Spooky Tooth was an English progressive rock band from the late 1960s. They faded into obscurity afterwards, facing problems similar to The Band, in that they were more popular among fellow musicians and industry insiders than with the general public, though they still have quite a few devoted fans.
They formed in October 1967, out of a combination of The Ramrods (1960 - late 1963), The V.I.P.'s (late 1963 - April 1967) and Art (April - October 1967). The line-up changed several times, but typically was:
* Mike Harrison (keyboards/vocals)
* Greg Ridley (bass guitar/vocals)
* Luther (Luke) Grosvenor (guitar/vocals)
* Mike Kellie (drums)
* Gary Wright (organ/vocals)
It was the latter's addition that signalled the name change from Art to Spooky Tooth.
The song "Better By You, Better Than Me", recorded by Judas Priest is a Spooky Tooth cover. It was taken from 1969's Spooky Two LP which is generally considered to be the best effort by the group. It was the last album release from the original line-up. Ridley joined Humble Pie in 1969 and was replaced by Andy Leigh who went on to Matthews Southern Comfort with ex-Fairport Convention vocalist Ian Matthews. The experimental nature of Ceremony received mixed reviews and following its release Wright also bowed out. The core of Harrison, Grosvenor and Kellie struggled on for one more album, aptly titled The Last Puff, completed with friends from Joe Cocker's Grease Band.
They broke up in the autumn of 1970, however after solo efforts Harrison and Wright reformed Spooky Tooth in September 1972 with a different (and frequently changing) line-up. The best known member of these line-ups (from March 1973 to September 1974) was Mick Jones (guitar / vocals), later in Foreigner and, from February - May 1974, Mike Patto (vocals) replaced Harrison for the 1974 release The Mirror. The group then split again in September 1974.
DISCOGRAPHY
-as Art (Mike Harrison (voc), Greg Ridley (b), Luther Grosvenor (guitar), Mike Kellie (drums))
* 1967 - Supernatural Fairy Tales
-as Spooky Tooth
* 1968 - Its All About
* 1969 - Spooky Two
* 1970 - Ceremony (with Pierre Henry)
* 1970 - The Last Puff
* 1971 - Tobacco Road (=It's All About)
* 1973 - You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw
* 1973 - Witness
* 1974 - The Mirror
* 1999 - Cross Purpose
* 1999 - The Best of Spooky Tooth: That Was Only Yesterday
* 2000 - Comic Violence
* 2001 - BBC Sessions
* 2007 - Nomad Poets (DVD)