Tony McPhee

Reverend · June 2023

Groundhogs were incredible and Tony was one of the greats.

rustneversleeps · June 2023

Seen him many times in my yoof.Great guitarist especially his early blues stuff.R.I.P.

scrumhalf · June 2023

Oh no.

The Groundhogs were a wonderful band. I first heard "Split" when I was about 9 or 10, it blew my tiny little mind.

Later on I saw the Tony McPhee Band who metamorphasised back into the Groundhogs - Mick Kirton's flared drums and all. Didn't he have a guitar made out of granite at one point?

One tape I very nearly wore out was of a gig at the Marquee in autumn 1981/2. If Grant from Totteridge is a member of this forum I'd love to have another copy.

I'm going to have to listen to "Split" on the way in to the office tomorrow. And probably on the way back as well. And on Thursday...

TonyJ · June 2023

He was also the most approachable and friendliest guy. I used to see him at almost every London gig in 80s/90s he was great

boogieman · June 2023

Ah bollocks, so sad to read this. Saw the Groundhogs many times, especially when they were riding high in the charts in the 70s. Also saw Tony several times after he’d had his strokes, he was terrible on the guitar but god bless him, he was still trying his best, obviously loved playing out and usually had a big grin on his face. He never really got the recognition he deserved as one of the pioneers of British blues but he had a totally unique guitar style and wrote some fantastic music along the way.

RIP TS, you will be greatly missed.

axisus · June 2023

Sad news, I had a big Groundhogs phase back in the day. As a lifelong comics fan, I always loved this album cover:

Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/41/Groundhogs_-_Who_Will_Save_the_World.jpg

stratman3142 · June 2023

Sad news. I saw The Groundhogs a few times in the early seventies, around the time of Split.

EricTheWeary · June 2023

I don't know the back catalogue at all to my shame although he's one of those names that have cropped up in guitar circles as long as I can remember. The bassist in one of my old bands knew him a bit, I guess this is 15 or so years ago, and basically said Tony hadn't got two brass farthings to rub together despite having had some fairly mainstream success once upon a time but was still out there playing for the love of it.
RIP

chromatuna · June 2023

I don’t know / haven’t connected with much Groundhogs stuff behind Thank Christ For The Bomb and Split but those two albums alone show him as a Strat wrangler with his own voice and creative songwriter. Part of my musical DNA in there.

Offset · June 2023

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

I didn't know this. Fecking gutted. I LOVED the Groundhogs :-(

PhilKing · June 2023

I saw the Groundhogs many times in the 70's and loved their stuff. Split is one of my favourite albums. RIP Tony

57Deluxe · June 2023

Oh no+ I bought Solid on the basis of him being an SG player and I had just got an SG (copy) as my first guitar and was mesmorised with the sounds he got with his on that album. Always liked the energy of that era work - Raw and uncompromising.

I often did a google to make sure he was still around, but I know was in a shaky state more latterly.

Another touchstone of youth gone. Sad days.

boogieman · June 2023

EricTheWeary said:

I don't know the back catalogue at all to my shame although he's one of those names that have cropped up in guitar circles as long as I can remember. The bassist in one of my old bands knew him a bit, I guess this is 15 or so years ago, and basically said Tony hadn't got two brass farthings to rub together despite having had some fairly mainstream success once upon a time but was still out there playing for the love of it.
RIP

@EricTheWeary. ;Start with Split, which was their most successful album. Hogwash is also excellent. Thank Christ for the Bomb and the one that axisus posted above are both decent.

Philly_Q · June 2023

Another player, and band, whose names had been very familiar for pretty much my whole life, but I've never heard very much of their material. I do have a best of album somewhere.

He seemed like one of those very humble, down to earth guys who just kept plugging away for the love of the music, although he can't have got wealthy on the record sales. I'm sure I read an interview - probably 20 years ago - when he was playing a cheap little Epiphone Les Paul II as his main guitar, but I can't find a picture of him with it. Looks like he was playing more Strat-type guitars in recent years.

RIP

boogieman · June 2023

Philly_Q said:

Another player, and band, whose names had been very familiar for pretty much my whole life, but I've never heard very much of their material. I do have a best of album somewhere.

He seemed like one of those very humble, down to earth guys who just kept plugging away for the love of the music, although he can't have got wealthy on the record sales. I'm sure I read an interview - probably 20 years ago - when he was playing a cheap little Epiphone Les Paul II as his main guitar, but I can't find a picture of him with it. Looks like he was playing more Strat-type guitars in recent years.

