Groundhogs

Groundhogs are a British blues rock group from New Cross, London, active from 1963 to 2014. The band is fronted by Tony McPhee on guitar and vocals and is associated with blues, blues rock, British blues, hard rock, heavy psych and rock. It begins in the early 1960s as a blues outfit, first known as The Dollar Bills and then as John Lee’s Groundhogs, a name that reflects admiration for John Lee Hooker.

Early years and line-up changes

The first version of the group lasts for about a year. McPhee then spends time with Truth, Boz & The Boz People and Herbal Mixture, and also works with John Dummer’s Blues Band, appearing on the debut album Cabal in 1968. He has already turned down the chance to replace Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

The Groundhogs re-form in 1968 after McPhee contacts Pete Cruickshank, who had played in the original group and with him in Herbal Mixture. The re-formed line-up adds drummer Ken Pustelnik and harmonica player Steve Rye. Roy Fisher, who manages the early incarnation, helps secure a deal with Liberty Records through Andrew Lauder.

Recording career

The group’s debut album, Scratching the Surface, appears in 1968 with Mike Batt as producer. The following album, Blues Obituary, comes out in 1969 and is intended to move the band away from a straightforward blues image. By then the group is a trio after Steve Rye leaves. Sales of the album help bring the band close to wider recognition.

Their commercial peak comes with Thank Christ for the Bomb in 1970, which reaches the UK top 10. The album becomes closely identified with John Peel, who plays it heavily on his radio show and helps establish it with listeners. A track from the album, “Soldier,” is singled out in that period. The band’s next album is Split, and it becomes one of their best-known releases. During the early 1970s, the group has three top 10 LPs in under two years.

The Groundhogs continue with Who Will Save the World in 1972. After that release, Ken Pustelnik leaves and Clive Brooks joins on drums. Later in 1972 the band records Hogwash. The group then moves to another label connected to new management, but the arrangement proves unsuccessful. The band splits in April 1975.

Later activity

McPhee forms a new Groundhogs line-up later in 1975 after demand for the band continues. This version returns to Liberty/UA and records Crosscut Saw in 1975 and Black Diamond in 1976. The band splits again as punk becomes dominant, and McPhee later works under the Tony McPhee Blues Band name. In the early 1980s, a live double album, Hogging the Stage, is issued under the Groundhogs name and reaches the independent chart. McPhee then restores the Groundhogs name for later live work, and the band continues with many personnel changes until 2014.

Style and significance

Groundhogs are often described as difficult to categorise because they sit between blues and heavy rock. McPhee characterises the group as neither a pure blues band nor a pure heavy metal band, but something that sits between the two. Their reputation rests on McPhee’s guitar work, the move from blues roots into heavier rock, and the sequence of early 1970s albums that secure their place in British rock history.