Gravy Train was a progressive rock group from Lancashire, England, formed by vocalist and guitarist Norman Barratt in 1969. Also featuring J.D. Hughes (keyboards, vocals, wind), Les Williams (bass, vocals) and Barry Davenport (drums), the band would record four studio albums. The first two were released on the Vertigo label, the remainder by Dawn Records.
History
The meaning behind the name
Freelance journalist, broadcaster and lecturer John O’Regan wrote that, despite recording four albums, Gravy Train's "success rate did not befit their choice of name". The term, "Gravy Train", he commented, was northern slang for "an occupation or other source of income that requires little effort while yielding considerable profit".
The group gathered a considerable following among British Progressive Rock audiences with incendiary live performances, along the way recording the debut Gravy Train (1970) and its follow-up (A Ballad of) a Peaceful Man (1971) on Vertigo, while a switch to Dawn Records yielded two further albums in Second Birth (1973) and Staircase to the Day (1974).
"Musically Gravy Train played melodic Progressive rock" — John O’Regan again — "with the accent on hard rock riffing alternating with quieter moments with the flute high in the mix topped with solid personable vocals from singer/guitarist/chief songwriter Norman Barratt. Gravy Train eventually foundered in 1975 through a combination of bad luck, poor business decisions and lack of success . . . However, with renewed interest in British and European Progressive Rock of the early 1970s, Gravy Train's output has garnered a considerable amount of interest from collectors and music fans alike. Their albums . . . have all been re-released on CD to positive feedback."
The early years
Gravy Train was formed in St. Helens in Lancashire, England in 1969. The original line-up had a considerable pool of talent from which to draw. Liverpool-born John Hughes had been a classically trained pianist. As a teenager, he played saxophone, self-taught, with various Merseybeat groups in the 1960s. O'Regan quotes him from an e-mail interview in March 2006 as saying: "Playing with a big soul band, Spaghetti House, I met bassist Les [Williams]. We formed a progressive rock band, where I played mainly flute and recruited Norm whom Les knew."
Singer/guitarist/songwriter Norman Barratt was born in Newton-le-Willows, halfway between Manchester and Liverpool, in 1949. After leaving school, he honed his guitar skills in local bands The Hunters (with whom he sometimes later still performed) and Newton's Theory, whilst holding down a day-job as a trainee accountant. After passing his accountancy exams, he turned professional, moving to London in the late Sixties with Newton's Theory.
Les had played in a St. Helens-based band called "The Incas", J.D. Hughes had been playing in Spaghetti House, and Barry had been part of a jazz outfit called "The John Rotherham Trio". Les and Barry moved to join J.D. in Spaghetti House. Barratt commented: "A mutual friend introduced me to the others who were looking, as I was, to form an original songs band, and not the usual covers band that we had all been used to up until that time". J.D. Hughes said: "We began rehearsing at St. Helens Cricket Club in the summer, I think, of 1969. I was still living at home in Liverpool, Les Williams and drummer Barry Davenport were from St. Helens and Norm from Earlestown, Lancs."
The band's influences mined a richly varied canvas: The Beatles, Jethro Tull, Roland Kirk and John Coltrane (J.D. Hughes), Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles (Norman Barratt), and The Beatles again (Les). For Barry Davenport it was jazz drummers Art Blakey, Buddy Rich and Joe Morello.
"Barry 's influence was immense in the early days," J.D. Hughes explained. "It was mainly his idea to write in unusual time signatures and arrange unison/harmony atonal instrumental passages. We all enjoyed long 'freak-outs' where we freely improvised, feeding off each other's ideas". On his departure after (A Ballad of) A Peaceful Man (he did play on three tracks on Second Birth), the writing became more melodic, much of the repertoire coming from Norman Barratt. However, the band still indulged in occasional "freak-outs".