SB & Q: Press Clippings

The first item is lifted from the programme notes for the Golden Rose of Montreux television festival of 1972, where the Sutherland Brothers Band played the closing concert, along with Amazing Blondell, Gary Wright and The Doors. The Golden Rose was won by ITV's The Comedy Machine, while BBC took the silver rose with The Goodies. Drummer Neil Hopwood kindly sent me the programme notes, which were in French, English and German. I've (badly) translated the French ones, which were similar to the German notes, while the ones in English were a little different.

French: If you like the Byrds or Simon & Garfunkel, sadly now split up, it’s with great pleasure that you’ll listen to the Sutherland Brothers. They are two Scottish brothers who, accompanied by a drummer and a bassist, interpret, in a marvellously natural way, songs that they compose in the style of more traditional folk songs. Since last autumn, they have played numerous gigs around the UK and, above all, the public reaction has been clamorous: this is a group to follow! From their concerts, one gets a sort of nonchalance, which can seem disconcerting, but it comes over mostly as an interior calm that they are able to pass on to their public.

English: The Sutherland Brothers write songs, play them, sing them and are helped by drummer Neil Hopwood and bassist Kim Ludman, who joined them late last summer. The Sutherland Brothers’ main strength lies in the naturalness of their writing, performing and recording. They went out on the road last autumn for the first time, playing gigs all over to warm themselves up and to introduce their music to as many people as possible. Reaction was, to be frank, just great. The people, it seems, like the Sutherland Brothers Band. There’s a kind of nonchalance about them which is slightly disconcerting, because people aren’t supposed to be that good and loose until they’ve been on the road for ten years. They haven’t, yet they are.

Mark Plummer (August 1973; Melody Maker)

...they [the Faces] played I'd Rather Go Blind and Jealous Guy with the audience clapping. Rod announced that Kenny Jones had been taken to hospital and followed it through with a You Wear It Well/Maggie May medley. Gavin Sutherland, a guitarist by trade, took over drums for Twistin' The Night Away and the Faces were gone. It was a good night. The Faces can always be relied upon to produce a good show, but the Hardrock was just unbearable. Tetsu has slipped perfectly into place and I can see the Faces getting stronger than ever now.

Richard Belfield (August 1973; NME)

As for the music, it was all a bit subdued. The Faces went through a predictable number of golden oldies and greatest hits - Maggie May, Stay With Me and Angel, all punctuated with Stewart's famous microphone stand technique. After Kenny Jones went off, much of the life went out of the band, though Tetsu's percussive bass and the replacement drummer from the Sutherland Brothers [Gavin] kept everything moving. Afterwards, Rod Stewart threatened that the Faces would never play Manchester's Hardrock again.

Bruce Thomas (early 1974; unknown publication, but public resignation)

Reaching for the Sutherlands

Dear Sufferland Brothers and Oliver, I don't mind being the James Dean of the four-strings. But don't forget there's two sides to every coin. Three years ago, I thought I'd try living on the edge - after all, that's the only way it'll roll. So I got spun off! Sail on shipmates, love Bruce.

Geoff Brown (1975; NME)

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: Reach for the Sky (LP review)

Aside from having, in Tim Renwick, the best "undiscovered" lead guitarist in Britain, SB&Q provide one of the richest and most prolific sources of material in the country with Iain and Gavin Sutherland. Now that the Suth song Sailing has become a number one hit, more people will take heed of this fine band. After two albums as the Sutherland Brothers and two since their marriage with Quiver, the group have parted company with Island, who tried so hard to break the group and, though they twice came within a hair's breadth - (I Don't Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway and Dream Kid - it didn't work.

CBS hope for better luck and Reach for the Sky, produced by Ron and Howie Albert, is the way to go about it: to "make" the group's own luck as a soccer boss might say. The album isn't their masterpiece by any means. Dream Kid almost was, and the first side of Reach for the Sky is above that very high standard. The second side is less successful, containing a couple of weak songs which spoil the energy SB&Q generate so naturally.

