English rock supergroup
Blind Faith
were an English rock
supergroup
that consisted of
Steve Winwood
,
Eric Clapton
,
Ginger Baker
, and
Ric Grech
. They followed the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton and Baker's former group
Cream
and Winwood's former group
Traffic
, but they split after a few months, producing only one album and a three-month summer tour.
The group originated with informal jamming by Clapton and Winwood in early 1969 following the break-ups of Cream and Traffic. Baker joined them in rehearsals and they decided to form a group. Grech joined as the fourth member from the band
Family
in May, and they began recording their
eponymous debut album
. It drew controversy for featuring a photograph of a topless 11-year-old girl on the front cover, and it was issued with a different cover in the United States.
The first Blind Faith concert was on 7 June in front of an estimated 100,000 fans in
Hyde Park, London
, but they felt that they had not rehearsed enough and were unprepared. They subsequently played concerts in Scandinavia and the US, but the lack of material in the live set led them to play old Cream and Traffic songs which pleased the audience but disillusioned the band. Clapton became increasingly isolated during the tour, preferring to spend time with support act
Delaney & Bonnie
, and Blind Faith disbanded immediately after their last performance. Clapton and Winwood both enjoyed the music that they played together in the group's limited time, and they have since collaborated on several tours playing Blind Faith material.
Formation and early history
[
edit
]
The origins of Blind Faith lay in the break-up of
Cream
in mid-1968. That trio was a major critical and commercial success, with millions of record sales in a few years, bringing international popularity to the group and each member. However, the band was crumbling from within because of frequent animosity between bassist
Jack Bruce
and drummer
Ginger Baker
, with
Eric Clapton
doing his best to mediate. Additionally, Clapton grew tired of playing commercially driven
blues
and hoped to progress with a new, experimental, less straitjacketed approach to the genre.
[3]
The group disbanded in November 1968 following two concerts at the
Royal Albert Hall
.
[4]
Steve Winwood had faced similar problems to Clapton in
the Spencer Davis Group
, where he had been the lead singer for three years. Winwood wanted to experiment with the band's sound by infusing
jazz
elements, but left due to his musical differences, instead forming a new band,
Traffic
, in 1967. While that band was on hiatus in Christmas 1968, Winwood started to
jam
with his good friend Clapton in the latter's basement in
Surrey
, England.
[4]
[a]
Clapton was pleased with the jam sessions with Winwood, but was hesitant to start a serious group.
The music press were hopeful that Clapton would form a band even better than Cream. At one point, Clapton and Winwood thought they might record with
Duck Dunn
and
Al Jackson Jr.
, the rhythm section of
Booker T. & the M.G.'s
.
In early 1969, Clapton and Winwood moved to Traffic's rehearsal cottage in
Aston Tirrold
,
Berkshire
.
[4]
Baker turned up one day to sit in with them, and the three seriously considered forming a group.
Clapton questioned letting Baker in the band, because he had promised Bruce that, if they were to work with one another again, all three of them would play. Moreover, Clapton did not want to reunite with Cream barely nine weeks after the break-up, and also did not want to deal with another band whose members had large reputations individually. Winwood ultimately persuaded Clapton to finalize Baker's inclusion in the line-up, arguing that Baker strengthened their musicianship and that it would be hard to find an equally talented drummer.
Traffic was put on hold and the other remaining members, multi-instrumentalist
Chris Wood
and drummer / singer
Jim Capaldi
, were informed. Winwood later realised that Clapton would probably have rather had Capaldi in the new group instead of Baker.
[4]
Clapton and Winwood's respective managers,
Robert Stigwood
and
Chris Blackwell
, said they would be happy to manage the new band. This created immediate tension; Stigwood wanted a quick money-making formula, while the band wanted time to write songs and develop as a unit. Winwood later said, "they wanted a supergroup and we didn't".
[4]
The formation of the group was announced to the press on 8 February 1969.
[3]
By May, Ric Grech, bassist with
Family
, was invited to join them. He left Family midway through a US tour, causing considerable acrimony with the rest of the group.
[4]
The new band's name was confirmed as "Blind Faith" around this time by Clapton, who thought it described everyone's self-belief that the band would be successful, no matter what happened.
[4]
Recording
[
edit
]
29 second sample of the song "Presence of the Lord" as performed by Blind Faith
Because Winwood was signed to
Island Records
, he had to obtain permission from Blackwell (who owned the label) to appear on
Polydor Records
(to whom Clapton and Baker were signed in the U.K.).
A promotional single was released by Island, although the promotion was for the label itself. It was a single announcing the fact that they were moving their offices, titled "Change Of Address From 23 June 1969". This one-sided promo featured an instrumental jam by Blind Faith, who were not mentioned on the label (the only other label info is the new address, phone number, and new cable address of Island).
[12]
Recorded at Olympic Studios during session for the debut album, an estimated 500 copies of the single were pressed, and mostly sent to UK disc jockeys and other music industry insiders. The track was finally released widely when it appeared as a bonus track on the two-CD "Deluxe Edition" of the
Blind Faith
album in 2000 (titled "Change Of Address Jam").
