Malcolm Tomlinson

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[edit] UK years

Malcolm Tomlinson (born June 16, 1946 in Isleworth, Middlesex, England) , multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, started out in the early 1960s playing drums in West London band The Panthers. Around 1962, he joined Jeff Curtis & The Flames, the house band at the famous Ealing Jazz Club. The group recorded a five-track acetate with the legendary Joe Meek before Tomlinson left in late 1963 to join The Del Mar Trio with singer Jimmy Marsh, guitarist Allen Bevan and bass player Tony Rowland. In February 1965, the group recorded 4 tracks for EMI at Abbey Road under the supervision of Bob Barratt. Two months later, the band changed name to James Deane & The London Cats and headed for Germany for a year.

In October 1966, Tomlinson and Marsh joined forces with two members of The Noblemen - bass player Bryan Stevens and keyboard player and singer Mike Ketley - in a new outfit called The Motivation. The band advertised in Melody Maker for a saxophone player and duly recruited two players from Birmingham combo, The Moonrakers, Chris Rodger and Martin Barre.

The Motivation supported visiting US soul acts and toured under their own name. They also spent a brief time in Rome playing at the Piper Club. In the summer of 1967, Marsh and Rodger left and the band brought in singer Denny Alexander, changing name to The Penny Peeps. Barre also moved on to lead guitar. The band signed to Liberty Records and recorded two singles before Alexander left and the remaining members evolved into blues band, Gethsemane. The group recorded a couple of tracks that were never released but in December 1968 broke up when Barre joined Jethro Tull.

[edit] Canadian years

Tomlinson subsequently moved to Toronto in March 1969 with his former colleague from Jeff Curtis & The Flames, guitarist Louis McKelvey. The pair formed the group, Milkwood who appeared at the Toronto Rock 'N' Roll Revival concert on September 13 and recorded an unreleased LP for Polydor Records with Jerry Ragovoy producing. The pair also appeared on an unreleased LP by Toronto singer Jay Telfer. They then formed a new band, Damage, but this was short-lived in during the early 1970s, Tomlinson played in a succession of local bands, including Syrinx and a latter day version of Elektra band, Rhinoceros.

In 1973 Tomlinson joined Rick James' original Stone City Band and appeared on an LP that was never released. He later recorded with the band, Bearfoot and then formed the Malcolm Tomlinson Band. The group recorded two albums in 1977 and 1979 for A&M Records. Malcolm Tomlinson played some early shows at the Colonial in Toronto from 19-26 December 1977 before playing further shows at the Concord Tavern to promote his debut album.

On June 2, 2007, Tomlinson was behind the kit for a one-off reunion of the seminal 60's Toronto band Kensington Market. He also doubled up to play with Luke & The Apostles.

He is still active with The Malcolm Tomlinson Band which includes Gerry Markman - guitar (The Sensations), Steve Hunter - keyboard (M/D Hair & Rocky Horror Show) and Glenn Olive - bass, and recently contributed to an LP by the Cameo Blues Band.

On March 1, 2008, they will once again take to the stage. The event is set to take place at the Dora Keogh Irish Pub in Toronto, Ontario.