The first side has four Iain tunes and one by Gavin. It also has three immensely magical guitar solos from Tim Renwick, the sort that progress so attractively that it is impossible not to want to memorise them note by note, and their development is so logical that such a feat of the mind is easy. When the Train Comes, the first track on the album, opens with a Renwick solo that stokes the boiler until, after the vocal statement, the guitarist picks up the last vocal notes (Iain imitating a train whistle, Renwick following suit on guitar) for another fine, note-ringing solo. Arms of Mary, an Iain-penned ballad, is the centre pin of the side and its longing, lonely sentiments are perfect for Iain's straining vocal.

The second side takes longer to impress, but once the calm, satisfied grace of Moonlight Lady works its charms, the side takes shape. Gavin's Dr Dancer is immediately winning: its chorus is marvellously catchy. Reach for the Sky is the first SB&Q album without Pete Wood's keyboards and he is not missed. Greater attention seems to have been paid to the group's vocal harmonies and that too is a step in the right direction. Reach for the Sky is another fine album from a grand British band. Both the group and the album are highly recommended.

Hugh Fielder (1975; NME)

Sutherquivs: London (gig review)

After the rock and roll revival, we could be heading for a resurgence of beat groups. And if we are, Sutherland Brothers and Quiver are going to be way out in front. The loss of a keyboard player seems to have brought out their true colours and listening to them last Friday at Central london Polytechnic was, in some respects, like being whisked back to those heady days of '65 - a harsh, trebly guitar sound, bags of beat and a bunch of good solid songs. But that's not to say that they're not topical at the same time.

They served up an excellent mixture of songs from their new album, Reach for the Sky, and several favourites. While older songs like Dream Kid and Sailing have memorable and strong melody lines, the newer offerings combine this aspect with a greater range of styles and dynamics, particularly with Doctor Dancer, Dirty City and Ain't Too Proud. The harmonies suffered a bit from inadequate monitors but the instrumental work was sturdy stuff; Gavin Sutherland supplied steady, firm bass patterns, Willie Wilson's drumming was succinct, coming forward and dropping back in all the right places, and Tim Renwick displayed some classy lead guitar, clear and distinctive, but never overdone.

The crowd at the front swayed and shook their heads to each song as the group struck up an easy, self-assured rapport with them. The encore was Long Tall Sally, but Needles and Pins or Sweets For My Sweet might have been a more appropriate homage to the band's roots.

David Hepworth (April 1976; NME)

Scaled Down SB&Q wind up in a box (Slipstream LP review)

In their Island days, under the direction of Muff Winwood, SB&Q made two magnificent albums which you couldn't give away with trading stamps. The only thing you could count on them for was inconsistency, but that didn't stop them making some of the headiest tracks since the Beach Boys lost their sense of adventure.

Because they weren't into cowboy pop, funk rock, punk rock, teeth rattling rock or any of the other genres that the (rest of the) rock press thinks up titles for every other week, they were pitched back on their own considerable resources and answered by creating a music thoroughly unique. Gavin and Iain's soft lyrical compositions were launched into another sphere altogether by Tim Renwick's biting, quicksilver guitar lines. The Sutherlands supplied the substance and Renwick the dynamics, and between the two, they could make magic.

But nobody bought their records and so they moved to CBS, got themselves a new team of producers in Ron and Howie Albert, a low-key production job, an appalling sleeve design, Arms of Mary and instant chart action. And so it continues with Slipstream; like Reach for the Sky, by no means a bad album. Good songs, solid arrangements, the odd touch of magic from Renwick and a couple of potential hit singles in Love on the Side and Sweet Cousin. No, the problem is not of the band's making at all.

What we have here, friends, is the result of a scaling down process. Ron and Howie seem to have conspired  to make every instrument and voice as small and understated as physically possible. When you compare the lead guitar sound on Dark Powers to a similar line played on Flying Down to Rio off Dream Kid, you begin to wonder if Renwick's swapped his guitar for a Chad Valley. All that glorious soaring attack never quite emerges from the little box the production keeps it in. As for the flaccid brass riffs dropped in at every available juncture, I can only despair at the short-sightedness of anyone who thinks that the Suther-Quivs need anything other than guitars.

