Mark-Almond

This article is about the British group. For the British singer and his projects, see Marc Almond.
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Mark-Almond were an English jazz/rock group who were active from 1970 until 1978. 
Jon Mark and Johnny Almond met while both were recording with John Mayall in 1969. Mark had a long pedigree as a musician, having played with Marianne Faithfull and Alun Davies among others. Almond in his turn was at one time a member of the Alan Price Set, as was John Walters.
The pair formed Mark-Almond in 1970 with Tommy Eyre and Roger Sutton. Drummer Dannie Richmond was added in time for the second album in 1971. In 1972-73 the band expanded to seven members and underwent some personnel changes before disbanding. Jon Mark and Johnny Almond reformed Mark-Almond as a duo in 1975, recording four more albums before breaking up for good in 1978. Johnny Almond died on 18 November 2009 from cancer, aged 63. In January 2021, Jon Mark’s daughter, Chloe, mentioned on her Facebook page that her father passed away. 
==Links to Peel==
As well as the work with John Mayall and others mentioned above, two members of Mark-Almond (Jon Mark and Alun Davies) had been members of the band Sweet Thursday, who, with singer Lesley Duncan, had recorded a session for Peel's Night Ride which was broadcast on 26 February 1969. Mark-Almond were one of the bands of their era who had more success in the US than at home, they recorded just one session for Top Gear at the Transcription Service in Shepherd's Bush, which was produced by John Muir. It featured the original band as listed above, and included The Little Prince from their third album, Rising. 
Peel joked on the session repeat play of Morning Always Comes Too Soon, "I have the same problem meself: there's nothing you can do about it." Interestingly, although a drummer is audible on the track, none is listed among the band members in Ken Garner's The Peel Sessions. This omission may possibly have been to avoid problems with the Musicians' Union, as Mark-Almond's drummer at the time was the much-admired American jazz player Dannie Richmond, who had been first-choice drummer for many years with the groups of Charles Mingus.
There is currently no evidence that Peel played any of their other material. The band's back catalogue has seen a recent series of German CD remasters which failed to take the opportunity to include the session. 
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
*None
== Sessions ==
*One session, no known commercial release. Garner reports previous sessions for Bob Harris and names the band Mark Almond.
1. Recorded: 1972-06-27. First broadcast: 21 July 1972. Repeated: 18 August 1972 (on this date, first track not TX)
*The 11-4 / Morning Always Comes Too Soon / The Little Prince 
== Other Shows Played ==
*
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*AllMusic
*Discogs
Category:Artists