Humble Pie (band)

From Freepedia

For the phrase "eat humble pie" and its origin, see humble pie.

After leaving The Small Faces at, literally, the beginning of 1969, Steve Marriott joined the fledgling trio that he had helped to form, Humble Pie. The group consisted of Peter Frampton (former Herd front man, guitar), Greg Ridley (Spooky Tooth, bass) and Jerry Shirley (Valkyrie, drums). Marriott and Frampton were both considered “teen idols” at the time, so the joining of the two resulted in Humble Pie being tagged with another popular term of the era, “Super Group”.

The formation of Humble Pie brought great expectations from the public and press alike, so, under a veil of secrecy, the four secluded themselves in the adjacent county of Essex, and began the creative process. Most of the writing took place at Steve’s Beehive Cottage in Moreton, whilst the Village Hall of nearby Magdalen Laver was secured for rehearsal sessions.

Rushing a 45" single Natural Born Boogie in '69 the band were on their way, it was a productive time for the newly formed Pie, as two albums worth of material came from the process. Contractual snags briefly delayed their release, but soon “As Safe As Yesterday Is” was on the market, quickly followed by “Town and Country”, both on the Immediate label. Whilst Marriott, Ridley and Frampton shared front man duties, concerts were musical marathons presented in two distinct parts. The first was acoustic and mellow, many times performed by the four sitting on the stage floor barefooted, whilst the second half was plugged-in, louder and more rhythm & blues-influenced.

With Dave "Clem" Clempson replacing Frampton between the release of Rock On and Performance Rockin' The Filmore (this would be the last Humble Pie album to feature Frampton although he had already left the band!), Humble Pie moved towards an even harder sound emphasizing Marriott's blues and soul roots but was still unable to break into the mainstream. Constant shifts in line-up prevented the band from realizing its full potential, though they continued recording and performing until 1976. **** COMING SOON 2005 **** The Atlanta Years [2-CD album set comprising of a never before released studio album from 1980 + a live set recorded in 1983]