Adrian Gurvitz

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Adrian Gurvitz (born Adrian Curtis in Stoke Newington, London on 26 June 1949) is an English singer/songwriter.

[edit] Career

Gurvitz is mostly known for the 1982 worldwide hit ballad "Classic". This is in total contrast to his first chart success in 1967, as the lead guitarist/lead singer with the band The Gun. The Gun's first (and only) UK singles chart success was "Race With the Devil," rarely heard today but widely regarded as the "ancestor" of the entire Heavy Metal genre.

Ironically, The Gun was originally billed as a "Psychedelic/Crossover" band and "Race With the Devil" was just a whimsical experiment with mixture of orchestration and hard rock and roll. Jimi Hendrix performed the song at the Isle of Wight concert in 1970, but no recordings appear to exist.

Adrian was lead guitarist in the band Three Man Army, (together with his brother Paul Gurvitz) whose album Third of a Lifetime (1971) predominantly featured a selection of hard-driven blues tracks such as "Butter Queen", but also featured the melodic instrumental title track. The album is available on remastered CD format.

After Three Man Army split, Adrian teamed up with Graeme Edge for two albums for Threshold - Kick Off Your Muddy Boots, 1975 and Paradise Ballroom, 1977 both albums illustrated by Joe Petagno

After this Adrian and his brother Paul teamed up with Ginger Baker to form The Baker Gurvitz Army - the first two vinyl releases The Baker Gurvitz Army, 1975 and Elysian Encounter, 1975 again being illustrated by Joe Petagno