Total Climax

Pete Haycock formed what was then known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band in 1967 with singer Colin Cooper, right at the height of the British blues boom. The band released its self-titled debut album in 1969 - reportedly recorded in two days, it featured a mix of original and traditional (Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson) blues songs. In 1970, the band dropped the "Chicago" from its name so as not to be confused with the American band, and recorded a number of well-received albums as the Climax Blues Band during the early 1970s.

In 1976, with an amazing nine albums under their belt (in a mere seven years), the band released Gold Plated, which would become their breakthrough album, scoring Top 30 status on the strength of "Couldn't Get It Right," the song hitting #3 in the U.S. and #10 in the U.K. By this time, the band's sound was more rock than blues, with a few jazzy flourishes thrown in for good measure, but it was Haycock's lead guitar skills that drove the band's fortunes. They continued to release albums at a prolific pace, but Haycock left the band in 1985 to pursue his own musical vision, and Climax Blues Band broke up a couple years later.

Haycock soon formed Pete Haycock's Climax, the band touring extensively throughout Europe, the guitarist later recording a pair of instrumental solo albums for I.R.S. Records. Moving to Germany, Haycock launched a new career writing movie scores, collaborating with composer Hans Zimmer on films like Thelma & Louise before striking out on his own. After a lengthy hiatus from the stage, Haycock returned back to his roots, forming Pete Haycock's True Blues in 2008, touring and recording a single album.

This 1990 album is from a time when Haycock tried to gain commercial success again. It spans from Blues to Reggae to Pop, always displaying Haycock's enormous guitar craft.

Line-up:
Alto Saxophone – Chris White
Bass – Livingstone Brown
Drums – Pete Thompson
Keyboards – Iain Dunnett*
guitars – Paul Brett
Trumpet – Stuart Brooks
Vocals, Guitar – Pete Haycock