Ten Years After are an English blues rock group formed in Nottingham in 1966. They had eight consecutive albums in the Top 40 on the UK Albums Chart between 1968 and 1973. The band are best known for tracks such as "I'm Going Home", "Hear Me Calling", "I'd Love to Change the World" and "Love Like a Man".

History

Formation: 1962–1966

250px|thumb|right|[[Leo Lyons and Joe Gooch of Ten Years After at Suwałki Blues Festival, 2009]]

The band's core formed in late 1960 as Ivan Jay and the Jaycats. After several years of local success in the Nottingham/Mansfield area, they changed their name to the Jaybirds in 1962, and later to Ivan Jay and the Jaymen. Ivan Jay sang lead vocals from late 1960 to 1962 and was joined by Ric Lee in August 1965, replacing drummer Dave Quickmire who had replaced Pete Evans in 1962. Roy Cooper played rhythm guitar and sang from 1960 to 1962. The Jaybirds moved to London to back the Ivy League in 1966.

Chick Churchill joined the group as keyboard player in 1966. That November, the quartet signed a manager, Chris Wright, and changed their name to Blues Trip. Using the name Blues Yard they played one show at the Marquee Club supporting the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons again changed their name in 1966 to Ten Years After – in honour of Elvis Presley, one of Lee's idols. claim that the name was pulled by Leo Lyons from a magazine, advertising a book, Suez Ten Years After (referring to the Suez Crisis).

Ten Years After: 1967–1974

The group was the first act booked by the soon-to-be Chrysalis Agency. They secured a residency at the Marquee, and were invited to play at the Windsor Jazz Festival in 1967. That performance led to a contract with Deram, a subsidiary of Decca – they were the first band without a hit single that Deram signed. In October 1967 they released the self-titled debut album Ten Years After. It was the first record issued with a different playing speed on each side: a three-minute edit at 45 rpm, and a nearly eight-minute live version at 33 rpm. The full studio version of the song appeared on the band's fifth album, their most successful in Britain, Cricklewood Green.

In 1971, the band switched labels to Columbia Records (US) and Chrysalis (UK) and released the hit album A Space in Time, which marked a move toward more commercial material. and this performance was later released on CD as The Friday Rock Show Sessions – Live at Reading '83.

In 1988, the members reunited for a few concerts and recorded the album About Time (1989) with producer Terry Manning in Memphis. Material from the subsequent tour was used for the 2005 double album Roadworks. Ric Lee is currently in a band called Ric Lee's Natural Born Swingers, along with Bob Hall. In January 2014, it was announced that Gooch and Lyons had left Ten Years After. Two months later, veteran bass player Colin Hodgkinson and singer/guitarist Marcus Bonfanti were announced as their replacements. In October 2017, the band released its most recent studio album, A Sting in the Tale.

In September 2024, it was announced the lineup of Lee, Churchill, Bonfanti, and Hodgkinson had split and Lee intended to premiere a new lineup in early 2025. In early 2025, this lineup was announced, consisting of Ric Lee, Samuel C Lees, Craig Fletcher, and Dave Burgoyne. This new lineup currently has shows announced in both the UK, and Europe.

Band members

;Current members

  • Ric Lee – drums <small>(1966–1974, 1983, 1988–present)</small>
  • Samuel C Lees – guitar, vocals <small>(2025–present)</small>
  • Craig Fletcher – bass guitar, vocals <small>(2025-present)</small>
  • Dave Burgoyne – keyboards, violin <small>(2025–present)</small>

;Former members

  • Chick Churchill – keyboards <small>(1966–1974, 1983, 1988–2024)</small>
  • Alvin Lee – guitar, vocals, harmonica <small>(1966–1974, 1983, 1988–2003; died 2013)</small>
  • Leo Lyons – bass <small>(1966–1974, 1983, 1988–2014)</small>
  • Joe Gooch – guitar, vocals <small>(2003–2014)</small>
  • Marcus Bonfanti – guitar, vocals, harmonica <small>(2014–2024)</small>
  • Colin Hodgkinson – bass <small>(2014–2024)</small>

Timeline

Discography

  • Ten Years After (1967)
  • Undead (1968; 14 May 1968, live at Klooks Kleek, London)
  • Stonedhenge (1969)
  • Ssssh (1969)
  • Cricklewood Green (1970)
  • Watt (1970)
  • A Space in Time (1971)
  • Rock & Roll Music to the World (1972)
  • Recorded Live (1973; 26–29 January 1973, live in Frankfurt, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Paris)
  • Positive Vibrations (1974)
  • About Time (1989)
  • Now (2004)
  • Evolution (2008)
  • A Sting in the Tale (2017)

References

Further reading

  • The New Musical Express Book of Rock, Star Books, 1975. .
  • Staehr, Herb (2001). Alvin Lee and Ten Years After: Visual History. Free Street Press.
  • The original Ten Years After website