Audience | Artist
Audience was a British progressive art-rock band formed 1969 in London. The original lineup was Howard Werth (guitar, vocals), Trevor Williams (bass, vocals), Keith Gemmell (saxophone, flute) and Tony Conner (drums). Audience had its roots in a semi-professional soul band named 'Lloyd Alexander Real Estate', which had included all the Audience members except Connor, who had unsuccessfully auditioned for the earlier band when John Richardson left to form The Rubettes. Within weeks of starting rehearsals, Audience had acquired management, a publishing contract, a residency at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, and a recording contract with Polydor. After their self-titled debut album, Tony Stratton Smith, director of Charisma Records, spotted the band supporting Led Zeppelin and signed them up to his label immediately. Audience recorded three albums with Charisma. The first, Friend's Friend's Friend, was produced and designed by the band. Their subsequent releases House on the Hill and Lunch were produced by Gus Dudgeon, with arrangements by Robert Kirby and cover art by record sleeve designers Hipgnosis. Having worked virtually non-stop for three years. A gruelling US tour with The Faces and Cactus brought things to a head, resulting in Gemmell leaving the band in January 1972. After the band's dissolution, the founders went their seperate ways, with Gemell joining Stackridge, and eventually working with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra for Fourteen years. Fellow founding member Howard Werth was headhunted by The Doors to replace Jim Morrison. Werth left for the USA but The Doors did not reform, and Werth found himself engaged in various short term projects with keyboard man Ray Manzarek and musicians from Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, before returning to the UK in the early 1980s. Trevor Williams joined 1960s hitmakers The Nashville Teens, a version driven by Len Tuckey, who left shortly after to help his girlfriend Suzi Quatro launch a career with Mickie Most. Tony Connor also ended up with Mickie Most. After a stint with Jackson Heights, a spin-off from The Nice, he joined one of Most's stable, Hot Chocolate, with whom he has remained. Audience's sound was characterised by Werth's vocals and acoustic guitar and the electrified saxophone and other brass instruments of Gemmell. One reviewer characterised Audience as Charisma records' answer to the band Family, with comparisons between Werth's vocals and Roger Chapman's, over a not dissimilar jazz-prog backdrop with brass arrangements and occasional folk overtones. Outstanding albums include Friend's Friend's Friend (1970) and the excellent House on the Hill (1971).
Artist Website: audienceareback.co.uk
Featured Albums: Audience
Related Artists: Howard Werth, Stackridge
