* En anglais uniquement
Their self-effacing name to the contrary,
Average White Band was anything but -- one of the few white groups to cross the color line and achieve success and credibility playing funk, with their tight, fiery sound also belying their Scottish heritage, evoking American R&B hotbeds like Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia instead. Singer/bassist
Alan Gorrie, guitarists
Hamish Stuart and
Onnie McIntyre, tenor saxophonist
Malcolm Duncan, keyboardist/saxophonist
Roger Ball, and drummer
Robbie McIntosh comprised the original
Average White Band lineup. Veterans of numerous Scottish soul and jazz groups, they made their debut in 1973 as the opening act at
Eric Clapton's Rainbow Theatre comeback gig, soon issuing their debut LP, Show Your Hand, to little notice. After adopting the abbreviated moniker
AWB, a year later the band issued their self-titled sophomore effort, topping the American pop charts with the
Arif Mardin-produced instrumental "Pick Up the Pieces." The record's mammoth success was nevertheless tempered by the September 23, 1974 death of
McIntosh, who died at a Hollywood party after overdosing on heroin.
Ex-
Bloodstone drummer
Steve Ferrone replaced
McIntosh for
AWB's third album, 1975's
Cut the Cake, which scored a Top Ten hit with its title track as well as two other chart entries, "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" and "School Boy Crush." (Put It Where You Want It, issued later that same year, was simply a retitled and repackaged Show Your Hand.) With 1976's
Soul Searching, the group reclaimed the full
Average White Band name, scoring their final Top 40 hit with "Queen of My Soul." Following the live Person to Person, they issued
Benny & Us, a collaboration with soul legend
Ben E. King. However, after subsequent outings, including 1978's
Warmer Communications, 1979's
Feel No Fret, and 1980's Shine, failed to recapture the energy of
AWB's peak, the group dissolved in 1982, with Ferrone later joining
Duran Duran and Stuart recording with
Paul McCartney. Gorrie, Ball, and McIntyre reformed
Average White Band in 1989, tapping vocalist
Alex Ligertwood for their comeback effort
Aftershock. Oft-sampled by hip-hop producers throughout the 1990s, the group continued touring prior to releasing Soul Tattoo in 1996. The live album,
Face to Face, followed three years later. ~ Jason Ankeny