ACE

Formed in the UK during December 1972 and originally called Ace Flash And The Dynamos - quickly abbreviated after a couple of gigs - Ace comprised Paul Carrack (b. 22 April 1951, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England; keyboards, vocals), Alan “Bam” King (b. 18 September 1946, Kentish Town, London, England; guitar, vocals), Phil Harris (b. 18 July 1948, Muswell Hill, London, England; guitar, vocals), Terry “Tex” Comer (b. 23 February 1949, Burnley, Lancashire, England; bass) and Steve Witherington (b. 26 December 1953, Enfield, Middlesex, England; drums). The members were assembled from known bands and were all solid musicians. Carrack and Comer came from Warm Dust, and King arrived via Mighty Baby, whose antecedents were the highly regarded 60s band the Action. Ace became one of the darlings of the UK pub rock circuit with their polished funky pop music. Before the recording of their first album, ex-Bees Make Honey drummer Fran Byrne (b. 17 March 1948, Dublin, Ireland) had replaced Witherington. The album, Five-A-Side, was a creditable debut. The single “How Long” culled from this record, gave them an enormous hit that they were never able to repeat. It was a perfectly crafted song with a hypnotic bass introduction directly “borrowed” from “Traveling Song” by Pentangle, followed by Carrack's sweet electric piano. The simple tale of infidelity captured people's attention and it became a Top 20 hit in the UK and reached number 3 in the USA. They eventually moved to America but disbanded in July 1977 when most of the remaining members joined Frankie Miller's band. Carrack has enjoyed most success, playing in Eric Clapton's band, joining Squeeze, and latterly playing with Mike And The Mechanics. Carrack re-recorded “How Long”, which became a UK Top 40 hit again in 1996.

Discography: Five-A-Side (Anchor 1974)***, Time For Another (Anchor 1975)**, No Strings (Anchor 1977)**.

Compilations: The Best Of Ace (See For Miles 1987)***, How Long: The Best Of Ace (Music Club 1993)***.