* En anglais uniquement
Saucy blues-rockers
Juicy Lucy formed in 1969 from the ashes of cult favorite garage band
the Misunderstood, reuniting vocalist
Ray Owen, steel guitarist
Glenn "Ross" Campbell, and keyboardist
Chris Mercer, with the additions of guitarist
Neil Hubbard, bassist
Keith Ellis, and drummer
Pete Dobson. The group immediately notched a U.K. Top 20 hit with their reading of the
Bo Diddley perennial "Who Do You Love," with their self-titled debut LP falling just shy of the Top 40. Ex-
Zoot Money singer Paul Williams, guitarist
Mick Moody, and drummer
Rod Coombes replaced
Owen (who exited for a solo career), Hubbard, and
Dobson for 1970's Lie Back and Enjoy It, with bassist
Jim Leverton assuming Ellis' duties for the follow-up, 1971's
Get a Whiff a This. The constant turnover clearly took its toll on the group both creatively and commercially, with co-founders
Campbell and
Mercer both exiting prior to the fourth
Juicy Lucy album, 1972's Pieces, which was recorded by a makeshift lineup of Williams,
Moody, keyboardist
Jean Roussel, and the former
Blodwyn Pig rhythm section of bassist
Andy Pyle and drummer
Ron Berg.
Juicy Lucy disbanded shortly thereafter.
Ray Owen revived the name in 1995 for the album Here She Comes Again, which found Mike Jarvis (guitar), Andy Doughty (bass), and Spencer Blackledge (drums) rounding out the band. A couple of years later, this version of the band broke up, but
Owen wanted to keep on going, especially when he formed a musical partnership with a guitarist known as Mr. Fish. Legal problems kept the new band from using the
Juicy Lucy name so they gigged as Ray Owen's Moon. By 2004, bassist Fudge and drummer Fletch had joined up and the legal issue was settled. The new
Juicy Lucy spent 2006 working on a new album and touring the U.K. with
Nazareth.
Ray Owen died on October 31, 2018. ~ Jason Ankeny