Astonishingly brilliant supergroups formed in the 1960s

It’s time to look at more supergroups again. Recent articles have looked at supergroups formed in the 1970s and taken a close look at Cream and other related supergroups formed in the 1960s. Now we’ll keep the focus on others that were also formed in the 1960s. 

To be consistent, I’ll keep applying the same criteria here as before. That means we need some musicians famous in their own right already coming together to form a group. The group then has to release at least one album together and complete a tour rather than a one-off gig.

That does rule out a few bands who are at times referred to as supergroups. Mott The Hoople is one of those. Their lineup did include Mick Ralphs who did go on to play with Bad Company, a terrific supergroup from the 1970s. But neither Ralphs, lead singer Ian Hunter, nor the other Mott members had enough claims to fame to earn the supergroup label.

Why Led Zeppelin aren't a 1960s supergroup

Led Zeppelin fell foul for the same reason. Often tagged as a supergroup, the evidence just isn’t there. You can perhaps make a claim for Jimmy Page who was a prolific and well-known in the trade session guitarist, appearing on many 1960s hits by other artists. He was also in the Yardbirds which, via the New Yardbirds, was part of the evolution of Led Zeppelin. 

But Robert Plant and John Bonham were barely known for their part in Band Of Joy, a group that fell apart in 1968 when it failed to get a record contract. And John Paul Jones had no real success to claim when he joined the new band. So if you were expecting to see Led Zep hailed as a top supergroup, that’s why they don’t qualify as one. 

Enough of those who don’t quite fit the list. Let's look at some bands that do comfortably qualify. Alongside all those Cream connections and subsequent groups that followed, here are two more excellent supergroups formed in the 1960s. 

Humble Pie - a top supergroup formed in the 1960s

First up is the British rock group Humble Pie. This brought together Steve Marriott, Peter Frampton, Greg Ridley, and Jerry Shirley when they formed in 1969. Peter Frampton had scored success at a young age with The Herd, but he left them in 1968. Frampton was close to joining Marriott’s band Small Faces, but the other band members there weren‘t willing to let him in. 

Marriott had been helping Frampton form a new band and had lined up Ridley from Spooky Tooth on bass and Shirley on drums from a band called Apolisitic Intervention. Marriott’s frustration at his existing group boiled over and he is reported to have stormed off stage at a Small Faces New Year's Eve gig. Announcing he was leaving backstage that night the next step was to join Frampton and the others in a new band.

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