PRESSRELEASE
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band to receive Lifetime Achievement
Award
FALKIRK,
SCOTLAND (Monday, August 01, 2011):
We
are overjoyed to announce that the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to the members of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band at the
award ceremony being held on Sunday September 4th 2011 at the
Classic Grand in Glasgow.
“It is an honour for us to present the award to the
Sensational Alex Harvey Band,”
says SNMA director, Bruce Hotchkies, “They
are not only one of the most important bands to come out of Scotland, but they
have influenced artists around the world. Albums like NEXT or THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
are right up there with A NIGHT AT THE
OPERA, ZEPPELIN FOUR or DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. The band still
has a massive fan base, almost 30 years after the death of Alex. I don’t want
to offend either, but all of the credit seems to go to Alex and the guys in the
band seems to get brushed under the carpet. Don’t forget that Ted and Chris
have played with some giants of the rock world, and Alex may have been known
for his striped shirt, but that clown (Zal Cleminson) scared the Hell out of a
lot of little kids in the seventies, including me!”
A Brief History of the Sensational Alex Harvey
Band
In 1972, The Sensational Alex Harvey
Band was formed by Alex Harvey, guitarist Zal Cleminson, bassist Chris Glen,
and cousins Hugh and Ted McKenna on keyboards and drums respectively, The core
of the band being previous members of progressive rock act "Tear
Gas". The Sensational Alex Harvey Band produced a succession of highly
regarded albums and tours throughout the 1970s. The band never achieved acclaim
in the United States the way it did in Great Britain, but it had a cult
following in certain U.S. cities, especially Cleveland. SAHB made their debut
in Cleveland at the Agora Ballroom in December 1974. Thanks to airplay from
WMMS, songs like "Next" and "The Impossible Dream" became
very popular.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band had top-40 hits in Britain with the
single "Delilah", a re-make of the Tom Jones hit, which reached No 7
in 1975, and also with "The Boston Tea Party" (June 1976).
In early 1976 Harvey stood down from
the lead vocal role and keyboard player Hugh McKenna took over for the
'Fourplay' album although the following year Harvey was back in the band to
record SAHB’s final album, 1978’s 'Rock Drill'.
In 1978, SAHB disbanded. Zal
Cleminson, Chris Glen and Ted McKenna formed ZAL, before Cleminson quit to join
NAZARETH.
On 4 February 1982 while waiting to
take a ferry after performing his last concert with his new band, the Electric
Cowboys, Alex Harvey suffered a massive heart attack. In an ambulance on the
way to the hospital, he suffered a second heart attack, this one fatal. It
occurred on the day before his 47th birthday, in Zeebrugge, Belgium.
Chris Glen and Ted McKenna continued
with high profile gigs including the Ian
Gillan band and the Michael Schenker
Group, with Ted also playing with Rory
Gallagher. Later on, Ted would be instrumental in resurrecting the band
name in the early 90s.
The band, having separated and
playing in different bands, re-united in 2004 for a final tour, complete with Max
Maxwell filling the vocal spot, releasing the live recording 'Zalvation' in
2006.
In early 2008 Zal Cleminson
announced his retirement from the music industry and stated he would never
perform live again. Let’s hope he changes his mind.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
were voted the fifth greatest Scottish band of all time in a 2005 survey
conducted by The List and Orange.
The Official Sensational Alex Harvey
Band is here: www.sahbofficial.co.uk
The 2011 Scottish New Music Awards
and Scottish Music Industry Awards will be held on Sunday September 4th
2011 at 6:30 pm at the Classic Grand venue located at 18 Jamaica Street in
Glasgow.
VERY LIMITED TICKETS
are available to the public through the Classic Grand website (www.classicgrand.com) or Tickets
Scotland (www.tickets-scotland.com)
and for more information please check www.scotmusicawards.co.uk.
