Long John Baldry

John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Before achieving stardom, Rod Stewart and Elton John were members of bands led by Baldry. He enjoyed pop success in 1967 when "Let the Heartaches Begin" reached No. 1 in the UK, and in Australia where his duet with Kathi McDonald "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" reached No. 2 in 1980.
Baldry lived in Canada from the late 1970s until his death. He continued to make records there, and do voiceover work. Two of his best-known voice roles were as Dr. Ivo Robotnik in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and as KOMPLEX in Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars. (Read more at Wikipedia.)
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== Links to Peel ==
Long John Baldry, a respected singer with an established reputation on the London pop scene, was the kind of artist who in 1967 might have seemed an obvious choice for a session on BBC Radio One's new Top Gear show. But, after years of singing soul, blues and folk material, his career went in a more commercial direction with "Let The Heartaches Begin", a typical pop ballad of the era, which brought him major chart success but was far removed from the musical styles Peel was enthusing over on his programmes.
Before Baldry re-invented himself as a pop balladeer, his bands Steampacket and Bluesology had included future Peel session artists Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger as well as Elton John and Rod Stewart. A few years earlier, the singer had been a member of a folk and skiffle group, The Thamesiders, which also included Martin Carthy, and after that had worked with the R&B bands of Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies. But only in 1972 did Baldry record a couple of sessions for Peel, after Rod Stewart and Elton John had decided to help their former "boss" revive his career by producing him in a more contemporary style. Peel, at the time a big admirer of both John and Stewart, was happy to play tracks from the resulting albums as well as feature Baldry in session. The LPs were moderately successful in the USA, but Baldry's career seemed to stall for a while after 1973, with records being infrequent. Peel doesn't seem to have paid much attention to Long John Baldry after that.
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
* None
== Sessions ==
*One session. Not commercially available.
1. Recorded: 1972-05-29. First broadcast: 30 June 1972. Repeated: 04 August 1972
*Going Down Slow / A Rake And A Rambling Boy / How Long Blues / As Long As I Can Feel The Spirit / Mother Ain't Dead / Cocaine (Cocaine was broadcast on 1972-08-04)
== Other Shows Played ==
;thumb|220x220px1972
*25 April 1972: Jubilee Cloud (LP – Everything Stops For Tea) Warner Brothers
*25 April 1972: Mother Ain’t Dead (LP – Everything Stops For Tea) Warner Brothers
*09 May 1972: Iko, Iko (single) Warner Brothers
*23 May 1972: Mother Ain't Dead (LP - Everything Stops For Tea) Warner Brothers
*20 June 1972: Seventh Son (LP – Everything Stops For Tea) A&M
*03 October 1972: unknown 
;1984
*26 April 1984: Thrill's A Thrill
;Steampacket
*22 December 1971: Can I Get A Witness (LP - Rock Generation Volume 6 - The Steampacket (Or The First "Supergroup")) BYG
== See Also ==
*Singles Reviews
*Julie Driscoll
*Alexis Korner
*Brian Auger's Trinity
*Sounds
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists