Sammy
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1972-73) - Keith Gemmell (RIP 2016) -- sax, flute - Mick Hodgekinson (aka Johnny Average) (RIP 2007) -- vocals, keyboards - Geoff Sharkey -- lead vocals, lead guitar - Paul Simmons - bass, backing vocals - Mick Underwood -- drums, percussion
supporting musicians: - Sylvia McNeill -- backing vocals - Martin Rushent -- tambourine
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- Acrobat (Geoff Sharkey) - Alibi (Geoff Sharkey) - Johnny Average and the Falcons (Mick Hodgekinson) - Johnny Average and the Thunderbolts (Mick Hodgekinson) - The Johnny Average Band - Audience (Keith Gemmell) - The Chaps (Mick Underwood) - The Doves (Mick Underwood) - Episode Six (Mick Underwood) - Bill Esher and the Beacons (Mick Hodgekinson) - Frank 'n Stein (Mick Hodgekinson) - Ian Gillan Band (Mick Underwood) - Ginhouse (Geoff Sharkey) - Heinz And The Wild Boys (Mick Underwood) - The Herd (Mick Underwood) - Billy J. Kramer (Mick Hodgekinson) - The Lancasters (Mick Underwood) - The Lloyd Alexander Real Estate (Keith Gemmell) - Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts (Mick Hodgekinson) - Natasha England (Geoff Sharkey) - The Outlaws (Mick Underwoo - The Pasadena Roof Orchestra (Keith Gemmell) - Peace (Mick Underwood) - Quartermass (Mick Underwood) - Raw Glory (Mick Underwood) - Geoff and Brooke Sharkey (Geoff Sharkey) - Stackridge (Keith Gemmell) - Strapps (Geoff Sharkey and Mick Underwood)) - Mick Underwood (solo efforts) - Valhalla (Mick Hodgekinson) - The Roy Young Band (Keith Gemmell, Mick Hodgekinson, and Paul Simmons)
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Sammy Company: Philips Catalog: PHS 700-006 Year: 1972 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: still in shrink; opened Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5211 Price: .$40.00
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It's doubtful many folks have ever heard the British band Sammy - I certainly hadn't which was kind of surprising given the band's impressive pedigree. Drummer Mick Underwood was seemingly the band's driving force, with the line up rounded out by a collection of rock veterans including ex-Audience horn and woodwinds player Keith Gemmell, ex-Billy J. Kramer keyboardist Mick Hodgekinson, former Ginhouse guitarist Geoff Sharkey, and ex-Roy Young Band bassist Paul Simmons.
Signed by Philips, the band debuted with a 1972 45:
- 'Goo Ger Woogie' b/w 'Big Lovin' Woman' (Philips catalog number 6006 227).
While the single did little commercially, it attracted enough interest and attention for Philips management to green light an album.
Produced and engineered by Martin Rushent, 1972s "Sammy" offered up a competent, if slightly worn set of mid-1970s hard rock. Largely penned by Sharkey and Simmons, lyrically and musically there wasn't a lot of originality going on here (kind of like the album cover). As lead singer Sharkey wasn't bad. In fact his raw raspy voice sounded surprisingly good on tracks like 'Give Me More', their unlikely cover of 'I Ain't Never Loved a Woman (The Way That I Love You)' and 'Get Into a New Thing'. On tracks like 'Who Do You Really Love' and 'Lady Lover' the album reminded me a little of Uriah Heep with a touch more boogie and variety. Elsewhere '70 Days' and the throwaway instrumental fragments 'Boogle' saw Gemmell's sax adding occasional jazz-influenced runs to the band's blues and rock oriented sound. The band was actually far more impressive on their isolated stabs at more-pop oriented material like the single 'Sioux-Eyed Lady' and 'Jo Anne'. Brainless fun, it's actually not a bad effort, especially if you approach it with the right mindset. Shame they never got a shot at recording a sophomore collection.
"Sammy" track listing: 1.) Give Me More (Geoff Sharkey - Mick Underwood) - 5:57 rating: *** stars 'Give Me More' opened up with a classic rock riff and introduced Geoff Sharkey's made-for-hard-rock vocals. When I say classic riff I don't mean it was particularly original; in fact there's a good chance you'll find yourself playing where-did-I-hear-that-before? I certainly did. Usually I'm not a big horn fan, but I have to admit I didn't have a problem with Keith Gemme's sax work. Can't say the same about Sylvia McNeill's screechy backing vocals. 2.) I Ain't Never Loved a Woman (The Way That I Love You) (Ronnie Shannon) - 5:05 rating: ** stars In spite of the slight title change, 'I Ain't Never Loved a Woman (The Way That I Love You)' was a straight-ahead cover of the Aretha Franklin hit. There wasn't anything wrong with their cover, but why would you want to hear the cover rather than the Franklin classic? 3.) Sioux-Eyed Lady (Geoff Sharkey) - 3:44 rating: **** stars Okay, the subject matter fails today's politically correct benchmarks, but 'Sioux-Eyed Lady' was easily the album's standout performance. Showcasing Sharkey's likeably raspy voice, the track was built on a tasty melody with just enough funk to make you start tapping your toes. Easy to see why it was tapped as the album's single, though Philips only released it as a promotional 45 in the States,
- 1972's 'Sioux-Eyed Lady' b/w '70 Days' (Philips catalog number 40722)
4.) Boogle (instrumental) (Paul Simmons - Geoff Sharkey - Mick Underwood - Mick Hodgekinson) - 0:55 rating: ** stars More a song fragment than anything, the instrumental 'Boogle' served as a showcase for Gemmel's flute. Pleasant, but forgettable. 5.) 70 Days (Geoff Sharkey) - 4:15 rating: *** stars The opening has always reminded me of something that might have been written for a television theme. From there it morphed into a decent slice of blues-rock. Paul Simmons' thundering bass will make your speakers shake.
(side
2) Perhaps Simmons' most commercial offering, 'Get Into a New Thing' had an incideously catchy refrain that powered the song beyond the rest of the album's typically competent, but slightly under whelming flavor. 2.) Jo Anne (Mick Hodgekinson) - 4:38 rating: **** stars Showcasing some dazzling jazzy bass lines, the atypical ballad 'Jo Anne' offered up the album's prettiest composition. 3.) Boggled (instrumental) (Paul Simmons - Geoff Sharkey - Mick Underwood - Mick Hodgekinson) - 0:55 rating: ** stars Just like the first iteration. Equally forgettable 4.) Who Do You Really Love (Geoff Sharkey) - 4:31 rating: *** stars Nice bouncy bar rocker with a great chorus. 5.) Lady Lover (Paul Simmons) - 3:50 Showcasing Gemmell's flute and sax and Hodgekins' organ, the rocker 'Lady Lover' has always reminded me of something off an early Uriah Heep album. That's a good thing in my book.
One LP and two 45s composed the band's entire recording legacy.
By the way, the British and German album release featured different cover art (Philips catalog number 6308 136).
Gemmell passed on in August 2016.
As far as Hodgekinson goes, in the late 1970s he moved to the States, ending up in Woodstock, New York where he formed a series of local bands including Johnny Average and the Falcons and The Johnny Average Band. Sadly he died of cancer in November 2007.
Sharkey has a web presence at: Geoff Sharkey - Home (weebly.com)
Underwood's recording catalog would fill a book. He had a web presence including an active Facebook account,. Sadly in August, 2023 his wife posted a note that Underwood was battling dementia and no longer online. (1) Facebook
Got this interesting email from bassist Paul Simmons:
Hi Guys,
Interested to see your
website, I was perusing the web the other day and came across your site
regarding the “Sammy” album and 2 singles. I was the bass player at
the time and your comments were largely fair and well placed, although we
did do quite a lot of gigs and went down well but didn’t pull off a
recorded success. Very much like the Roy Young Band that I played with
before, much of the problem was probably the lack of compositional
strength and some disagreements on arrangements.
Your only mistake in the
written piece is that the album was produced by Martin Rushent and Deep
Purple singer Ian Gillam (not Jon Lord) and the front cover artwork was
done by Philip Castle who was the man who did the artwork for the film
Clockwork Orange. Sadly Mick Hodgkinson is now dead.
Regards, Paul UK Thanks. Your comments were absolutely correct and I made the changes.
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