List of Brand X members

Brand X are an English jazz fusion band from London. Formed in late 1974, the group originally featured vocalist and percussionist Phil Spinelli, guitarists John Goodsall and Peter Bonas, bassist Percy Jones, keyboardist Robin Lumley and drummer John Dillon. After Spinelli, Bonas and Dillon left, the remaining members and new drummer Phil Collins became a largely instrumental outfit. The current lineup of Brand X includes Goodsall and Jones, alongside keyboardist Chris Clark, percussionist Scott Weinberger (both since 2016) and drummer Kenny Grohowski (since 2017).

History

1974–1980

Brand X were formed in 1974 by Phil Spinelli, John Goodsall, Peter Bonas, Percy Jones, Robin Lumley and John Dillon.[1] Before the end of the year, Dillon had left,[2] and was replaced on a part-time basis by Genesis drummer Phil Collins.[3] After recording an album for Island Records in February 1975 which is shelved, creative differences lead to the departure of both Bonas and Spinelli, leaving Brand X an instrumental four-piece.[4][3] The group's debut album Unorthodox Behaviour was recorded between September and October 1975 and released the following year.[5]

At the end of 1975, Brand X made their live concert debuts at several shows in and around London. For the performances, they added former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford on additional percussion.[4] Shows at the beginning of the following year saw Isotope's Jeff Seopardie in place on Bruford for a couple of shows, followed by Andy Ward of Camel for one, and finally Preston Heyman from late-February.[4] This lineup recorded one album, which was released as Missing Period in 1997.[6] After a final appearance at Reading Festival, Heyman was replaced by Morris Pert.[4]

After recording the band's second album Moroccan Roll, Collins took a break from Brand X for the Genesis Wind & Wuthering Tour. He was initially replaced by Karma drummer Joe Blocker for a string of rehearsals,[7] before Kenwood Dennard took over for shows starting in June.[8] By April 1978, Lumley had followed Collins as the second core member of Brand X to step back from the band, opting instead to focus more on his work as a record producer. He was replaced by J. Peter Robinson in June, at the same time as Chuck Burgi was brought in to take over from Dennard.[9]

In July 1978, during the tour in promotion of the forthcoming Masques, Goodsall was forced to leave temporarily after suffering tendinitis, with Mike Miller taking his place for the rest of the year.[1] For the North American leg of the tour starting in October, the unavailable Burgi was replaced by Mike Clark.[10] In April 1979, Brand X recorded with two lineups – the first with Goodsall, Jones, Robinson and Clark; the second with Goodsall, bassist John Giblin, Lumley and Collins.[1] The material was released as Product in 1979, Do They Hurt? in 1980 and Is There Anything About? in 1982.[10]

Following the recording of the three albums, Brand X toured with a lineup featuring Goodsall, Jones, Lumley, Robinson and Collins.[11] For a month-long tour the following month, Collins was replaced by Clark.[10] Following these dates, the group stopped working together and began to focus on other projects, although they never officially disbanded.[12]

Since 1992

In 1992, Goodsall and Jones reformed Brand X with new drummer Frank Katz, releasing X-Communication and returning to live performances in December.[13] They remained a trio until February 1996, when they recorded Manifest Destiny with new keyboardist Marc Wagnon and other contributors.[14] For the subsequent tour, Katz was replaced by Pierre Moerlen due to problems with his passport, while Kris Sjobring took over from Wagnon.[13] After a final tour in 1999 with Mick Stevens in place of Jones and John Holmes in place of Moerlen, the band broke up for a second time.[13]

17 years later, in the summer of 2016, Goodsall and Jones reformed Brand X for a third time, adding former drummer Kenwood Dennard and new members Chris Clark on keyboards and Scott Weinberger on percussion.[15] The following year, Dennard was replaced by Kenny Grohowski.[16]

Members

Current

Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
John Goodsall
  • 1974–1980
  • 1992–1999
  • 2016–present
  • guitar
  • keyboards (1992–99)
  • vocals (lead 1979, backing 1977)
all Brand X releases, except Live from Chicago (2015) and Live from Stockholm (2016)
Chris Clark 2016–present
  • keyboards
  • synthesisers
  • But Wait... There's More! (2017)
  • Locked & Loaded (2018)
  • Live from the Rites of Spring Festival 2018 (2018)
Scott Weinberger percussion
Kenny Grohowski 2017–present
  • drums
  • percussion
  • Locked & Loaded (2018)
  • Live from the Rites of Spring Festival 2018 (2018)

