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Bronco were an English five piece
rock and
country band, who were signed to Island and Polydor Records between 1969 and 1973. They released three albums during their existence, Country Home (1970), Ace of Sunlight (1971) and Smoking Mixture (1973).
Bronco were formed in August 1969 by
Jess Roden following his split from
The Alan Bown Set .
[1] They were signed to
Island Records by
Guy Stevens and, after initially recording tracks at
Olympic Studios with him, recorded their first album, Country Home ,
[1] at Island's own
Basing Street Studios during 1970, with the final mix being overseen by
Paul Samwell-Smith . One of the album's tracks, "Love" was included on
Bumpers , an Island
sampler album .
[2] The group similarly recorded their second album Ace of Sunlight at Basing Street (1971) which was produced by the band and Richard Digby Smith. Singer-songwriter
Clifford T. Ward guested on their debut album Country Home .
Trevor Lucas sang back-up vocals on Ace of Sunlight , and both
Ian Hunter and
Mick Ralphs from
Mott The Hoople also guested on that album.
[3] In January 1971, Bronco appeared on
BBC Two 's
Disco 2 .
[4]
Following a serious motorway accident between Cheltenham and Bristol (in which the group's crew – Dick Hayes and Alan Stone – and drummer Pete Robinson and bassist John Pasternak were badly injured) and a later, ill-fated West Coast of America tour, Roden left the band after a final British tour with label-mates
Mott The Hoople and
John Martyn in the early 1972, to start a solo career.
[1] Guitarist
Robbie Blunt soon followed and the remaining members drafted in Paul Lockey on vocals (who Kevyn Gammond knew from
Band of Joy ) and Dan Fone on guitar. This incarnation of Bronco signed to
Polydor and released one album, Smoking Mixture .
[5]
Bronco's bass player John Pasternak died of a heart attack in September 1986. Led Zeppelin's
Robert Plant fronted a tribute event for Pasternak in December of that year, that featured Plant and The Big Town Playboys, and concluded with an ensemble band featuring Plant,
Jimmy Page on guitar and
Jason Bonham on drums.
Two Bronco tracks are featured on Island records compilation albums: "Love" appeared on
Bumpers released in 1970 and "Sudden Street" was on El Pea (1971). "Time Slips Away" was included on the Island Records compilation Meet on the Ledge , released as part of Island's 50th anniversary in 2009.
Kevyn Gammond – guitars, backing vocals (1969–1973)
John Pasternak – bass, backing vocals (1969–1973; died 1986)
Pete Robinson – drums, backing vocals, harmonica (1969–1973)
Robbie Blunt – guitars, backing vocals (1969–1972)
Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (1969–1972)
Dan Fone – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1972–1973)
Paul Lockey – lead vocals, guitar (1972–1973)
Label: Island ILPS 9124
"Civil Of You Stranger" – (Robbie Blunt) – 3:54
"Love" – (Jess Roden) – 4:31
"Misfit On Your Stair" – (
Clifford T. Ward , Kevyn Gammond) – 3:12
"Bumpers West" – (Suzy Worth) – 5:51
"Home" – (Jess Roden) – 4:08
"Well Anyhow" – (Jess Roden, Kevyn Gammond, Robbie Blunt, John Pasternak, Pete Robinson) – 7:02
"Time (So Long Between)" – (Jess Roden, Robbie Blunt) – 5:13
Personnel
Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
Kevyn Gammond – electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Robbie Blunt – electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals
John Pasternak – bass, backing vocals
Pete Robinson – drums, backing vocals, harmonica
Jeff Bannister – piano (3, 5)
Clifford T. Ward – backing vocals (3)
[6]
Label: Island ILPS 9161
"Amber Moon" – (Jess Roden, Suzy Worth) – 4:02
Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Kevyn Gammond – electric guitar
Robbie Blunt – electric guitar
John Pasternak – bass
Pete Robinson – drums
Ian Hunter – piano
Mick Ralphs – organ
"Time Slips Away" – (Robbie Blunt) – 6:05
Jess Roden – vocals (parts 1 and 2)
Robbie Blunt – electric and acoustic guitars, vocals (part 1)
Kevyn Gammond- electric guitar
John Pasternak – bass
Pete Robinson – drums
Paul Bennett – vocals
Trevor Lucas – vocals
"Some Uncertainty" – (Clifford T. Ward, Kevyn Gammond) – 3:39
Jess Roden – lead vocals, harmonica
Kevyn Gammond – rhythm acoustic guitar
Robbie Blunt – lead acoustic guitar
John Pasternak – bass
Pete Robinson – drums
Paul Davenport – piano
"4 Woman" – (Clifford T. Ward, Kevyn Gammond) – 4:18
Jess Roden – lead vocals
Kevyn Gammond – electric guitar
Robbie Blunt – electric guitar
John Pasternak – bass
Pete Robinson – drums
"New Day Avenue" – (Jess Roden, Suzy Worth) – 6:39
Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
Kevyn Gammond – electric guitar
Robbie Blunt – electric guitar (outro solo)
John Pasternak – bass
Pete Robinson – drums, congas
"Discernible" – (Kevyn Gammond, Suzy Worth) – 3:47
Jess Roden – lead vocals
Kevyn Gammond – electric and acoustic guitars
Robbie Blunt – electric and acoustic guitars
John Pasternak – bass
Pete Robinson – drums
Terry Allen – organ
"Sudden Street" – (Jess Roden) – 6:23
Jess Roden – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Kevyn Gammond – lead electric guitar
Robbie Blunt – rhythm electric guitar
John Pasternak – bass
Pete Robinson – drums
Paul Bennett – backing vocals
"Joys & Fears" – (Jess Roden, Suzy Worth) – 3:39
Jess Roden – special guitars, lead vocals, piano
[7]
Label: Polydor 2383 215
"Steal That Gold"
"Tennessee Saturday Night"
"Tell Me Why"
"Attraction"
"Southbound State Express"
"Turkey In The Straw"
"Zonker"
"Blueberry Pie"
"Strange Awakening"
[8]
Hidden Masters : The Jess Roden Anthology
Label: HiddenMasters HM 3001 (2013) – contained a number of previously unreleased tracks by Bronco (including)
"Lazy Now" – a different mix to the original 7" single mix released in 1970
"All The Love I Sing (Love)" – a different mix of the song that was included on Country Home
"New Day Avenue" – a different mix to the song that was included on Ace of Sunlight
"Bumpers West" – a different mix of the song that was included on Country Home
"Sudden Street" – a different mix of the song that was included on Ace of Sunlight
"Joys And Fears" – a different mix of the song that was included on Ace of Sunlight