In the heart of the ‘Swinging Sixties’, a British rock band called Savoy Brown was born and almost immediately began to make a profound impact with their pioneering blues-rock sound. Energetic Blues has always been Savoy Brown’s calling card. 

 In fact, Blues Rock became the catch-all phrase in the late 1960s to describe the band’s music along with that of contemporaries including Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and Jimi Hendrix. 

 Even though the band was plagued with a constantly changing line-up, the group’s guiding hand from the outset in 1966 was held by its founder, the late Kim Simmonds. 

Unfortunately, Savoy Brown never reached the same level of commercial success as their contemporaries but despite this, they were a huge influence on the blues-rock genre, which led to their long-standing Legacy in the industry. 

The band’s discography is a testament to their enduring influence. Albums like “Shake Down,” “Blue Matter,” and “Street Corner Talking” showcased the band’s exceptional song writing and instrumentals. Through the 60s, 70s and 80’s songs such as “I’m Tired”, “Train to Nowhere”, “Tell Mama” and “Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone” became Hot 100 entries. 

Savoy Brown has always toured relentlessly, making it one of the longest running blues rock bands in existence.

They also provided other groups opportunity. Kiss opened the bill on a Savoy Brown national tour as did ZZ Top, The Doobie Brothers and many, many more acts. Former members, having cut their teeth under Simmonds’ leadership, have gone on to complete their careers with other bands. Among others, these include singer Dave Walker with Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath, Bill Bruford with King Crimson and Andy Pyle with the Kinks.

Savoy Brown helped spawn the 1968 UK Blues Rock boom and later opened the eyes of many 1970s American teenagers to their own home territory blues artists.

Today, more than 50 years later, Savoy Brown remains a formidable, progressive Blues Rock force. 

As the band continues today without its leader, Kim Simmonds, who passed away late last year, it is led by my special guests – bassist PAT DESALVO and drummer GARNET GRIMM. Both have been in the line-up for more than 10 years. 

I hope you enjoy the amazing story that is SAVOY BROWN’s musical journey.

To learn more about the band head to their website https://savoybrown.com/biography

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you’d like to comment, provide feedback or suggest a future guest for the show. You can reach me through my website https://abreathoffreshair.com.au/

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Sandy Kaye Sandy Kaye

Hello, I’m Sandy Kaye. A freelance broadcaster, journalist and producer who has spent more than 35 years on both sides of radio and television microphones. I’ve worked with every TV network in Australia, have produced and presented for countless radio stations around the country and have hosted my own commercial radio talk-back show. I’ve even held the distinction of being Sydney’s first female newsreader on radio – way back when!

Today my passion is A Breath of Fresh Air which allows me to immerse myself in one of my favourite things – music. I just love all kinds of music and am fascinated by the people who make it. In particular, it’s the music of the '60s '70s and '80s that takes me back to my youth and means so much to me.

As a journalist, I’m all about digging deep into the classic hits of our time.
I bring you intimate, warm, fireside chats with the artists who tell us about their lives both then and now.
We learn about what makes them tick, who they are in their professional and private lives and how they went about making the soundtrack to our lives.

'A Breath of Fresh Air’ is exceptional - exceptional not because of me, but rather because of the stories that some of the best-known musical artists choose to share with me.

I created this podcast to honour them. It’s all about THEIR lives, THEIR stories, THEIR music, told now, in THEIR voices, before they’re lost forever.

I see my podcast as a personal labour of love, but also as an archival legacy for music fans and practitioners alike, both current and future, who otherwise might never know of the amazing people who helped build the industry.

I really hope you enjoy each and every episode of A Breath of Fresh Air.