British Lions
Live and Rare

Live
One More Chance to Run (Fiddler)
Fork Talkin' Man (Fiddler)
My Life's in your Hands (Fiddler/FisherWatts)
Wild in the Streets (Jeffreys)
Booster (Fiddler/Watts)
Medley: So you Want to be a Rock'n'Roll Star (McGuinn/Hillman)/It's Only Rock'n'Roll (Jagger/Richards)/Pretty Vacant (Cook/Jones/Matlock/Rotten)
Break This Fool (Fiddler/Watts)
Love Now (Watts)

Rare
One More Chance to Run (demo) (Fiddler)
Wild in the Streets (demo) (Jeffreys)
Booster (demo) (Fiddler/Watts)
Big Drift Away (demo) (Fidler)
Booster (demo) (Fiddler/Watts)
Coming Through (rehersal track) (Majors)
Acoustic Chair (home demo) (Fiddler)
Electric Chair (rehersal track) (Fiddler)

all titles previously unreleased versions

John Fiddler lead vocals, guitar
Morgan Fisher piano, hammond organ, korg synth, davolisint, percussion, vocals
Ray Major lead guitar, vocals
Overend Watts bass, vocals
Dale Griffin drums, vocals

British Lions tapes licensed from John Fiddler, Ray Majors, Morgan Fisher, Overend Watts and Dale Griffin.

Mastered by Nick Watson at SRT Studios, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, UK
Live USA Sound Recordist Mike Scarfe
Lions' Studio Demo's Sound Engineer Ron 'Drat' Eve
'Acoustic Chair' recorded by Greg 'The Sweg' Walsh

CD Booklet designed by Graeme Hogg at Printout, Wheatsheaf Corner, Shinet Row, Houghton le Spring, Tyne and Wear, UK.

Tapes supplied by John Fiddler, Morgan Fisher and Ray Majors.
Photographs supplied by John Fiddler, Morgan Fisher and Bazz Ward
Booklet text supplied by John Fiddler, Morgan Fisher, Ray Majors and Bazz Ward

SJPCD044 Available in all good record stores, or by mail order from Angel Air Records

Half Moon Bay says... To my shame, I suppose, this is the very first British Lions stuff to penetrate these ears.

My defense is that at the time of issue my finances were occupied by other things and my record collection as a whole stuttered through the turn of the seventies into eightees. Of course, by the time the cash was flowing again, the roar of the Lions had long since fallen silent and with it any trace of product in the record stores. Certainly the local stores.

So, it was with much anticipation that I played this CD, and boy, was it worth the wait?

What a great sounding band and in some ways, I want to see this lot more than seeing the later versions of MTH. They sound so together, so tight, so mature and so up for it.

The tunes are stonking and I can't wait for someone (please) to make the two original albums available again. (Angel Air have released 'British Lions' for the US and Japanese markets, now.)

Of course, Watts, Fisher, Griffin and Major had now been together for a fair while in the largely misunderstood Mott. Fiddler was, in a sense, just substituting for Benjamin, but he brought and brings so much more to the outfit; his writing, his singing, his playing, his knowledge and nous. He becomes the traditional front-man and you are left pondering the thought that he should have been wheeled in as soon as IH departed.

Oh yes, these are thoughts that have been flooding my mind on this subject. Further, and with the benefit of good old hindsight, I feel they should have reverted at this stage to Mott the Hoople. Now, before you get carried away and brand me a heretic, I want to explain...

On reflection, Fiddler is the true aire to Hunters throne (as Majors was to Ralphs' in my humble opinion). Morgan, Dale, Overend and Ray all seem more than happy with his role in the band (even to this day) and you just find yourself convinced that had they taken up the MTH moniker then they could still be going today. UFO are to a degree, as are countless others and the current re-surgence of Classic Rock would be giving them a whole new lease of life as, indeed, this Angel Air stuff proves.

Oh what might have been.

And as with Mott, a great band at the wrong time, despite their nod to the current with 'Pretty Vacant' in the live rock anthems through its ages medley on the Live tracks.

Avoid this at your peril.

Review Date: February 2000 (Terry Burgess)