His first band was called “Shave ’em Dry”, they played Blues. Their lead singer was Peter Hughes, who was deeply influenced by the style of Muddy Waters.
With this band they made ourselves a name with lots of pains on the road: he recalled several times not being paid, or not enough, or being paid with Guinness instead of money! On those times, they could not afford to be picky with their gigs and they would accept whatever venue they could get, even weddings!
The band changed its name to “Merlin”. He stated once: “Despite all the hardships, however, nothing else mattered but getting to the next venue and performing, and there were a lot of good friends who all helped us get through these early days. It was hard work but we survived and had so many adventures along the way. It all gave us so much determination and inner strength. Attributes that are always essential in the music business.”
His first band was called “Shave ’em Dry”, they played Blues. Their lead singer was Peter Hughes, who was deeply influenced by the style of Muddy Waters. Other important influences to mention were Robert Johnson and Sonny Boy Williamson. The first gig ever (and Glenn’s first gig ever too!) was at Henry’s Blues House in Birmingham. They played classics like Spoonful or Crossroads, with a lot of room for jamming or self-indulgence!
With this band they made ourselves a name with lots of pains on the road: he recalled several times not being paid, or not enough, or being paid with Guinness instead of money! On those times, they could not afford to be picky with their gigs and they would accept whatever venue they could get, even weddings! No matter the size of the audience, they played they heart out.
The times were extremely difficult for Glenn, as the money was very little. By periods he used to sleep in the Band’s van, friends flats, or in some room in forgotten dangerous zones of Birmingham.
Probably one of the best stories with the band happened after a gig at an University. They were asked to back a stripper and, as they were not in position to reject any money possibility, they performed a song called Caravan. The stripper was a gigantic and weird transvestite that started the number pretty well. But then pulled out a 10 foot snake out of a box and tried to wrap it to Glenn’s guitar. His reaction wasn’t the best, as he kicked the performing artist and the snake escaped and the audience panicked. The band was not paid that evening.
Shave ’em dry was going through a good moment, with more and more gigs, and eventually they were invited to perform for a major label in London. Don Ardon listened to them smoking cigars in his office in Wimbledon but after a while he kindly rejected them as they were too heavy for the commercial demands.
The band changed its name to “Merlin”. He stated once: “Despite all the hardships, however, nothing else mattered but getting to the next venue and performing, and there were a lot of good friends who all helped us get through these early days. It was hard work but we survived and had so many adventures along the way. It all gave us so much determination and inner strength. Attributes that are always essential in the music business.”