Ewf

[Roburt]

the salty peppers were pretty much the first official incarnation of the group but they evolved out of the pharoahs.

 

i posted here that i met sherry scott like a couple of months ago, super super nice lady, she was actually going up to the dance show after me to promote some new house single

Bob, so did you try to arrange a radio interview to quiz her on her long music career ?? 

[boba]

Bob, so did you try to arrange a radio interview to quiz her on her long music career ?? 

 

no, i already have too many people that i haven't interviewed yet from local groups. i can probably get in contact with her if you know someone who wants to interview her though. i think i asked her if she sang in any group first though (that's always my first question!) and she said she was always a solo singer outside of EWF.

[Dave Thorley]

the salty peppers were pretty much the first official incarnation of the group but they evolved out of the pharoahs.

 

i posted here that i met sherry scott like a couple of months ago, super super nice lady, she was actually going up to the dance show after me to promote some new house single

 

What was the line up of the Pharoahs Bob ? Did they do a LP as well as the 45

[Wrongcrowd]

awesome group, the live visual thing was spectacular to say the least....so much so, that when they arrived in the u.k. on their world tour 79, i went to see them at bingley hall stafford...thursday evening it was, you didnt have to have tickets in those days...totally gobsmacked by their presence...levitation, exploding pyramids...magical as was the music...i couldn't believe it.......so i went back on the friday night to experience it all over again! first track i ever remember being played out was "happy feeling"...they sure gave that...

 

I saw the the same show in '79, in Birmingham, the combination of incredible staging effects and great music was just brilliant, and I haven't seen anything that has come close since.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Wrongcrowd

[Wrongcrowd]

What was the line up of the Pharoahs Bob ? Did they do a LP as well as the 45

 

Not sure about the line up Dave, but Freedom Road came from the Awakening LP, which has recently been reisued by Ubiquity.

[Dave Pinch]

so many great records

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aeMwStYRk0

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLetyIPrbEc

Edited July 6, 2013 by dave pinch

[boba]

Not sure about the line up Dave, but Freedom Road came from the Awakening LP, which has recently been reisued by Ubiquity.

 

the awakening is an ancient reissue, like from the first era of US rare groove soul/funk reissues, reissued by luv n' haight in 1996. ubiquity and luv n' haight are the same entity, I don't know the history as to how they became related.

 

here is some info on the group:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pharaohs

 

they have 2 45s, they also have a 45 on capitol.

Edited July 6, 2013 by boba

[Geeselad]

I worked with a guy who used to work at Earls Court /Olympia and other venues moving the sound gear about. He was into Rock but said best Soul band was Earth Wind and fire,he said when the show started,they came down in a spaceship which was totally differant/Original to any other artist at the time. He said visually best band he ever seen and that`s saying something from him.

 

They were one of the 1st soul bands i got into when i was into Soul/Disco in 78/79,sadly sold all there lp`s in mid 80`s for a night out i think lol.

Good news i took a guy home one night in the cab and he was a big soul fan,sadly he never had the money for the fair so paid me in Earth,Wind,and fire lps so wasn`t all bad.

   .

 

This is proper with strings and things,listen to whole track from last days and time lp:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGSJ8nPA2kk

I've got tht album, but missed that one. 

[Geeselad]

just rembered this is a 'kalimba' production, did he do much else for other acts around this time?

 

[Roburt]

The group's Al McKay worked with a number of artists both prior to joining EWF (Brenton Wood, Watts 103rd St Band) and after (Ren Woods, Deniece Williams).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Ufg2MB1lA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwAXaeSRsnA

Other guys out of the group also worked with other acts in the studio.

[Homage]

awesome group, the live visual thing was spectacular to say the least....so much so, that when they arrived in the u.k. on their world tour 79, i went to see them at bingley hall stafford...thursday evening it was, you didnt have to have tickets in those days...totally gobsmacked by their presence...levitation, exploding pyramids...magical as was the music...i couldn't believe it.......so i went back on the friday night to experience it all over again! first track i ever remember being played out was "happy feeling"...they sure gave that...

 

I was at the Bingley Hall as well on the Thursday night performance. It was only my 2nd ever live gig, first one was a few years earlier at Batley Variety Club on a Saturday afternoon (The Stylistics).

The E.W.F. gig was amazing for a young 18 year old lad like myself back then, as I'd also started getting into the disco/jazz-funk sound the year before (followed the Northern Soul Scene since 14) and was blown away by the E.W.F. stage act.

I saw them again a few years later at Wembley, but that first gig was the best for me, probably still my all time top live gig, along with Stevie Wonder at Wembley around 1980. The Stevie Wonder gig was special, as it was the last night of 7 nights he'd performed at Wembley, and he had as surprise guest's Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross join him on stage...