KILLING FLOOR is currently working with its original four piece line-up of Bill Thorndycraft, Mick Clarke, Stuart "Mac" McDonald and Bazz Smith.
Bill Thorndycraft
Bill Thorndycraft formed Killing Floor with Mick Clarke in 1968.
Read Bill's thoughts about the blues and his memories of Freddie King, Howlin' Wolf and others
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Mick Clarke
Guitarist MICK CLARKE was a founder member of KILLING FLOOR and has since gone on to a successful solo career with the MICK CLARKE BAND.
Mick joined his first professional band at the age of just seventeen. The Cliff Charles Blues Band played just three momentous dates.. Warwick University with the Graham Bond Organisation, Middle Earth club in London also with Graham Bond, and the Nags Head blues club in Battersea with Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac.
A year later, in 1968, Mick met up with singer / harp player Bill Thorndycraft. Founding the band KILLING FLOOR with Stuart McDonald, Bazz Smith and Lou Martin they hit the road and had an eventful four year ride of recording and touring, backing Freddie King on two UK tours and playing concerts with Howlin' Wolf, Captain Beefheart, The Nice, Yes, Jethro Tull and many other important acts of the time. The band recorded two albums released worldwide, and toured across Europe.
After the band went into its extended rest period in 1972 Mick went on to work with numerous other bands. The first of these was Toefat, the blues rock band formed by the blues and soul singer Cliff Bennett. This was followed by a spell with the American band Daddy Longlegs, touring all over the UK and Northern Europe, playing a mix of blues and rock. When this band finished Mick went through a spell of confusion.. the blues was not happening in England at the time, and Mick played with a variety of strange bands formed by ex members of Roxy Music and others..
However, in the mid seventies Mick formed up with singer Stevie Smith, and along with Stuart McDonald created SALT - an excellent hard hitting blues rock band. SALT was very successful on the English club and college scene playing many times at the Marquee club in London and building a strong following. The band later opened for Muddy Waters and performed at the Reading Festival in 1977.
The Punk Rock explosion signalled the end of SALT and its successor Ramrod, and again Mick went into a directionless period..living for a year in Los Angeles before returning to London to continue with a second version of SALT, battling against the prevailing winds of new wave and two tone...
In the early eighties Mick finally started a solo career and has been touring and recording with the Mick Clarke Band ever since.
Albums have included "Steel and Fire" produced by Mike Vernon, and "West Coast Connection" recorded in America with ex members of the Robert Cray Band and Roomfull of Blues. "No Compromise" received heavy airplay on UK radio..his current CD "The Rambunctious Blues Experiment" is his thirteenth album release. Mick tours regularly all over Europe performing at the top clubs and festivals, and has toured in America five times, including shows with Canned Heat and Johnny Winter. In 2010 The Mick Clarke Band continues to record and tour, with club and festival appearances scheduled across Europe. He recently appeared at the Great British R&B Festival in Colne as part of the "British Blues All Stars", and Killing Floor has both now played new live shows featuring the original 1968 line-up.
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Go to Mick's website mickclarke.com
Photos: Above - Carola Holl, Right - Carlo Aquistapace
Stuart "Mac" McDonald
At the age of fifteen Mac and friends Tony Lancett and a young drummer named Simon Kirke joined a band called "The Maniacs" in their native Mid-Wales, playing all over their local area of Presteigne, Radnorshire. After a couple of years playing barn dances and village halls, guitarist Tony bought the album "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers". The three of them had found a new musical direction - raw British blues rock. They left the Maniacs and formed a new band - the "Express Blues Band" and that is where they stayed until their school days were over.
The three moved to London. Simon went on to drum for "Black Cat Bones" the legendary "Free" and "Bad Company", and Tony became a sound engineer, spending twenty years in Toronto Canada and winning awards for his work.
Initially, Mac got a day job and lived in his van, parked behind Clapham Common tube station in South London. Six months later, after answering an ad in the Melody Maker music paper, he joined up with Mick Clarke and Bill Thorndycraft and became bass player with the newly formed "Killing Floor". Drummer Bazz Smith was the next recruit, folowed by Lou Martin on piano. The year was 1968.
Through Simon and Paul Kossof, originally the guitarist with Black Cat Bones, Mac got to know "Free" singer Paul Rodgers, eventually sharing a flat with him in London. While Killing Floor made two albums and worked steadily all over Britain and Europe, "Free" became a huge name with their number one hit "All Right Now", and later, when "Free" and "Killing Floor" had finally split up, Mac joined up with Paul in his new band "Peace". The band had a short but vivid career - playing just one radio session for John Peel on Radio One, and touring with Mott The Hoople on their "Mad Shadows" tour. Five timeless studio tracks were recorded: "Lady" "Seven Angels" "Like Water" "Pawn in the Game" and "Heartbreaker". No album was ever made, but "Lady" appeared on the "Free Story" album. "Peace" split when "Free" was briefly reformed.
After the traumas of Killing Floor and Peace, Mac took off for Europe and played in the house band for Club Mediteranee, Villars, for the next three months. Eventually "cabareted out" he returned to Britain to play with the British blues band "Jellybread" who were signed to Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon label, and the band worked hard around Britain and Holland.
A year later Mac joined up with his friend Barry Paul, ex "Heavy Metal Kids", and moved to Denmark, where they worked with "Life", a rock band based in Copenhagen. However, after a few months a call from London brought Mac back to England to join the reformed American band "Daddy Longlegs" - again featuring Mick Clarke on guitar and just beginning a hectic work schedule around Britain. The band toured steadily around the UK, Holland, Denmark and Sweden for the next two years, before Mick and Mac finally left.. there was a new project in the offing.
SALT, featuring singer / harp player Stevie Smith, was formed in 1974, and was a big hit on the London club scene and the college scene nationwide. The band proceeded to wear out five drummers and backed up visiting American blues acts such as Big John Wrencher and Cousin Joe, building a strong following and playing London's Marquee Club many times to packed houses. They also opened for the great Muddy Waters at his major "New Victoria" London concert in 1977. In the same year the band played at the Reading Festival, a dream realised.
In 1978 Lou Martin and Rod De'Ath, both ex Killing Floor members, were touring the world with the Rory Gallagher Band. When they left Rory's band after a seven year stint they formed up with Mac, Stevie and Mick to create "Ramrod", a powerful five piece blues rock band which made an instant impact on the British club circuit. The band also toured Ireland and played another date with Muddy Waters, this time at the famous "Rainbow Theatre" in London. However in England it was time for Punk and New Wave, and the band failed to secure the major record deal which they deserved. Mick left to live for a year in the U.S. and Mac returned to his native Presteigne.
Over the following years Mac played with various local bands and worked on recording projects with his wife Jan. In the year 2002 came the call that he was waiting for... the new album by KILLING FLOOR. The band has since hit the road again with new concerts across Europe.
Mac is also working with Herefordshire based blues rock trio The Electric Blues Reaction. You can find their music at their myspace page www.myspace.com/theelectricbluesreaction
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Bazz Smith
Bazz Smith is the drummer with Killing Floor and is currently recording the new album in London with the band.
Now relocated to Neuchatel Switzerland Bazz works with a number of projects playing African, Rock, Jazz and Blues.
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Lou Martin
Born in Northern Ireland but raised in Woolwich, South London, Lou learned to play piano at a young age. Taking classical piano lessons and reaching a high grade he also started to listen to the blues and boogie pianists who would influence his professional style..notably Memphis Slim, Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis.
The potent combination of these styles combined with Lou's own talent and enthusiasm created a powerful and exciting young player, and when Killing Floor came to visit in 1968, after Lou had answered an ad in the Melody Maker music paper, they were knocked out.
