Welcome to an evening with John Fiddler, playing an intimate solo set (“Medicine Head Unplugged and Beyond”) which spans his long and varied career.
John Fiddler and Medicine Head have a new album ‘Heartwork’ featuring ten brand new songs, a fresh and vibrant set of blues rock that once more centre the band’s founder John Fiddler and Medicine Head in the core of this wonderful tradition.
‘Heartwork’ follows the very well received ‘Warriors of Love’, album which was the first new album in a decade.
Medicine Head began life in 1968 when singer and guitarist John Fiddler and harmonica player Peter Hope-Evans began performing in the Midlands. They quickly came to the attention of John Peel and – at the insistence of John Lennon – the DJ signed the band to his own Dandelion Records label. Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend were also early cheerleaders. Peel declared the band’s debut 1968 single ‘His Guiding Hand’ to be one of the classics of all time – and a copy featured in Peel’s legendary Record Box.
Medicine Head released three albums via Dandelion Records, with Hope-Evans leaving and returning to the fold during that time. The first album, 1970’s ‘New Bottles, Old Medicine’ featured ‘His Guiding Hand’ and was recorded in a two-hour session and Medicine Head toured with the DJ at many of Peel’s shows. The band followed that with the single ‘(And The) Pictures in the Sky’ and then a second album in 1971, ‘Heavy on the Drum’, both produced by the Yardbirds’ Keith Relf. After their 1972 album, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ (yes, before Pink Floyd!), also produced by Keith, the band signed to Polydor Records.
Medicine Head then released ‘One & One Is One’. The single charted at No.3 in the charts and the album of the same name garnered them even more fans. The following album ‘Thru’ A Five’ gave them more hits with ‘Rising Sun’ and ‘Slip and Slide’. Soon after that the band became a duo again, releasing the fittingly titled album ‘Two Man Band’ in 1976. The following year, Peter Hope-Evans left for the final time, although John Fiddler continues to work and record as Medicine Head – releasing two critically acclaimed albums in the last 3 years: ‘Warriors of Love’ and ‘Heartwork.’
At various stages, the band has included stellar musicians such as Laurence Archer, Clive Edwards, Keith Relf, Tony Ashton, Roger Saunders, George Ford, John Davies, Rob Townsend and Morgan Fisher.
In the 1980s, John joined Box of Frogs, with the surviving members of the original Yardbirds, Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith and Jim McCarty. They released two albums on Epic Records, Box of Frogs (1984) – which appeared in the Billboard Top 50 - and Strange Land (1986). Guest artists on the albums included Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ray Majors, Rory Gallagher and Steve Hackett.
Jeff Beck once said of John: “You won’t find anyone better in LA.”
John also played with British Lions, which included former members of Mott the Hoople and Mott.
John Fiddler has retained both his voice and his musical freedom: this is an artist with a massive pedigree and a fascinating story. ‘Heartwork’ is cut through with experience and integrity and sits well within that Medicine Head catalogue.
John will be playing songs from the album, along with many others from across the whole breadth of his legendary career. We look forward to you joining him for a unique evening.
