Description
Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a new 2CD anthology celebrating the British rock band Widowmaker. Formed in 1975 by former Mott the Hoople and Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor, also known as Ariel Bender. The original line-up of the band featured vocalist Steve Ellis (ex-Love Affair & Ellis), guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton (ex-Hawkwind), Australian bassist Bob Daisley (ex-Chicken Shack) and drummer Paul Nicholls who had previously been a member of Lindisfarne. A few months after they had begun rehearsing at Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Manticore Studios in London, Widowmaker signed to Don Arden’s Jet Records label. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1976 and featured guest musicians Bobby Tench and Zoot Money. After touring with Nazareth, they joined Little Feat, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Streetwalkers as support to The Who on their “Who Put the Boot In’ series of stadium shows in June 1976. Running Free celebrates the music of Widowmaker and features both of the band’s studio albums in their entirety on CD for the first time. The collection also includes the previously unreleased track ‘Talk to Me’, recorded in January 1977. The anthology features an illustrated booklet that includes a new essay with exclusive interviews with Luther Grosvenor, Steve Ellis and Bob Daisley.