“SAHB” Story: The Tale of the “Sensational Alex Harvey Band”

The Sensational Alex Harvey band are a true cult phenomenon. In their glory days of 1972-77 they released eight critically acclaimed albums before splitting up in acrimony. Alex Harvey, regarded as ‘the world’s oldest punk’ and credited with inspiring the genre, began his career as a 1960′s pop starlet, before discovering the blues and reinventing himself as a live-performance tour-de-force. In 1972 he joined up with Scottish prog-rock act Tear Gas and “The Sensational Alex Harvey Band” was born. “SAHB” influenced a wide range of talents with their heavy-rock, glam and punk crossover routine – including Robert Smith (The Cure), Nick Cave, Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) and Billy Connolly. Band members went on to work with a number of key rock personnel including Midge Ure, Rory Gallagher and Michael Schenker.A “SAHB” reunion was on the cards before Alex died on tour with his new band in 1982. “SAHB Story” (named after the band’s fifth album) is the surviving members’ own recollections of events, contextualised with Kielty’s in-depth research of the industry surrounding the band. It follows Alex’s first outing as a 60s pop and soul star, and picks up the rest of the band at the end of the decade.The mainstay of the book is a blow-by-blow account of the SAHB years 1972-77, illustrated with personal anecdotes and private photographs. The career of each artist is followed into the 80s, after Alex died on tour at the age of 47. The revised edition completes the band’s history with their 2002 comeback, the recruitment of ‘Mad’ Max Maxwell (The Shamen) and the release of the band’s first album in 28 years. It concludes with the band’s reflections on the 2009 release of SAHB’s ‘lost’ album, 1974′s ‘Hot City’. This is the only authorised biography of the band written by journalist Martin Kielty with the approval and cooperation of Zal Cleminson, Chris Glen, and Hugh and Ted McKenna. 

About the Author
Martin Kielty has been involved with the music industry since his teenage years in the early 1990s. He has played in and managed a variety of acts, and appears on TV, radio and in print media as a commentator on Scottish rock and pop history and culture. When he wrote SAHB Story he was managing the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and still retains strong links, while now managing fellow Scottish legends The Rezillos and playing drums in West of Scotland local heroes Fastlayne. He has written two other books on Scottish music history, Apollo Memories (NWP) and Big Noise (B&W) and is working on a range of other media projects based around the music scene. He has nearly 20 years experience as a national newspaper journalist.

Published by Neil Wilson Publishing

Due March 2009

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