CUPID'S INSPIRATION
" Once upon a time there was a band called Cupid’s Inspiration. Cupids had a number 1 hit record in England with a song called “Yesterday has gone” and then went on the slow road toward the “one hit wonder” graveyard.
After a few line up changes the group stabilized by 1971 with the following personnel: Martin Cure (vocals) Bob Poole (bass) Paul Shanahan (guitar) and Andy Chaplin (drums). In the middle of the 70’s the musicians began to write songs together. By the late 70’s the band were, in tandem with the “Cupids” gigs, organizing local pub rock gigs under the name of “4 wheel drive” to play rock music and try out their own songs and began building up a strong local following. At this time they recruited a second guitarist, Steve Walwyn, from another local band to build up the twin guitar sound the boys had decided would best suit their own music. "
The Leamington version of the band eventually began writing their own Rock based songs and became Chevy (see the entry for Chevy).
Wikipedia says
"Cupid's Inspiration was a English rock band. They were predominantly active between 1968 and 1971.
The group scored two Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart in 1968. "Yesterday Has Gone" hit #4 in June of that year, and "My World" went to #33 in October.[1] In 1970, lead singer Terry Rice-Milton was followed by John Lynch and then Martin Cure, who added several musicians from Leamington to the line-up. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the group did reunion shows with other bands from the era.
Their song "Yesterday Has Gone" (written by Teddy Randazzo[2] and Victoria Pike) has featured on many compilation albums, including Sixties Power Ballads - The Greatest Driving Anthems in the World... Ever! (2007)."
The line up history is also on Wikipedia - Martin Cure - Jim Batty -Paul Brook (later of Analog and Reluctant Stereotypes and a producer of Cold Cut) and Keith Hancock -were I think the musicians from the Coventry area.
Members
Terry Rice-Milton (born Terence Rice-Milton, 5 June 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire) - lead vocals (to 1970)
Laughton James (born 21 December 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire) - bass guitarist (to October 1968)
Garfield Tonkin (born 28 September 1946, Stamford, Lincolnshire) - keyboards (to 1969)
Wyndham George (born 20 February 1947, Stamford, Lincolnshire) - guitar (to October 1968)
Bernie Lee (born July 1943, North Wales) - lead guitar (October 1968 to 1970)
Gordon Haskell (born 27 April 1946, Bournemouth) - bass (October 1968 to 1969)
Roger Gray (born 29 April 1947, Stamford) - drums (to 1970)
David Morris (London) - electric organ (1969 onwards)
Derek Needham (born 10 October 1945, London) - bass (1969-71)
Martin Cure - lead vocals (after 1970)
Jim Batty - guitar (after 1970)
Paul Brook - drums (after 1970)
Keith Hancock - bass (after 1971)
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The line developed with Bob Poole on Bass _ Bob describes how he came to be playing with Cupid's Inspiration and how they became a rock band instead called Four Wheel Drive and later Chevy.
"A guy my age lived down the road from us and we would have friendly competitions playing our guitar as loud as possible as the other walked past, trying to impress. He was in a soul group called “Jalopy Ride” and his name was Paul Shanahan. Paul then went off to play for 6 months in Canada and when he returned he got a job with Cupids Inspiration. I was well pissed off until one day not long after he asked me if I would like to be their roadie. I immediately said yes as this was a chance to travel and be on the road and who knew what might happen? In 1971 I got my break. We were in Scotland in Kirkcaldy on New Years Eve, a big money night and Cupids bass player was too drunk to stand up on the stage. I had been watching carefully and knew all the songs so I grabbed his bass and said words to the effect of “I can do that”. That was my first real professional gig and from then on I became a bass player. The old bass player left not long after and I got the job. Almost immediately Paul and I started writing songs. It soon became apparent that we were more rock than pop orientated and as Martin Cure, our singer had already been down that road with his former bands “Rainbows” and “Still Life”, we decided to risk the secure income from “Cupids” and turn into a rock band. We found a scruffy old Hotel in Leamington called the Crown and began to put on gigs every Thursday night playing under the name of 4 Wheel Drive, covering bands like Boston, Thin Lizzy and Steely Dan while slipping in our own songs - until in the end we were just playing our own stuff and had an average audience of 200 people each gig. (We used to spend the Wednesday before the gig building a 24 ft-wide stage and rigging up loads of spotlights that we had stolen individually from Cupids gigs). One of the support bands on those gigs called “Hands Off” had a guitar player named Steve Walwyn and as we liked his playing and needed a second guitarist in the band we asked him to join us. He gave up his day job and played with us on the still active Cupids gigs (where we earned our money) and became quickly involved in the song writing and developing of the “Chevy” sound. "
Bob Poole
Tracks by Cupid's Inspiration with Bob Poole.
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