Slipstream still has a lot going for it, though. These lads have been pushing too hard for too long to let anything so minor as Yank producers with misconceived ideas get in their way. Gavin's Midnight Rendezvous is one of his best ever, beautifully restrained, the hook based on a line that rings and then fades away with immaculate poise. Renwick copes with the strings easily on his instrumental High Nights, rendering a perfect picture of Hank B. Marvin meeting the '70s. Any rumours that Rod Stewart is already trying to hit the high notes on Iain's gentle Love on the Side are probably true.

This is no I-hate-'em-now-they're-famous hatchet job. I've just calculated that I've listened to this album over thirty times, and there'll no doubt be another three hundred to come. They've still got the magic and I wouldn't swap them for 90% of the clapped-out poseurs on the West coast. But when I want a blast of hundred proof pure Sutherlands elation, I still reach for Beat of the Street, side two. Try it sometime.

Unknown writer (May, 1976; Disco 45 Songbook #67)

Sutherland Brother and Quiver

Not the most snappy name you have ever heard, is it? But, of course, there is a good reason - you see, the four lads who are chart riding with Arms of Mary, and isn't it a fabulous song, are the remnants of two groups, reasonably enough known as 1) The Sutherland Brothers Band and 2) Quiver. Not wanting to make either half of the partnership into the dominant one, the compromise is just what they're called.

But we're going a bit too fast. Let's start with Gavin Sutherland, who sings and plays bass guitar, and Iain Sutherland, who sings and also performs on guitar and keyboards. Their father had led a dance band in Scotland (you must have guessed they were Scottish from those names), and in 1966, Iain decided to leave Manchester University to go in for a full time career in music. It didn't take long for Gavin to follow his older brother into the up and down world of music and, as we shall see, ups and downs certainly occurred! Some interest shown by a music publisher resulted in several singles being released under anonymous names during the late sixties, and eventually the brothers moved down to London from their adopted home in Staffordshire.

It took until 1972 for the boys to get a genuine recording deal with Island Records, with the wittily titled The Sutherland Brothers Band being released in 1972, after which, all but Gavin and Iain left the band. Back in the studio with session musicians, a second LP called Lifeboat was released, but rather oddly, an extra track called Sailing, yes, the very same one that Rod Stewart took to the top of the charts recently, was left off. This obviously had more than a little to do with the fact that Gav and Iain felt they needed something extra - after all, they were writing great songs, but not really getting anywhere fast.

Quiver, on the other hand, were a very active band. At that point, they consisted of Tim Renwick and Cal Batchelor on guitars, Peter Wood on keyboards [incorrect, but I've typed it as the article had it], Bruce Thomas on bass and John "Willie" Wilson on drums, and they were very highly thought of around the clubs and colleges of this country, although their records often left something to be desired. They had played as support group to the Who on the opening night of the Rainbow Theatre in London, but they too needed something extra.

So the situation was that the Sutherland Brothers were writing great songs, but didn't have a backing group, while Quiver were a fine band who didn't have much good material. What could be more obvious than to join forces, which they did around Christmas 1972, playing a joint date at the marquee Club in London's Wardour Street. The results were more than acceptable to most parties, but Cal Batchelor decided he wasn't so keen, and left very soon afterwards, while Bruce Thomas found that he was suffering from personality clashes with the rest of the joint band and left, allowing Gavin to take up bass.

The new streamlined five piece continued where they had left off, recording two more albums, Dream Kid and Beat of the Street for Island, touring America with Elton John, and having a major American hit with a single called You Got Me Anyway. But even then, things still weren't quite right and it wasn't until Peter Wood was asked to join Al Stewart's band after an American tour on which he and Tim Renwick had appeared as guest artists that the foursome as we know it now, of Iain and Gavin Sutherland, Tim Renwick and Willie Wilson, finally came together as they were always supposed to. In fact, had Tim not turned down the offer which Al Stewart also made to him, perhaps we wouldn't be listening to the beautiful music that the lads are producing now.

During last Autumn, SB&Q, as they are known for short, got themselves a new manager, a new record company, new record producers, and new just about everything else, and went into a studio in Willesden to make what is their best LP to date, Reach for the Sky. It included an excellent song called Ain't Too Proud, which was nearly a hit as a single, but when they followed it up with Arms of Mary, the floodgates of popular interest really opened, and we all know the song very well now. As I'm writing this, the boys are touring America, and wowing all those who see them, while Arms of Mary zips up the American charts as well. Looks like finally the talented quartet have achieved their rightful place - at the top of the heap. [This 10p magazine cost me £4 on eBay, just for the above article - I trust you think it was worth it.]

Phil Sutcliff (October, 1976; Sounds)

The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: Newcastle (gig review)

It came to me in a vision about half way through the long set the Suther Quivs have put together for their first headline tour of star venues that they are a band who are as good as their songs and no better. And that's why they've taken so long to become nearly famous. Unless you are Lennon and McCartney, it takes a deal of graft to build up a store of numbers that speak for themselves through the medium of playing and singing that is professionally competent but lacks the transcending fire that made wee Paulie, thumping through Mary had a Little Lamb, a startling experience.

Now, the Suther Quivs are very close to delivering concerts of a transcendent quality, springing entirely from the excellence of their compositions, eighteen numbers - count them - and I reckon only four you could put down as merely pleasant or even a touch turgid (including Arms of Mary, but that's my problem.

And then again - as soon as I had this wondrous insight and was sitting there in a glow of critical pride, the blighters went and played number II Real Love, an unexceptional funky item, with such a combination of punch and delicacy in the riff and such an ecstatically beautiful solo from Tim Renwick that I had to think some qualifications into that verdict, thereby destroying its appealing symmetry, but moving regretfully in line with the truth. So sometimes their earnest work-a-day approach does carry them into that rarefied air.

Sometimes the rock and roll Boy Scouts rub those two sticks together so zealously they ignite - gee, Willikins, spontaneous combustion. For one thing, Renwick plays guitar like no other seventies person who comes to mind. He's always pretty (where most electric guitars are playing incessant squalls of pain) and adds to that a sharp funkiness and occasional flights of sheer, lovely, melodic invention.

like Gallagher and Lyle, they are not trying to break your balls with rock: they are melodists. G and L give their prettiness magic with a deeply touching warmth. The Suther Quivs don't have that so they have to do it with the drive of precise funkiness and all the intensity Iain and Tim can summon up. Their tour opener was a thoroughly enjoyable concert. When I smile with pleasure less and shiver with emotion more, I'll know they have worked their way up the final step to being a great band as well as great composers.

Geoff Brown (November 1976; NME)

Quiverlands at Glasgow Apollo (gig review)

There is, in rock 'n' roll, a certain psychology at work which affects both musicians and audience. It has to do with stature. A band can forever play clubs, colleges, universities, ballrooms and mid-sized halls yet never break into the big league, no matter how often they tour or how well they play and compose. That is a fact. Breaking out of that merry-go-round is a matter of luck and audacity. It is, for instance, an audacious move for Sutherland Brothers and Quiver to be playing a headline tour of Britain. Yet it's paying off - almost indecently so.

With one hit single (Arms of Mary), a couple of near misses, and the authorship of Rod Stewart's rubber-ball hit Sailing, there was little reason to suspect that they'd sell out Glasgow's Apollo Theatre. Yet last Friday night, they did just that and have one of the hall's Oscar-like mementos to prove the fact. Compared to their earlier Lyceum concert in London this year, the band seen at the Apollo basically differed in one respect only: confidence. They now believe in themselves.

Love on the Moon, I Don't Want to Love You, The Pie (with louder, stronger vocals and cream-cake thick guitar) and Secrets (with Tim Renwick switching to a harder tone) put the set in motion. An obvious problem for SB&Q is that the fine material on their new album uses much horn and string section work, so for the tour they've hired Nick Brockway on keyboards, who does a decent job. At the Apollo, he seemed under-amplified, though to some numbers, like Real Love, for example, he was crucial. Still he couldn't compensate for the lack of brass on Saturday Night.

