Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs [12]

Title: Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs
Year/Genre/Sub-Genre/City: 1974, Blues Rock, Hard Rock, Southend-on-Sea, England 10/26
Matrix #: CHR 1057 (Chrysalis, US green label, Burbank address); runout not legible in photo
Condition: EX (LM) | Members: Robin T (45' - ), James D (42' - 02'), Reg I (49' - 09') | Producer: Matthew Fisher
Cultural Facts: [12]

1. Gigs in Dad's Coffee Bar: Robin's father Len owned the Shades coffee bar on the Southend seafront, and Robin remembers it was his dad's idea to put the teenage Paramounts in the basement. It became the band's home stage, with Gary Brooker singing through a microphone jammed inside an old upright piano while Robin and bassist Chris Copping shared one battered Selmer valve amp.
2. The Pianist Who Had Never Sung: Robin modeled his first real band on a Romford outfit called the Fabulous Rockafellas, whose piano player was also the singer. So he asked a local pianist named Gary Brooker, who had never sung, to take up vocals. Brooker later sang A Whiter Shade of Pale, and when Procol Harum needed a guitarist after that hit, he called his old Southend bandmate.
3. Named After a Racehorse: Fans long assumed the title came straight from the bridge in Venice where prisoners caught their last view of the city. Robin says he had the music and a verse for months, then opened the newspaper sports pages and saw a horse running that day called Bridge of Sighs. He thought it was a great title and made the song fit it.