Graham Bond
b. 28 October 1937, Romford, Essex, England, d. 8 May 1974, London, England. The young orphan was adopted from the Dr Barnardo's home and given musical tuition at school. The ‘legendary’ Graham Bond has latterly become recognised as one of the main instigators of British R&B along with Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner. His musical career began with Don Rendell's quintet in 1961 as a jazz saxophonist, followed by a stint with Korner's famous ensemble Blues Incorporated. By the time he formed his first band in 1963 he had made the Hammond organ his main instrument, although he showcased his talent at gigs by playing both alto saxophone and organ simultaneously. The seminal Graham Bond Organisation became one of the most respected units during 1964. The impressive line-up of Ginger Baker (drums), Jack Bruce (bass) and Dick Heckstall-Smith (saxophone—replacing John McLaughlin on guitar), played a hybrid of jazz, blues and rock that was musically and visually stunning. Bond was the first person in Britain to play a Hammond organ through a Leslie speaker cabinet and the first to use a Mellotron. The original Organisation made two superlative and formative albums SOUND OF '65 and THERE'S A BOND BETWEEN US. Both featured original songs mixed with standards. The band interpreted Walk On The Wild Side, Wade In The Water and Got My Mojo Working. Bond's own, Have You Ever Loved A Woman and Walkin' In The Park demonstrated his songwriting ability. Ironically such musicianship was unable to find a commercially acceptable niche. The jazz fraternity regarded Bond's band as too noisy and rock-based, while the pop audience found his music complicated and too jazzy. The small but loyal R&B club scene cognoscenti however, loved them. Ironically 30 years later the Tommy Chase Band are pursuing an uncannily similar road, now under the banner of jazz. As the British music scene changed, so the Organisation were penalized for staying close to their musical roots and refusing to adapt. Along the way, Bond had lost Baker and Bruce who had departed to form Cream, although the addition of Jon Hiseman on drums reinforced their musical pedigree. When Hiseman and Heckstall-Smith left to form Colosseum they showed their debt to Bond by featuring Walkin' In The Park on their debut album. Disenchanted with the musical tide, Bond moved to the USA where he made two albums for the Pulsar label. Both records showed a veering away from jazz and R&B although the slightly more contemporary songs were an odd coupling with the Hammond organ. Neither album fared well and Graham returned to England in 1969. The music press welcomed his re-appearance, but a poorly attended Royal Albert Hall homecoming concert must have bitterly disheartened its subject. The new band; the Graham Bond Initiation, featured his wife Diane Stewart. The unlikely combination of astrological themes, R&B and public apathy doomed this promising unit. By now Graham had started on a slow decline into drugs, depression, mental disorder and dabblings with the occult. Following a reunion with Ginger Baker in his ill-fated Airforce project, and a brief spell with the Jack Bruce Band, Bond formed a musical partnership with Pete Brown; this resulted in one album and for a short time had a stabilizing effect on Bond's life. By 1974, following a nervous breakdown, drug addiction and two further unsuccessful conglomerations, Holy Magick and Magus, the cruellest of ironies happened on 8 May 1974; he was killed when he fell under the wheels of a London underground train at Finsbury Park station. Whether or not Graham Bond could ever have reached the musical heights of his 1964 band is open to endless debate. What has been acknowledged, is that he was an innovator, a catalyst and a major influence on British R&B.