Upon its release in July 1969, the band's first and only album
Blind Faith
topped both the UK chart and
Billboard
's chart for Pop Album in the U.S.
[14]
The album sold more than half a million copies in the first month of its release
[14]
and helped rejuvenate sales of Cream albums.
Best of Cream
reached No. 3 in the
Billboard
charts at the same time that
Blind Faith
was at the top.
The cover art for the album was created by photographer
Bob Seidemann
,
a personal friend and former flatmate of Clapton, who is known primarily for his photos of
Janis Joplin
and the
Grateful Dead
.
[17]
The cover was nameless ? only the wrapping paper told the buyer who the artist was and the name of the album. It provoked controversy because it featured a topless 11-year-old girl, holding in her hands a silver
space ship
. The US record company issued it with an alternative cover with a photograph of the band on the front. The model on the cover posed upon consent by her parents and was paid £40 (£832 as of 2023) for the shot.
During 2000 the entire album was remastered and re-released as a two-CD deluxe edition from Polydor that includes alternate takes, out-takes and studio rehearsal versions of the band's music created during the early months of 1969.
[19]
Touring
[
edit
]
News of Blind Faith's formation created a buzz of excitement among the public and press. The group debuted at a free concert at London's
Hyde Park
on 7 June 1969 in front of 100,000 fans.
Capaldi and Wood attended the gig, as did
Mick Jagger
and
Marianne Faithfull
.
[4]
The setlist contained all six numbers that would appear on the debut album, along with a cover of
the Rolling Stones
' "
Under My Thumb
", Traffic's "Means to an End", and
Sam Myers
' "Sleeping in the Ground".
The performance was well received by fans, but troubled Clapton, who thought that the band's playing was sub-par.
He spent much of the gig close to his amplifiers and not coming forward on stage; only Baker supplied any showmanship and theatrics during the set.
Though the group were still developing, their management insisted they continue touring to provide income.
Clapton, knowing the band had not rehearsed enough and was unprepared, was reluctant to tour, but agreed to do so because he could collaborate with Winwood and had no better work offers.
The recording of their album continued, followed by a short tour of Scandinavia, where the band played smaller gigs and was able to rehearse their sound and prepare it for bigger audiences in the US and UK. After Scandinavia, the band toured the United States, making their debut at
Madison Square Garden
on 12 July.
A major problem with the tour was that the band had only a few songs in their catalogue, barely enough to fill an hour, which the audience did not know well.
Clapton in particular was against any lengthy jamming, which had been Cream's trademark, which would have allowed them to stretch out a set to a sufficient length.
The group were forced to play old Cream and Traffic songs, to the delight of a crowd which usually preferred the old hits to the new Blind Faith material. Clapton resented being in a popular supergroup when he had intended to start a more low-key project. They were playing the same material from his Cream days, to appease the audience and to fill the void left by the lack of adequate new material.
Clapton wanted to play the
Woodstock Festival
, which occurred during the tour, but was outvoted by the rest of the group.
The tour was supported by opening acts
Free
,
Taste
, and R&B-based rock act
Delaney & Bonnie
. Because Clapton liked the soulful, folksy-sounding blues of Delaney & Bonnie, he began spending most of his time with them instead of Blind Faith,
letting Winwood take a more prominent role in the band.
Clapton even began sitting in on Delaney & Bonnie's opening sets, sometimes simply playing percussion, and showing more interest in them than his own band. He also wanted them to be the headliners instead of Blind Faith.
The band toured for seven more weeks in the US, finishing in Hawaii on 24 August.
[4]
After the gig, Clapton and Winwood decided to end the group. Grech was immediately informed, but Baker did not find out until he had returned to England following a short holiday in Jamaica. When he finally got home to the UK, he met with Winwood and was upset to find that the band had disbanded.
Aftermath
[
edit
]
After the tour finished in August, various press reports speculated on future band activity, with Stigwood announcing that there would be further tours forthcoming.
[4]
In October, the band issued a press release saying they had disbanded.
[3]
There was no further activity from the group, though several tracks from the band can be found on Steve Winwood's 1995 retrospective album
The Finer Things
.
[28]
In 2005, the live album
London Hyde Park 1969
was released, documenting the entire concert at the park.
[29]
Clapton had mixed feelings about ending the group, and felt guilty about abandoning a project that Winwood had put more involvement into than himself. He stepped out of the spotlight, first to sit in with the
Plastic Ono Band
,
and then to tour as a
sideman
for
Delaney & Bonnie and Friends
. This freed him of the limelight that he had considered a plague to both Cream and Blind Faith.
After his sideman stint, he took several members from Delaney & Bonnie to form a new super-group,
Derek and the Dominos
.
He never dropped his Blind Faith repertoire completely, as "Presence of the Lord" and "
Can't Find My Way Home
" have been performed occasionally throughout his solo career.
Unlike Clapton, Baker had enjoyed his Blind Faith experience and looked to carry on an offshoot of the band in the form of
Ginger Baker's Air Force
with both Grech and Winwood.
