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There is/has been more than one band called Egypt over the years. This can cause confusion with albums & tracks from different 'Egypts' often listed together as if they were one band. This Egypt (1987 to the present) is best known for its close connections to 1960s/70s band The Groundhogs and, just to add to the confusion, had a very different style and line-up in the early days, making many people believe they were two different bands. ==The early years== Egypt's original line-up first got together in a squat in Shepherds Bush, London in late 1987, but the story really begins a few weeks before when ex-Groundhogs bass player Alan Fish and ex-Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker were asked to record the very first album release (literally serial number 001) for the then fledgling record label HTD Records (HTD are now Talking Elephant Records and deal with Wishbone Ash, Fairport Convention, Ritchie Blackmore, Steven Stills, etc.). Also included was guitarist Don Greer (ex-Bachman Turner Overdrive and others). This initial plan got as far as some recording sessions (unreleased) before Clive found himself unavailable due to other commitments and Don decided to move back home to the States and was unable to continue, though he would later fill in for a broken-thumbed Eric Chipulina whilst Egypt were in the US for a short while in the early 1990s. Alan was determined to carry on but was now on his own with recording and gig commitments to fulfil. Having difficulty finding the right musicians he began looking for a suitable ready-made band instead and met the first Egypt drummer Peter Chichon at one of these auditions. Peter was also there to audition but opted to pitch in with Alan instead. Alan Fish started off his musical career (as guitarist initially) playing skiffle at the age of 12. As a teenager during the 1960s he had been in bands in the far east supporting The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks and other names of the era before relocating in the UK where he was again, during the 1960s/70s, supporting many name acts including David Bowie. He had recently left his bass playing job with bike rally favourites Dumpys Rusty Nuts and had played since the mid-seventies with the legendary Tony T S McPhee in The Groundhogs, Terraplane, and Tony McPhee's Turbo, recording several albums. In the 1980s he joined Tredegar (with ex-Budgie drummer & guitarist Ray Philips and Tony Bourge) and was involved in many other projects including a European tour with Chuck Berry and a couple of albums with ex-Bo Diddley harp player Billy Boy Arnold. His entire CV is too long to include here. Peter Chichon had recently been drumming for infamous London trash/glam rockers The Gunslingers and had already played in several bands with guitarist Eric Chipulina, who joined up after playing the Benny Hill theme tune (!) at an impromptu audition at the aforementioned Shepherds Bush squat. Eric had until that time been gigging around London with Periphery (with Bill Kruse and Francis Pecino). Finally, on vocals came in Ryka who had previously been in Shattered with Peter. This line-up barely stuck together long enough to record the first album (produced by NWOBHM pioneer Paul Samson) in 1988 and do a couple of brief UK tours of mostly smaller hall and club venues. The music at this point was very different from the blues rock style that developed later on. There was a recording and gigging schedule to keep within weeks of forming which saw some studio work begin even before a singer had been found. Material for both studio and live performances was hurriedly written and sourced from different genres, past projects, etc. and the result was a mixture of thrash metal and older metal styles along with several other things including North African and Andalusian influences, hence the name Egypt. It was suggested by the record company HTD (now Talking Elephant Records) after hearing Find A Way, a track with a somewhat Egyptian sounding riff which featured on the first album. With HTD literally waiting for a name to put on the cover so they could go ahead with artwork and release (and with the pub about to open any minute) the name was adopted despite doubts about it as no one could think of anything else in the time available. The first album was released in 1988 getting plenty of airplay on national radio (Radio One Rock Show, featured album on Radio Caroline, etc.), an airing on a late night 'jukebox jury' type TV show on Channel 4 and press coverage nationwide. However there was a problem with distribution (by EMI subsidiary Supertrack) and by the time the album reached the shops the moment had gone. After so much money and effort had been spent and with HTD nearly sunk almost before it had even started, and therefore unable to carry on the momentum, there seemed to be nowhere to go and the band gradually began to fall apart. The first to leave was Ryka, who went on to record a solo album project with songwriting duo Nick Jefferson and Alistar Nicholson in a project called Sine on Minority One Records. Next to leave was Peter Chichon, who later found cult success in the UK and worldwide with the excellent Breed 77. Ironically a badly edited bootleg of the album made an appearance soon after and was apparently selling well. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Egypt (band)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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