Lou's style was an important part of the early Killing Floor sound and his playing received excellent reviews. When the initial band band broke up as the British blues boom waned, Lou went on to work with numerous other projects, before rejoining Killing Floor towards the end of their life, (first incarnation) along with Bill, Rod De'Ath, Mick and Stan Dekker on bass.
When Killing Floor finally metamorphosed into the new Cliff Bennett band, Lou was there.. indeed it was he who had introduced the band to Cliff. But almost immediately a new call came, from one Mr. Rory Gallagher.
Rod De'Ath was already working with Rory, and had told him about this fiery pianist that he knew. Rory was intrigued, and after a quick audition he augmented his three piece band with, for the first time, keyboards. The line-up stayed together for seven years and toured extensively all over the world. They played major venues such as the Albert Hall in London, The Hollywood Bowl and Budokan in Japan. In the course of their American tours Lou jammed with Otis Rush in his Chicago club and was asked to join Albert Collins' band. A full length feature film was made of their Irish tour by producer Tony Palmer, and shown on general release around the world. Five albums were released.. "Tattoo" "Blueprint" "Calling Card" "Against the Grain" and the huge selling "Irish Tour".
When their time with Rory was finally over, Rod and Lou decided to fulfil a long time ambition and put a band together with Mick Clarke and "Mac" McDonald. With Stevie Smith fronting the band they formed "Ramrod". The band toured Ireland and had some success in London, but unfortunately the times were against it.. punk music had arrived, and bands such as Ramrod had no chance at all of securing a record contract. Despite the valiant efforts of band members, particularly Rod deAth, the band broke up after just a year.
Lou and Rod were now booked for a tour of Europe backing Chuck Berry. The tour line up included Muddy Waters and was a huge success, being repeated soon afterwards. Lou's stories of life with Chuck are legendary.. but you must ask him yourself!
Over the following years Lou took up long residencies as a solo pianist, and also recorded with Mick Clarke on several of his albums. In the early 1990's he joined up with Scottish band "Blues'n'Trouble", relocated to Edinburgh and went back on the road full time. The band recorded several albums and toured extensively across Europe. Following this Lou worked full time with Mick Clarke's band, again touring regularly across Europe, and played on the re-union Killing Floor album "Zero Tolerance".
Lou continued to work with various projects such as the "Band of Friends" and other Gallagher tributes. He also worked occasionally with Nine Below Zero, Gwyn Ashton and Mick Clarke.
Note from Mick: Unfortunately Lou suffered a stroke a few years ago and is currently unable to work with the band. We are in regular contact and of course all wish him well for a full recovery and more great music.
Top photo: Bill Thorndycraft. Lou with Chuck Berry, Alexander Palace London 1979 by courtesy of David Cooper.
Lou remembers..
The band formed in 1968 as a chicago styled blues band..Material/reportoire featured covers of Junior Wells,James Cotton, Elmore James performed in the style of the Paul Butterfield/Charlie Musselwhite band courtesy of Bill's Records.We rehearsed and then looked for places to play which was relatively easy in those days.
There was a considerable blues boom going on ever since John Mayall and Eric Clapton paved the way and the scene was quite full of guitar fronted bands playing BB King- Albert and Freddie. Our style was much more down - home with southside influences blending with the newly arrived sound of Canned Heat and just a little sprinkling of west coast hard rock.
After finding ourselves an agent,we had opportunities to support some of the big acts of the day e.g.Jethro Tull, Georgie Fame, Ten Years After, the Nice, Yes, Chicken Shack etc as well as acts as diverse as The Herd, Jr Walker and the all stars, Arthur Brown and Consortium all of which gave the band exposure and in general we were increasing our popularity whilst still adhering to our bluesy roots.
Through one of the promoters who booked American Blues Stars, the offer emerged to back Howlin' Wolf.We all reacted along the lines of 'Howlin' Wolf with Killing Floor, 'his number' - brilliant. Alas some other more moneyed orientated band hijacked the job and we alternatively got the tour with Freddie King instead. A good move as it turned out. T.B.C...
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