Former

Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Percy Jones
  • 1974–1980
  • 1992–1997
  • 2016–2020[17]
  • bass
  • keyboards (1992–99)
all Brand X releases
Robin Lumley
  • 1974–1978
  • 1979–1980
  • keyboards
  • synthesisers
  • piano
  • backing vocals
Peter Bonas 1974–1975 guitar none
Phil Spinelli
  • percussion
  • lead vocals
John Dillon 1974
  • drums
  • percussion
Phil Collins
  • 1974–1976
  • 1977
  • 1979
  • drums
  • percussion
  • vocals
  • Unorthodox Behaviour (1976)
  • Moroccan Roll (1977)
  • Livestock (1977)
  • Product (1979)
  • Do They Hurt? (1980)
  • Is There Anything About? (1982)
  • Live at the Roxy LA (1995)
  • Missing Period (1997)
  • Live from Ronnie Scotts (2015)
Bill Bruford 1975 percussion none
Jeff Seopardie 1976
Andy Ward
Preston Heyman Missing Period (1997)
Morris Pert 1976–1979 (died 2010) all Brand X releases from Moroccan Roll (1977) to Do They Hurt? (1980), and from Timeline (1999) to Live from New York (2016)
Joe Blocker 1977
  • drums
  • percussion
none
Kenwood Dennard
  • 1977–1978
  • 2016–2017
  • Livestock (1977)
  • Timeline (1999)
  • Live from San Francisco (2015)
  • But Wait... There's More! (2017)
J. Peter Robinson 1978–1980
  • keyboards
  • synthesisers
  • piano
  • backing vocals
  • all Brand X releases from Masques (1978) to Is There Anything About? (1982)
  • Live at the Roxy LA (1995)
  • Live from Chicago (2015)
  • Live from Stockholm (2016)
Chuck Burgi 1978
  • drums
  • percussion
  • Masques (1978)
  • Live from Stockholm (2016)
Mike Miller 1978 (temporary substitute) guitar
  • Live from Chicago (2015)
  • Live from Stockholm (2016)
Mike Clark
  • 1978–1979
  • 1980
  • drums
  • percussion
  • Product (1979)
  • Do They Hurt? (1980)
  • Live from Chicago (2015)
John Giblin 1979 (studio)
  • bass
  • backing vocals
  • Product (1979)
  • Do They Hurt? (1980)
  • Is There Anything About? (1982)
Frank Katz 1992–1997
  • drums
  • percussion
  • vocals
Marc Wagnon 1996–1997
  • synthesisers
  • percussion
Manifest Destiny (1997)
Kris Sjobring 1997–1999
  • keyboards
  • synthesisers
none
Pierre Moerlen 1997 (died 2005)
  • drums
  • percussion
Mick Stevens 1999 bass
John Holmes
  • drums
  • percussion

