Bobby Tench

Robert Tench (21 September 1944 – 19 February 2024) was a British vocalist, guitarist, sideman, songwriter and arranger.

Tench is best known for his work with Freddie King and Van Morrison, as well as being a member of The Jeff Beck Group, Humble Pie, Streetwalkers and Van Morrison band.

He is also associated with Hummingbird and Gass, as a founding member.

At the start of his career he performed and recorded with The Gass and also appeared with Gonzalez, before joining the Jeff Beck Group.

He recorded with Ginger Baker before touring with Beck, Bogert & Appice as vocalist and recording sessions with Linda Lewis.

Associations with Wailer Junior Marvin and blues guitarist Freddie King followed.

Tench signed to A&M Records and formed Hummingbird, later joining Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney in Streetwalkers.

During this period he had brief associations with Boxer and Widowmaker, recording album tracks with each before working with Van Morrison.

When his commitments with Morrison came to an end he moved on to work and record with Eric Burdon also Axis Point, before Steve Marriott included him as an official band member in a new lineup of Humble Pie.

Other collaborations and associations followed.

Tench died in February 2024, at the age of 79.

Tench formed The Gass with Godfrey and Errol McLean in May 1965, credited as Robert Tench and during his time with the band featured as vocalist, guitarist and bass player.

The band played mainly in the London Club circuit appearing at West End venues such as Rasputin's, The Bag O'Nails, The Speakeasy Club, The Flamingo Club (also known as The Pink Flamingo), Sibyllas and Revolution.

They also made other appearances elsewhere in the U.K with occasional tours in Europe.

The Gass were often accompanied on stage by guest musicians such as Georgie Fame, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Burdon.

They recorded two singles for Parlophone and another for CBS with their original lineup, before taking a more progressive musical direction.

During 1968 they were supporting bands such as Led Zeppelin.

Tench moved on with drummer Godfrey McLean to form a new lineup and were signed by Polydor Records in 1969.

By now the band was simply known as Gass and were already playing as the backing band for Catch My Soul, a stage musical produced by Jack Good.

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.

They recorded Juju (1970), which was soon removed from retail outlets and re-released as Gass.

Juju featured the Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green on the tracks "Juju" and "Black Velvet".

Tench also formed the original lineup of Gonzalez with Godfrey McLean.

The lineup also included Gass bandmates bassist Delisle Harper, percussionist Lennox Langton and sax player Mick Eve.

During this period Tench began to use the pseudonym 'Bobby Gass'.

Tench moved on at the end of May 1971, leaving Gass and Gonzalez to become a member of The Jeff Beck Group.

Jeff Beck had signed a record deal with CBS in June 1971, having reformed The Jeff Beck Group.

Vocals by Alex Ligertwood had been unexpectedly rejected by record company bosses, forcing Beck to find a replacement singer.

Having heard Tench perform with Gass, "Upstairs" at Ronnie Scott's club in Soho London, Beck employed him as replacement vocalist.

In their book about Beck, Chris Hjort and Doug Hinman mention this association and circumstances.

He was given only a short time to add his vocals to Rough and Ready (1971), 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.

When the album was released in Europe they toured Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.

Rough and Ready was released in USA eight months later and a sixteen date promotional tour followed.

The album eventually reached No. 46 on the US album charts.

Of Tench Rolling stone magazine stated: "...then comes Situation a long, well-played evocation of that misnamed hybrid jazz-rock and a neat rocker called Short Business. Vocalist Tench does a valiant job on both considering the considerable handicap of being mixed down under the guitar."

In 1971 Tench played guitar with Cream's drummer Ginger Baker, studio sessions were recorded and released on the album Stratavarious in July 1972.

In January 1972 The Jeff Beck Group travelled to United States to join Beck at TMI studios in Memphis, Tennessee, where they recorded the album Jeff Beck Group (1972) with Steve Cropper as producer.

The promotional tour which followed included an appearance on the BBC In Concert series, which was recorded on 29 June 1972 at the Paris Theatre, London.

During this session Tench's guitar playing was featured on "Definitely Maybe", a rare occasion whilst he was associated with Beck.

On 24 July 1972, the second Jeff Beck Group was officially disbanded and Beck's management released this statement: "The fusion of the musical styles of the various members has been successful within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn't feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought".