A Photographic Retrospective By John Robert Rowlands

Long John Baldry

b. 12 January 1941, London, England.

Beginning his career playing folk and jazz in the late 50s, Baldry toured

with Ramblin Jack Elliot before moving into R&B. His strong, deep voice won

him a place in the influential Blues Incorporated, following which he joined Cyril Davies' R&B All Stars.

After Davies' death, Long John fronted the Hoochie Coochie Men, which also included future

superstar Rod Stewart, who later joined Baldry in Steam Packet (featuring Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll).

After a brief period with Bluesology (which boasted a young Elton John on keyboards),

Baldry decided to go solo and record straightforward pop. Already well known on the music scene,

he nevertheless appeared an unusual pop star in 1967 with his sharp suits and imposing 6 foot 7 inch height.

Composer/producer Tony Macauley and his partner John McLeod presented him with the perfect

song in 'Let The Heartaches Begin', a despairing ballad which Baldry took to number 1 in the

UK in 1967. His chart career continued with the Olympic Games theme, 'Mexico', the following year,

which also made the Top 20. By the end of the 60s, however, the hits had ceased and another change

of direction was ahead. Furs and a beard replaced the suits and the neat, short haircut, as Long John

attempted to establish himself with a new audience. With production assistance from former colleagues

Rod Stewart and Elton John, he recorded a strong album, It Ain't Easy, but it failed to sell.

After a troubled few years in New York and Los Angeles he emigrated to Vancouver, Canada,

where he performed on the club circuit. In the early 90s his voice was used as Robotnik on the Sonic

The Hedgehog computer game. After many years a new Baldry album was released in

1993, subtly titled "It Still Ain't Easy".

Photograph of John Baldry by John Robert Rowlands