RIP

He had a lovely vintage cherry SG and a white Strat in the early days. The SG got stolen at one point in the 70s, he was devastated apparently. Don’t know what happened to the Strat. From the 80s onwards I’d see him playing all sorts of cheap and cheerful stuff like Strat copies and budget Ibbys. He still sounded like Tony whatever he played.

57Deluxe · June 2023

ep2 The Gallows Pole BBC2 drama last eve - Cherry Red in soundtrack

springhead · June 2023

boogieman said:

Philly_Q said:

Another player, and band, whose names had been very familiar for pretty much my whole life, but I've never heard very much of their material. I do have a best of album somewhere.

He seemed like one of those very humble, down to earth guys who just kept plugging away for the love of the music, although he can't have got wealthy on the record sales. I'm sure I read an interview - probably 20 years ago - when he was playing a cheap little Epiphone Les Paul II as his main guitar, but I can't find a picture of him with it. Looks like he was playing more Strat-type guitars in recent years.

RIP

He had a lovely vintage cherry SG and a white Strat in the early days. The SG got stolen at one point in the 70s, he was devastated apparently. Don’t know what happened to the Strat. From the 80s onwards I’d see him playing all sorts of cheap and cheerful stuff like Strat copies and budget Ibbys. He still sounded like Tony whatever he played.

First time I saw him he was playing a Strat, so I asked him what had happened to the SG, and yes he said it was stolen. I saw him another time and he had some weird black guitar with I think a tuner mounted on the body. I've got photo's somewhere.

usedtobe · June 2023

Saw him do a solo gig at a folk club, in Rotherham, 30 odd years ago.. he was incredible..!

TonyJ · June 2023

springhead said:

boogieman said:

Philly_Q said:

Another player, and band, whose names had been very familiar for pretty much my whole life, but I've never heard very much of their material. I do have a best of album somewhere.

He seemed like one of those very humble, down to earth guys who just kept plugging away for the love of the music, although he can't have got wealthy on the record sales. I'm sure I read an interview - probably 20 years ago - when he was playing a cheap little Epiphone Les Paul II as his main guitar, but I can't find a picture of him with it. Looks like he was playing more Strat-type guitars in recent years.

RIP

He had a lovely vintage cherry SG and a white Strat in the early days. The SG got stolen at one point in the 70s, he was devastated apparently. Don’t know what happened to the Strat. From the 80s onwards I’d see him playing all sorts of cheap and cheerful stuff like Strat copies and budget Ibbys. He still sounded like Tony whatever he played.

First time I saw him he was playing a Strat, so I asked him what had happened to the SG, and yes he said it was stolen. I saw him another time and he had some weird black guitar with I think a tuner mounted on the body. I've got photo's somewhere.

I believe the SG was stolen in the 80s. The back against the wall album has a song about it 54146 (the SG serial No). He did have a lovely zemaitis he played live around late 80s

Hootsmon · June 2023

Groundhogs was one of those albums that was always in the record shop front window when i was a lad...around the time of Hot Rats and stuff....shame

boogieman · June 2023

TonyJ said:

springhead said:

boogieman said:

Philly_Q said:

Another player, and band, whose names had been very familiar for pretty much my whole life, but I've never heard very much of their material. I do have a best of album somewhere.

He seemed like one of those very humble, down to earth guys who just kept plugging away for the love of the music, although he can't have got wealthy on the record sales. I'm sure I read an interview - probably 20 years ago - when he was playing a cheap little Epiphone Les Paul II as his main guitar, but I can't find a picture of him with it. Looks like he was playing more Strat-type guitars in recent years.

RIP

He had a lovely vintage cherry SG and a white Strat in the early days. The SG got stolen at one point in the 70s, he was devastated apparently. Don’t know what happened to the Strat. From the 80s onwards I’d see him playing all sorts of cheap and cheerful stuff like Strat copies and budget Ibbys. He still sounded like Tony whatever he played.

First time I saw him he was playing a Strat, so I asked him what had happened to the SG, and yes he said it was stolen. I saw him another time and he had some weird black guitar with I think a tuner mounted on the body. I've got photo's somewhere.

I believe the SG was stolen in the 80s. The back against the wall album has a song about it 54146 (the SG serial No). He did have a lovely zemaitis he played live around late 80s

Oh yes, I’d forgotten about the Zemaitis, Pete Cruikshank the Hogs bass player had one too. Awesome looking things.

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