Spooky Tooth - Career

Career

Crucial to their sound was their instrumentation; they were one of the relatively few rock acts of the time to adopt the twin keyboard approach (both an organ and a piano player).

They formed in October 1967, when Gary Wright joined the band Art. The band name Art only existed from April to October 1967. Art was renamed from The V.I.P.'s, as the name fitted better to the new musical direction taken on the album Supernatural Fairy Tales. Gary Wright held a significant role from the start. He wrote the majority of the first Spooky Tooth album, some even with record producer Jimmy Miller instead of band members.

The line-up changed several times, but typically was -

• Mike Harrison (born Michael Harrison, 3 September 1942, Carlisle, Cumberland) (keyboards/vocals)
• Greg Ridley (born Alfred Gregory Ridley, 23 October 1942, Aspatria, Cumberland — died 19 November 2003, in Alicante, Spain) (bass guitar/vocals)
• Luther (Luke) Grosvenor (born Luther James Grosvenor, 23 December 1946, Evesham, Worcestershire) (guitar/vocals)
• Mike Kellie, (born Michael Alexander Kellie, 24 March 1947, Birmingham, Warwickshire) (drums)
• Gary Wright, (born Gary Malcolm Wright, 26 April 1943, Cresskill, New Jersey, U.S.) (organ/vocals)

Gary Wright was introduced to the members of Art by Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records.

1969's Spooky Two LP was the last album release by the original lineup. It included the song "Better By You, Better Than Me", which was covered by Judas Priest on their 1978 release Stained Class.

Ridley joined Humble Pie in 1969 and was replaced by Andy Leigh (in time for 1970's album Ceremony) 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, 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 line-up. The best known member of these line-ups (from March 1973 to September 1974) was Mick Jones (guitar / vocals), later in Foreigner. From February — May 1974, Mike Patto (vocals) replaced Harrison for the 1974 release The Mirror. The group then split again in November 1974.