Tim also plays a Marvinesque instrumental of great charm called High Nights, and his solos on Love on the Side (a great song), Real Love, Doctor Dancer, The Prisoner and When the Train Comes were all memorable. He had a good night last Friday. So did the whole band. So did Glasgow.

Tony Stewart (September, 1977; NME)

SB&Q: The Rainbow (gig review)

There are a million and one concerts that you should really go and see during the current bumper rock season, and because of this you'd suspect that a night at the Rainbow with the Suths supported by City Boy was pretty low down on a thinking person's entertainment schedule. Musically, the two acts were fairly complementary: both relying essentially on the strength of their material and their ability to perform it with professional polish and recreate, as far as possible, their studio sound. This is probably why both acts were not particularly exciting and the audience's lack of response was because they could easily imagine they were at home listening to the stereo.

The only real reminder they were in a rock theatre was the continual buzz on the PA through both sets, occasional feedback, and stage introductions by both bands. City Boy were ill at ease on the large stage and, as a result, unnecessarily cautious. The hard rock element of their act was subdued and had it not been for the consistently excellent guitar work of Mike Slammer, would have been an often boring, sometimes perfunctory, reworking of those of their songs which are most suited to live performance, such as Hap Kido Kid and Mama's Boy.

Similarly, the Suths chose to concentrate on their overall sound, ensuring there were few ragged edges. But whereas the Boy had Slammer's entertaining improvisations, SB&Q's success depended mainly on Iain Sutherland's compositions and his generally good vocals. He and brother Gavin and drummer Willie Wilson have been joined on tour by Alan Ross (guitar), Mick Weaver (keyboards) Tex Comer (bass), John Shearer (percussion) and the two girl vocalists, Debbie Doss and Shirley Rodden. Surprisingly, only Weaver made any outstanding contribution to the material, usually when his attention was concentrated on piano, and the others merely filled out the sound.

Ross, for instance, was embarrassingly bad; Gavin preferred to pose and only once demonstrated his real talent when he took over lead vocals from Iain on Harbour lights; and Shearer was the kind of percussionist who concentrated more on his dance routine than playing. Nevertheless, Iain carried the group though a set that did have its highlights, and eventually created enough energy, mainly from the solid foundation work of Wilson and Comer, to earn a couple of encores. The trouble with both groups was that they seemed to achieve minimum standards when they're capable of mush more. You don't conquer the States - as City Boy hopes to - or even survive - as the Suths should - like that.

Meal Ticket guitarist Ray Flake is currently playing lead guitar for Sutherland Brothers and Quiver on tracks for their new album. He is one of several guest musicians sitting in with the band, following the departure of Tim Renwick.

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver's next album, as yet untitled, is set for September 10 release by CBS. Recording is now complete and the band have flown to America for mixing sessions. They will undertake a British tour soon after its release.

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver release their new single on January 11. Titled Dream Kid c/w Believe in Music, both are from their forthcoming album, Dream Kid, due out on February 25. [Whatever happened to Believe in Music?]

Meal Ticket guitarist Ray Flake is among the guest players on the new Sutherland Brothers and Quiver album currently being recorded. The band has decided not to replace Tim Renwick for the new record and are using a number of guest lead and bass players, including Flake and Mick Grabham, the recently departed Procol Harum player.

The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver start work on a new album next month - without finding a permanent replacement for guitarist Tim Renwick, who quit the band six weeks ago. SB&Q will use session players for the album, with Gavin Sutherland switching from bass to rhythm guitar. The band will also be augmented for their tour later this year.

The Sutherland Brothers will start work on their next album in Los Angeles this week. The duo will be recording with West Coast musicians and the album is being produced by Glen Spreen.

A track from their last album, Somebody's Fool, is released as a 12-inch single this week and its backed with Sailing and You Got Me Anyway.

The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver are now back to being the Sutherland Brothers again with the departure of Willie Wilson who was the one remaining Quiver member.

The duo have a new single, One More Night With You released by CBS on 31 March. At present they have no working band but will be playing live again when their next album is released.

