' Grind)

Discography

Studio albums

• King Progress (Charisma, 1970)
• The Fifth Avenue Bus (Vertigo, 1972)
• Ragamuffins Fool (Vertigo, 1972)
• Bump 'n' Grind (Vertigo, 1973)

Best of

• 1972 : Birds Of A Feather
• 1973 : Caravan And Jackson Heights - Pop Made In England (Pop 1) - Motors Records - MT 44019 Contains two songs of Jackson Heights and four of Caravan
• 1973 : Jackson Heights - Verve records
• ???? : Attention Jackson Heights Attention - Fontana Special - Date of release unknown

Singles

• 1970 Doubting Thomas/Insomnia(Charisma Records) JH 1 / JH 2
• 1970 King Progress/Mister Screw (Motors Records) MT 4 004
• 1972 Maureen/Ragamuffins Fool (Vertigo Records) 6059 077
• 1972 Maureen / Long Time Dying (Vertigo Records) 6059 068
• 1973 Spaghetti Sunshine / Public Romance (Vertigo Records) 6837 157

References