Before arriving at that winning formula, Adrian needed to tail off obligations to many a respected ‘muse,’ especially now that he had his star. The story must turn the spotlight onto an enduring Scottish maverick and cast-off from the defunct Apple Record stable: Roderich Mackenzie. “Noddy,” as once referred to by friends (most notably Pete Ham and Tommy Evans of the ill-fated Badfinger), was/is a gifted beat poet and survives now as a self-proclaimed ‘Godfather of Astral Funk’ known as “Jeep Solid”…



~ Courtesy of Jeep Solid ~

“Before meeting Adrian, I spent a great deal of time at Ward 11, the ‘Blue Room’ at Inverness District Asylum (thanks to Lemmy)… Later, I was having a crap in the basement of Apple Corps, Saville Row and was asked to join one of their top bands. When that petered out, Adrian and I started discussing the business of getting another band together. Once he met Mike, it was all over. Mike was cute you know and Adrian dropped me like a hot rock!”

~ Jeep Solid ~

~ Jeep Solid proudly displaying Tommy Evans Lithograph ~

http://badfingerlinks.bravepages.com/mvp.html

http://www.mindspring.com/~crimson3/

Photograph by Trevor Martin

“Amazing that Noddy is somehow still alive. I saw him about a year ago. He’s living in Inverness which is about the recommended distance from London for him. I am a psychologist these days, so if you’re interested in a psychotherapeutic description of the personality of ‘Noddy,’ I’m going to have to charge…It’s just not simple!”

~ Matthew Irving ~

One of the bands earliest considerations was Paul Riordan, a superb bassist and guitarist who came answering a "Melody Maker" advertisement. The auditioning process proved to be tough going, so after nearly a year of continuous search and off-and-on-again rehearsals, Paul began to lose interest and drifted off to pursue other options.

“I originally answered an ad in Melody Maker and was asked to meet up with Mike Corby. I turned up one Saturday afternoon with my bass and we played a few numbers. I can vaguely remember some jam sessions at a place on Kings Road called Salter’s Café. Mike once asked if I would be interested in helping to audition drummers, so I went with him over to the Marquee to give my opinion of Tony Brock who was sensational!”

~ Paul Riordan ~

 ~ Courtesy of Paul Riordan ~

Shortly after Riordan’s departure, a tall sharp-looking guitarist/singer, calling his self Gordon ‘Rondelle,’ strolled in to fill the gap, and it was he who would forever alter the landscape of the yet unnamed group…

“I got involved with Mike Corby around 1974. It was just the two of us and the band had no name…

 ~ Courtesy of Gordon Hawtin ~

I first met John Waite in a local pub around 1973 or so, before he moved to America. He wrote me a letter from the States, and I told him about Corby, that we were putting this band together. When he [John] came back to London, I arranged the meeting with Mike and Adrian to get him involved”

~ Gordon Hawtin ~




~ Postmarked Letter to Gordon from John Waite, DEC 1974 - Northfield, Ohio ~

Courtesy Gordon Hawtin

Gordon referred his good mate, John Waite, to be considered for the bassist slot. Waite had just returned to England from a failed foray with some local ‘Boys’ in Ohio, where he had accepted an earlier offer to join the remaining members of popular band once called ‘Granicus.’



~ Woody Leffel's Signature upon a ‘Highly Sought’ Album Cover ~




“We hired John to play bass, but he didn’t do any lead vocals, just bass. We even had to buy him a bass guitar; he didn’t bring one with him. Crazy as it sounds, when the band decided to call it quits, we had to ask for the bass back to pay for the plane ticket to get him home!”

~ Joe Battaglia ~

 ~ Courtesy of Doug Sheppard ~

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