Letters Page:

We've come to the decision that it's about time all the so-called music lovers started to listen to the most under-rated band in the country. We are, of course, referring to the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, who show originality in their music, which is a rare quality these days.

hey don't need to go into any theatrics to create an impression on the audience. - Two Sutherland, Floyd and Mike Oldfield freaks, Derbyshire.

The Sutherland Brothers, Iain and Gavin, have joined forces with Quiver and are currently rehearsing material with the intention of touring and recording.

Line-up of the band, to be known as the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, has Iain and Gavin on guitars and vocals, with Tim Renwick of Quiver on electric guitar, Willie Wilson on drums and Bruce Thomas on bass. In the transition, Cal Batchelor, rhythm guitarist, has left Quiver. The band intends to add a pianist within a few weeks.

A Quiver Quits

Bruce Thomas has left the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. Gavin Sutherland will play bass and the group will remain a five-piece.

Thomas apparently had a disagreement with the rest of the band during their German Tour, when they supported Traffic.

At Sunday's Rainbow concert, Terry "Tex" Comer of Ace stood in for Thomas, who was in the audience, but this was purely a temporary measure. Comer is staying with Ace.

Renwick finally quits

Guitarist Tim Renwick has finally decided to leave the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver after two weeks of uncertainty.

CBS issued a statement last week saying he had quit and was looking for a singer-composer with whom to form a partnership for recording and live work. Then, 24 hours later, CBS withdrew theri statement, hoping that Renwick could be persuaded to change his mind. But that did not happen, and the Sutherlands are looking for a replacement.

Letters Page: In recent issues of your excellent music paper, there has been controversy about the quality of guitar playing and who is the greatest! I agree that Eric Clapton, Mick Ronson and Ronnie Wood are good, but I feel that none can compare with Tim Renwick of the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver.

On their new album, Dream Kid, a record of outstanding merit on which the writing of Iain and Gavin stood out, the quality of Tim Renwick's guitar playing was evident as one of the highlights of the album, and must surely place him in the class of the aforementioned guitarists. - Nick Allen, Hambleden, Bucks.

Interesting quotes:

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver are peachy, keen and terrific for dancing. - John Peel

Rod Stewart describes himself as a fanatical Sutherlands fan and would like to produce the band if such an opportunity arose. - NME

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver's Reach for the Sky should be the record to take Sutherland Brothers and Quiver outside their small band of admirers and start establishing them a reputation with the public at large. It's the best bunch of new songs I've heard from a British band in a long time, performed in a refreshingly uncluttered manner. - Sounds

Like the band it represents, Reach for the Sky bristles with simple boyish charm. And if you push the volume up, SB&Q will show you that they can make a muscle too. - Rolling Stone

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver's Ain't Too Proud [is] the kind of musician's music which single buyers should become more familiar with. Hit. - Melody Maker

Last week, CBS released that company's first album and single from the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, a group which has been impressing audiences and the rest of the music business now for some years. - Music Week

Ain't Too Proud is the sort of single that Smokie and Pilot want to make but don't. British pop at its best: high harmonies, simple guitar, carefully constructed and entirely convincing. - Streetlife

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: Arms of Mary (CBS 4001)

They write such good songs; how much longer before they score, music lovers? This chunky country-rocker with Mexican seasoning is as uplifting as a shot of tequila, and surely must do it for them.

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver deserve a hit with Arms of Mary (CBS) Not only is it a genial song, but it's time something compensated them for all the better cuts that have flopped.

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: When the Train Comes (CBS) Another corker from the team who have been quietly creating quality music for ages and only just been recognised for their efforts. Like all train songs, it boogies irresistibly along predetermined lines; a track that's heading straight up the charts, I'd guess. Unexceptional song, but good vocal performance and excellent arrangement & accompaniment.

Sutherland Brothers and Quiver: You Got Me Anyway (Island) A mellifluous blend of talents, and I am being far from eleemosynary when I say that the texture of their work, the chiaroscuro of their sound painting, will at once entrance and captivate critics and public alike. Can't say fairer than that. [The writer clearly thought that eleemosynary meant charitable, rather than being in receipt of charity. Probably used as a bet.]