1. Robert Tench was a British singer, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger.
44 Facts About Bobby Tench
1. 2.
Bobby Tench was best known for his work with Freddie King and Van Morrison, as well as being a member of The Jeff Beck Group, Humble Pie and Streetwalkers At the start of his career he performed and recorded with The Gass and appeared with Gonzalez, before joining the Jeff Beck Group.
3.
Bobby Tench continued to record and make live appearances until his death in February 2024, at the age of 79.
4.
Bobby Tench was born in Trinidad and his family moved to London when he was young.
5.
Bobby Tench formed The Gass with Godfrey and Errol McLean in May 1965 and they soon recruited the remaining three members, Humphrey Okah, Ian Thomas and Stuart Colwell.
6.
Bobby Tench moved on with drummer Godfrey McLean to form a new lineup and were signed by Polydor Records in 1969.
7.
Bobby Tench sang some parts for Othello and he featured with the band on the original UK cast recording of "Catch My Soul-Rock Othello", released a year later.
8.
Bobby Tench moved on at the end of May 1971, leaving Gass and Gonzalez to become a member of The Jeff Beck Group.
9.
Bobby Tench was given only a short time to add his vocals to Rough and Ready, before mixing resumed on tracks previously recorded in London by Beck and the other band members including, drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Clive Chaman and keyboard player Max Middleton.
10.
In 1971 Bobby Tench played guitar with Cream's drummer Ginger Baker, studio sessions were recorded and released on the album Stratavarious in July 1972.
11.
Bobby Tench was credited under the pseudonym Bobby Gass and appeared with Afro beat innovator Fela Ransome-Kuti, appearing at live dates with Baker during this period.
12.
Bobby Tench was re-united with Jeff Beck during the summer of 1972.
13.
Bobby Tench recorded with the blues rock guitarist Freddie King and record producer Mike Vernon.
14.
Bobby Tench is credited on two albums by King, Burglar and Larger than life.
15.
Bobby Tench featured as guitarist on Fathoms Deep, an album by Linda Lewis which followed her top twenty success with "Rock a Doodle Do" in the UK singles charts.
16.
Bobby Tench appeared alongside former Jeff Beck Group keyboardist Max Middleton, bassist Phil Chen and guitarist Jim Cregan who produced the album.
17.
Bobby Tench had already been part of a fluid line-up with Chapman and Whitney, performing as a member of "Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers" and appeared with their touring band at concerts such as at Hyde Park in London the previous year, Bobby Tench appeared in television appearances with the band including Rockpalast in March 1975.
18.
Bobby Tench recorded a second album with Hummingbird "We Can't Go On Meeting Like This", which was released in 1976 and became the first of two albums to feature drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie.
19.
Bobby Tench recorded at this time with Mott the Hoople and Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor's band Widowmaker which was considered as a potential supergroup formed during 1975 and he contributed guitar and vocals to the band's first album Widowmaker which was recorded in 1975.
20.
On 19 April 1977, Streetwalkers appeared on Rockpalast, for a final time and their set for this performance included Bobby Tench playing guitar and singing on songs such as "Run for Cover".
21.
Bobby Tench was recommended to Morrison by drummer Peter Van Hooke, after Hooke had seen him perform with Streetwalkers.
22.
Bobby Tench was credited with production assistance, guitar and backing vocals on this album, which became Morrison's best selling album at that time.
23.
Bobby Tench contributed lead guitar and vocals to the promotional Wavelength tour which followed.
24.
Bobby Tench appeared in the video Van Morrison in Ireland which was filmed in February 1979, when he was performing with Morrison on "The Wavelength Tour" and released in 1981.
25.
Bobby Tench performed with Burdon in concerts during this time, before joining Streetwalkers guitarist Charlie Whitney's band Axis Point as a guitarist and vocalist to record Axis Point.
26.
Bobby Tench joined Humble Pie in 1980 further to a previously aborted attempt to enlist him.
27.
The song secured a recording contract with Atlantic subsidiary Atco in USA and Don Arden's Jet Records in UK Bobby Tench remained with them and they recorded On To Victory, which reached No 60 in the Billboard 200 album charts and the single "Fool For a Pretty Face" reached No 52 in the US singles charts.
28.
Bobby Tench toured with Humble Pie in North America as part of the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon Bill, which included others such as Aerosmith.
29.
Bobby Tench recorded "Chain Gang" in 1982 as a tribute to Sam Cooke, which was released as a single by the German label Line Records.
30.
Bobby Tench appeared with Roger Chapman's Shortlist at Glastonbury in 1985, appearing with them at various other European festivals during that period.
31.
Bobby Tench recorded with Topper Headon the drummer from The Clash, credited on Headon's album Waking Up.
32.
In 1993 Bobby Tench sang lead vocals with The Thin Lizzy band, which featured original Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey, former guitarist Brian Robertson Doish Nagle and bassist Dough Brookie.
33.
Bobby Tench contributed guitar and vocals to Ruby Turner's rhythm and blues album Call Me by My Name during 1998 which was released in the same year, appearing alongside Boz Burrell, Stan Webb and Zoot Money.
34.
Bobby Tench was the front man for the house band which included Zak Starkey, Rabbit Bundrick and Rick Wills.
35.
Bobby Tench continued with studio work, occasionally making appearances at live shows such as with Roger Chapman, Arthur Louis and Jim Cregan.
36.
Chris Hjort and Doug Hinman when writing about Bobby Tench joining the Jeff Beck group mention that he was "a talented singer and a proficient guitar player".
37.
Matt Parker of Guitar World stated in the obituary he wrote about Bobby Tench in February 2024 that he was "a phenomenal vocalist" and recalled that his progressive vocals on the Jeff Beck Group's Rough and Ready album split critical opinion at the time of release.
38.
When writing about Bobby Tench joining the Jeff Beck Group the author Martin Power makes reference to him stating that "he was a first class singer".
39.
Bobby Tench has a fine, gravel voice and sometimes sounds like Felix Cavaliere.
40.
The Canadian rock band Danko Jones mention his vocals in their song Sugar High with the lyric "Got the radio on to Bob Bobby Tench singing Sugar Cane", from their album This is Danko Jones.
41.
Bobby Tench stated that he was a "noted singer and formidable guitarist".
42.
Bobby Tench owned guitars of various vintages and played Gibson Les Pauls including the Gold Top Deluxe model as seen on the fold cover for Hummingbird's album "We can't go on meeting like this" released in 1977 and during the period he was with Van Morrison and Humble Pie.
43.
Bobby Tench sold his vintage 1959 Les Paul Standard to Mark Knopfler in the mid-1990s.
44.
Bobby Tench played Fender Stratocasters throughout his career using models finished in powder blue, sunburst and black.