The Spencer Davis Group

The Spencer Davis Group were one of Britain’s leading R&B bands of the 1960s.  The group was formed by Birmingham University student Spencer Davis who became interested in R&B playing guitar with the university jazz band.  While with the band he heard the Muff-Woody Quartet, who at that time had 13-year old Stephen Winwood playing piano.  A few months later Spenser formed his band, getting Stevie Winwood, his brother Mervyn (Muff) Winwood who played bass guitar, and drummer Peter York to join him.  All four shared the vocals, with Steve taking the lead. 

Their first professional appearance was at the Golden Eagle in Birmingham in 196t4.  Chris Blackwell, then with the Fontana division of Dutch record company Philips, head the group and signed the, becoming their recording and personal manager.  They made their film debut in Pop Gear in 1964, which also included appearances by the Beatles, the Animals, Heman’s Hemits and Billy J. Kramer. 

The group had their first hit with I Can’t Stand It, which crept into the Top 50 for three weeks in November 1964.  They had two more similarly small hits in 1965, and then released Keep On Running at the end of November.  On 15 January 1966 it made No 1 where it stayed for three weeks.  It was followed by Somebody Help Me, which in Britain gave them back-to-back No.1s.  Their next single, When I Come Home failed to make the Top 10, peaking at No.12.

Their last release of 1966 Gimme Some Lovin reached No.1 with 12 weeks in the Top 50, was also their biggest hit in America, reaching No.7 with 13 weeks in the chart.  The band had one more Top 10 hit in Britain with I’m A Man which reached the Top 10 in early 1967.  In April of that year Stevie and Muff Winwood left the group, and although they had two more minor hits, their departure effectively marked the end of the Spencer Davis Group. 

See the Spencer David Group perform Gimme Some Lovin: http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=N5iFrYTRyy4&feature=related and When I Come Home: http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=38UCU7SeT38