Timeline

Lineups

Period Members Releases
Mid – late 1974
  • Phil Spinelli – percussion, lead vocals
  • John Goodsall – guitar, backing vocals
  • Peter Bonas – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, backing vocals
  • John Dillon – drums, percussion
none
Late 1974 – early 1975
  • Phil Spinelli – percussion, lead vocals
  • John Goodsall – guitar, backing vocals
  • Peter Bonas – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
Early – late 1975
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
November – December 1975
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
  • Bill Bruford – percussion
none
January – February 1976
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
  • Jeff Seopardie – percussion
February 1976
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
  • Andy Ward – percussion
February – August 1976
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
  • Preston Heyman – percussion
  • Missing Period (1997)
August – December 1976
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
  • Morris Pert – percussion
Early 1977
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Joe Blocker – drums, percussion
  • Morris Pert – percussion
none
April 1977
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
  • Morris Pert – percussion
  • Livestock (1977) – one track
Spring 1977 – April 1978
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Kenwood Dennard – drums, percussion
  • Morris Pert – percussion
  • Livestock (1977) – two tracks
    (features Collins as guest percussionist)
  • Timeline (1999)
  • Live in San Francisco (2015)
  • Live from New York (2016)
May – July 1978
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Chuck Burgi – drums, percussion
  • Morris Pert – percussion
July – August 1978
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Chuck Burgi – drums, percussion
  • Morris Pert – percussion
none
August – October 1978
  • Mike Miller – guitar (temporary substitute)
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Chuck Burgi – drums, percussion
  • Morris Pert – percussion
  • Live from Stockholm (2016)
October – December 1978
  • Mike Miller – guitar (temporary substitute)
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Mike Clark – drums, percussion
  • Morris Pert – percussion
  • Live from Chicago (2015)
April 1979
(recording lineup #1)
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • John Giblin – bass
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
April 1979
(recording lineup #2)
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Mike Clark – drums, percussion
Summer – late 1979
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Phil Collins – drums, percussion
  • Live at the Roxy LA (1995)
Early – mid-1980
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Mike Clark – drums, percussion
none
Band inactive mid-1980 – mid-1992
Mid-1992 – February 1996
  • John Goodsall – guitar, keyboards
  • Percy Jones – bass, keyboards
  • Frank Katz – drums, percussion
February 1996 – early 1997
  • John Goodsall – guitar, keyboards
  • Percy Jones – bass, keyboards
  • Marc Wagnon – vibraphone, percussion
  • Frank Katz – drums, percussion
Early – summer 1997
  • John Goodsall – guitar, keyboards
  • Percy Jones – bass, keyboards
  • Kris Sjobring – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Pierre Moerlen – drums, percussion
none
Spring – summer 1999
  • John Goodsall – guitar, keyboards
  • Mick Stevens – bass
  • Kris Sjobring – keyboards, synthesisers
  • John Holmes – drums, percussion
Band inactive summer 1999 – summer 2016
Summer 2016 – spring 2017
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Chris Clark – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Kenwood Dennard – drums
  • Scott Weinberger – percussion
  • But Wait... There's More! (2017)
Spring 2017 – October 2020
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Percy Jones – bass
  • Chris Clark – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Kenny Grohowski – drums
  • Scott Weinberger – percussion
  • Locked & Loaded (2018)
  • Live from the Rites of Spring Festival (2018)
October 2020 – present
  • John Goodsall – guitar
  • Chris Clark – keyboards, synthesisers
  • Kenny Grohowski – drums
  • Scott Weinberger – percussion
none

References

  1. Kelman, John (26 May 2018). "Brand X: Locked & Loaded". All About Jazz. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  2. "Brand X". Wolfgangs. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  3. Collins, Phil (20 October 2016). Not Dead Yet: The Autobiography. New York City, New York: Random House. p. 156. ISBN 978-1473536142. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  4. Gerlach, Steffen. "Brand X: An Unorthodox History (Part 1)". Genesis-News.com. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  5. Connolly, Dave. "Unorthodox Behaviour - Brand X: Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  6. Budofsky, Adam. "Brand X Missing Period". Modern Drummer. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  7. "'X' rated drummer" (PDF). Record Mirror. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 23 April 1977. p. 4. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  8. McGee, David; Taylor, Barry (18 June 1977). "New York, N.Y." (PDF). Record World. Vol. 34 no. 1564. New York City, New York: Record World Publishing. p. 16. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  9. McGee, David; Taylor, Barry (3 June 1978). "New York, N.Y." (PDF). Record World. Vol. 35 no. 1614. New York City, New York: Record World Publishing. p. 79. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  10. Gerlach, Steffen. "Brand X: An Unorthodox History (Part 2)". Genesis-News.com. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. Bogucki, Bruce (16 October 1979). "Brand X: Roxy, Los Angeles" (PDF). Billboard. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications. p. 46. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  12. Prasad, Anil (2017). "John Goodsall: Blazing new trails". Innerviews. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  13. Gerlach, Steffen. "Brand X: An Unorthodox History (Part 3)". Genesis-News.com. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  14. "Brand X "Manifest Destiny"". Guitar Nine. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  15. Smith, Sid (30 October 2017). "Brand X: We never took ourselves too seriously". Prog. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  16. Mettler, Mike (7 June 2017). "Brand X Let Us Know 'But Wait... There's More! Live 2017' Is Coming on July 20". Hi Res Audio Central. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  17. https://www.loudersound.com/news/percy-jones-quits-brand-x
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