Zespół Killing Floor powstał w Londynie w 1968 roku kiedy to do gitarzysty Michael'a Clarke'a, wokalisty Bill'a Thorndycraft'a, basisty Stewart'a McDonald'a oraz perkusisty Bas'a Smith'a dołączył grający na instrumentach klawiszowych Lou Martin. Po nagraniu demo zainteresował się nimi DJ radia Caroline - John Edward (później producent ich obu płyt). Dzięki jego staraniom zespół grywał przed takimi zespołami jak: Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Chicken Shack, The Herd, i innymi. W połowie 1970 roku (choć istnieje też wersja, że w 1969) zespól nagrał swoją pierwszą płytę zatytułowaną po prostu Killing Floor. Rok później zespól nagrywa swoją drugą (i jak się miało okazać ostatnią) płytę - Out Of Uranus. Niestety ciągłe zmiany składu spowodowały, że w połowie 1972 roku zespól się rozpadł. Obecnie Bill Thorndycraft nie zajmuje się muzyką, Bas Smith gra w zespołach jazzowych, Stewart McDonald założył, po rozpadnięciu się grupy, wraz z Paulem Rodgers'em (dawniej Free) grupę Peace, obecnie grywa w lokalnych zespołach w swojej rodzinnej Walii. Lou Martin już po nagraniu pierwszej płyty odszedł z zespołu do kapeli Rory Gallagher'a, Natomiast Michael Clarke założył w Stanach Zjednoczonych legendarny już pub rock S.A.L.T., oraz nagrywa ze swoim zespołem Mick Clark Band.
Killing Floor
Killing Floor formed in South London in late 1968 when guitarist Mick Clarke, vocalist Bill Thorndycraft, bassist Stuart McDonald and drummer Baz Smith recruited keyboardist Lou Martin and began a bout of intensive rehearsals. After just one gig and after having hawked their demo tape round various agents, Killing Floor were picked up on by ex-Radio Caroline DJ John Edward. Martin recalls, "Edward thought we sounded like Hendrix and as the British Blues boom being in full flow saw us as a chance to get involved in the scene." Edward booked the band for Dunstable's California Ballroom and so gave Killing Floor support slots to the likes of Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Chicken Shack, The Herd, The Casuals and Junior Walker And The All Stars amongst others. He also secured the band a deal with Spark Records who released the group's self-titled LP, produced by Edward, in mid-1969 (SRLP 102). Around this time, the band were offered the chance to back Freddie King on two UK tours which helped further their growing reputation. The band also appeared on all the contemporary British radio rock shows and toured solidly around the U.K.
Out of Uranus is rawer and more irreverent than most second-line British blues-rock of the late '60s and early '70s, as indicated by the title itself. That doesn't mean the all-original songs are that good, that they're especially imaginative players, or that Bill Thorndycraft's semi-barked vocals are so special. But it makes for a refreshing change from the normal not-so-well-known British blues-rock albums of the era, with a brash streak to both the lean arrangements (particularly in the frequent rushed tempos and Bas Smith's crisp drumming) and lyrics missing from many of their peers. Slight nods to the world of underground rock outside of the blues form are heard in the yearning hippie ethos of "Soon There Will Be Everything," where the violin of Paul Spencer Mac again takes them a little outside of the standard framework for the genre. The countercultural mindset of the time is occasionally reflected in numbers like "Call for the Politicians" and the wittily titled "Fido Castrol," somewhat in the bluntly sardonic manner of another band of the day, the Deviants. (Richie Unterberger)
Out of Uranus is rawer and more irreverent than most second-line British blues-rock of the late '60s and early '70s, as indicated by the title itself. That doesn't mean the all-original songs are that good, that they're especially imaginative players, or that Bill Thorndycraft's semi-barked vocals are so special. But it makes for a refreshing change from the normal not-so-well-known British blues-rock albums of the era, with a brash streak to both the lean arrangements (particularly in the frequent rushed tempos and Bas Smith's crisp drumming) and lyrics missing from many of their peers. Slight nods to the world of underground rock outside of the blues form are heard in the yearning hippie ethos of "Soon There Will Be Everything," where the violin of Paul Spencer Mac again takes them a little outside of the standard framework for the genre. The countercultural mindset of the time is occasionally reflected in numbers like "Call for the Politicians" and the wittily titled "Fido Castrol," somewhat in the bluntly sardonic manner of another band of the day, the Deviants. (Richie Unterberger)
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