b. 17 July 1941, Swansea, South Wales. The nominal leader of the Spencer Davis Group resumed a solo career in 1968 after managerial disagreements thwarted a liaison with Plastic Penny guitarist Mick Grabham and session pianist Kirk Duncan (co-writer of the last group single, ‘Short Change’). During a subsequent sojourn in Germany, Davis recorded ‘Aquarius’ from Hair before migrating to California, where he gained employment as a singing guitarist in venues such as Los Angeles’ Troubadour. Later, he was accompanied by bottleneck guitarist Pete Jamieson with whom he made the all-acoustic It’s Been So Long (1970). With guitarists Jon Mark and Alun Davies, Davis contributed to Chicago sessions for an album by Mississippi Fred McDowell. An amalgamation of Mark and Spencer came to nought but the Davis and Davies duo’s assault on the folk scene was more fruitful. A more ambitious collaboration with an Australasian rhythm section and ‘Sneaky’ Pete Kleinow (who had produced 1972’s US-only Mousetrap) quietly died when a re-formed Spencer Davis Group recorded two albums before likewise disintegrating. After putting his languages degree to use as a technical translator in the mid-70s, Davis accepted a post on Island Records’ west coast staff. He speculated later in other areas of entertainment, landing a 1983 video contact with Fleetwood Mac, and, the following year, releasing another album, which included a duet with Dusty Springfield on ‘Private Number’. In 1988, Davis returned to Britain for a Blues Reunion tour with Pete York and Zoot Money and has reconvened to play in Germany with various line-ups in the 90s. The most recent line-up features York, together with ex-Keef Hartley Band vocalist/guitarist Miller Anderson and bass player Colin Hodgkinson.