After a few shows together, Winwood left to record a solo album
Mad Shadows
, which turned into the Traffic album
John Barleycorn Must Die
.
Clapton turned up backstage to a Traffic gig in 1970 and played dual lead guitar with Winwood on "
Dear Mr. Fantasy
", fuelling rumours of a reunion of the pair.
Grech joined Traffic's touring band after the album was released, and played on the Traffic albums
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
and
Welcome to the Canteen
.
Winwood would later go on to have a successful solo career, and Grech was a member of various groups before his death in 1990.
[4]
Baker died on 6 October 2019, leaving Winwood and Clapton as the only two surviving members of Blind Faith.
[37]
Clapton and Winwood reunions
[
edit
]
Clapton and Winwood performed together again on stage as part of the Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis (ARMS) tour in 1983. The shows were a benefit for former
Small Faces
and
Faces
member
Ronnie Lane
, who was suffering from the syndrome.
In July 2007, Clapton and Winwood reunited for a performance during the second
Crossroads Guitar Festival
held at the
Toyota Park Center
of
Bridgeview
(Illinois), where the duo performed a number of Blind Faith songs as part of their set. That performance inspired the two to perform three reunion concerts at Madison Square Garden that took place on 25, 26 and 28 February 2008. It was not an official Blind Faith reunion, but simply "Winwood and Clapton". They performed the four songs on the first side of
Blind Faith
as well as selections from Traffic, Derek and the Dominos, Clapton's solo career and some covers.
[39]
A
DVD and a two-disc CD
of these performances was released in 2009.
[40]
On 10 June 2009, Winwood and Clapton began a 14-date United States summer tour at the
Izod Center
in New Jersey, again including Blind Faith material in their setlist.
[41]
Winwood and Clapton met again for a series of five concerts at London's
Royal Albert Hall
from 26 May to 1 June 2011.
[42]
Clapton and Winwood both returned to play Hyde Park on 8 July 2018, though they performed separately.
[43]
In February 2020, Clapton and Winwood played a selection of Blind Faith material at a tribute gig to Baker at the
Eventim Apollo
.
[44]
Members
[
edit
]
Discography
[
edit
]
Album
[
edit
]
Singles
[
edit
]
Filmography
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Clapton and Winwood had previously collaborated on the "
Powerhouse
" project,
[3]
and Clapton had joined the Spencer Davis Group onstage at
The Marquee
club in London.
[4]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
uDiscover Team (11 February 2020).
"Blind Faith"
. uDiscover Music
. Retrieved
2 January
2022
.
- ^
"Blind Faith biography"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
13 September
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Blind Faith: The Meteoric Rise & Rapid Fall Of Clapton, Baker, Winwood, And Grech's 1969 Super-Group"
.
Live for Live Music
. 16 August 2017
. Retrieved
7 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
Black, Johnny (June 1996).
"Born Under A Bad Sign"
.
Mojo
. pp. 47?52.
- ^
a
b
Change of Address from 23 June 1969
(Media notes). Island Records.
- ^
a
b
"Blind Faith"
. Classic Rock Review. 3 January 2014
. Retrieved
15 February
2019
.
- ^
"Bob Seidemann, 75, Photographer of Rock Stars and Aviators, Dies"
.
New York Times
. 17 December 2017
. Retrieved
11 February
2019
.
- ^
"Blind Faith (2000 Deluxe Edition)"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
15 February
2019
.
- ^
"The Finer Things"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
15 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Adams, Bret.
"London Hyde Park 1969"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
8 September
2018
.
- ^
Savage, Mark (6 October 2019).
"Cream drummer Ginger Baker dies aged 80"
. Retrieved
6 October
2019
.
- ^
"Clapton and Winwood break out Blind Faith and Hendrix at first Supergig"
.
Rolling Stone
. 26 February 2008
. Retrieved
7 February
2019
.
- ^
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas.
Blind Faith
at
AllMusic
- ^
"Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood / June 10, 2009 / East Rutherford, NJ (IZOD Center)"
.
Billboard
. 11 June 2009
. Retrieved
16 February
2019
.
- ^
"Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall: The 2011 "Dust Up" Begins"
. Where's Eric. 18 May 2011
. Retrieved
16 February
2019
.
- ^
"Eric Clapton To Team With Santana, Steve Winwood & Gary Clark Jr. In London"
.
Jambase
. 27 November 2017
. Retrieved
16 February
2019
.
- ^
"Final tickets for Eric Clapton's Ginger Baker tribute show up for grabs"
.
Music Radar
. Retrieved
18 February
2020
.
- ^
"Blind Faith ? Blind Faith"
. AllMusic
. Retrieved
25 September
2019
.
- ^
"Blind Faith ? Well All Right"
.
General and cited references
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Compilations
| |
---|
Singles
| |
---|
Other songs
| |
---|
Film
| |
---|
Collaborators
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Compilations
| |
---|
Songs
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Compilations
| |
---|
Singles
| |
---|
Soundtracks
| |
---|
Concert films
| |
---|
Collaborations
| |
---|
Tours
| |
---|
Bands
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|
---|
Albums
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Compilations
| |
---|
Singles
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|