Affinity
Affinity L-R: Grant Serpell, Mike Jopp, Linda Hoyle Lynton Naiff, Mo Foster
Background information
Origin	University of Sussex, Brighton, England
Genre(s)	Jazz-Rock
Years active	1968—1971
Label(s)	Vertigo Records, Angel Air
Associated acts	Ice Russell's Clump Sailor RMS
Former members
Lynton Naiff Grant Serpell Mo Foster Mike Jopp Linda Hoyle

Affinity were an English Jazz-Rock fusion band, active from mid-1968 to January 1971. Mo Foster is a British session musician playing primarily Jazz, Jazz-fusion and rock bass guitar The University of Sussex is a British Campus university which is situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, and is from Brighton Brighton ( is a town on the south coast of England and with its neighbour Hove, forms the city of Brighton and Hove. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Fusion or more specifically jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a Musical genre that merges Jazz with elements of other styles of music particularly In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the sixties for its Record label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI (with Angel Air is an Independent record label established in 1997 by Peter Purnell in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England. Sailor were a British pop group mostly famous in the 1970s Career Much of the best material revolved around sailors' adventures on RMS is a Jazz fusion band formed in 1982 It consists of three well known and acclaimed British Session musicians Guitarist '''R'''ay Russell, bass Grant Serpell was a member of several bands during the 1960s and '70s including Affinity and Sailor, and was an encouraging influence over two of the members Mo Foster is a British session musician playing primarily Jazz, Jazz-fusion and rock bass guitar England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Fusion or more specifically jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a Musical genre that merges Jazz with elements of other styles of music particularly Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar.

Origins

The origin of Affinity was, circa 1965, in the science department of the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. The University of Sussex is a British Campus university which is situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, and is from Brighton Brighton ( is a town on the south coast of England and with its neighbour Hove, forms the city of Brighton and Hove. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Three science students called Lynton Naiff (piano), Grant Serpell (drums}, and Nick Nicholas (double bass) had formed the US Jazz Trio, they played at University events and local gigs. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers Grant Serpell was a member of several bands during the 1960s and '70s including Affinity and Sailor, and was an encouraging influence over two of the members A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. When Serpell graduated a year later he was replaced by Mo Foster who had earlier been playing bass guitar in his school band but had now adapted to playing drums. Mo Foster is a British session musician playing primarily Jazz, Jazz-fusion and rock bass guitar The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the

After university Naiff and Serpell, along with members of other bands gathered from other university bands, formed the pop group Ice. Although Ice was moderately successful commercially it only lasted for about a year before it disbanded.

Although Ice had disbanded, Naiff and Serpell were keen to continue with a career in music. They decided to start a new jazz-influenced pop band. To this end they invited Foster to join them, only this time on bass guitar as Serpell would be carrying out the drummer's duties. After holding auditions they met ex-Tridents guitarist Mike Jopp. They liked his playing and his ability to play both jazz and pop, and perhaps more importantly he had his own amp and a car.

The auditions continued as they needed a singer. They unanimously decided on an English teacher they had met previously. Her name was Linda Hoyle.

After obtaining a loan, which was guaranteed by Jopp's father, they bought the equipment needed to start the band. They bought Impact amplifiers, a Hammond M102 organ, a Gibson EBO bass guitar, some microphones and a grey Ford Transit van. The Hammond organ is an electric organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar The Ford Transit is a range of Panel vans minibuses and pickup trucks produced by the Ford Motor Company in Europe. They then spent the summer of 1968 rehearsing, writing, and generally chilling out at a rented bungalow on the edge of Brighton. The first thing they needed to do though was invent a name for themselves, eventually they settled on "Affinity" which came from the name of an Oscar Peterson LP. Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, OOnt ( 15 August 1925 – 23 December 2007) was a Canadian

Critical success

With the end of the 1960s a new music genre, "Jazz-Rock", was evolving and becoming popular. This genre suited the newly formed Affinity partly because they all came from a jazz background and partly because it was a way for them to show some individuality and a degree of separation from the other newly formed bands who were playing the equally popular blues-based rock.

Affinity played their first London show at the Revolution Club in Bruton Place which is just off Berkeley Square in London. This article refers to a town square in London For other meanings of Berkeley or Berkeley Square see Berkeley. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The date was 5 October 1968.

One of the gigs they were playing at the time was broadcast on BBC Radio Jazz Club. jazz luminary, Ronnie Scott, heard a recording of the show and subsequently agreed to manage them. Ronnie Scott ( January 28 1927, in Aldgate, East London &ndash December 23 1996) was a British Jazz He also agreed to give them regular bookings at his world-famous jazz club. This delighted the band as it would give them a stepping stone to further fame, and although it didn't pay that well they did "get to see incredible jazz artists every night — for free!"

From this point on they were getting lots of live work in London's discotheque and club scene and on the college circuit. A discothèque, diskoˈtɛk̚ compare the Spanish "discoteca" is an Entertainment venue or Club with recorded music played by "Discaires" They also succeeded in getting European and Scandinavian tours — which apparently didn't pay very well — and some festivals. They even managed to get some hard to come by TV spots, including Disco 2 which was the forerunner to The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Old Grey Whistle Test (usually abbreviated to Whistle Test or OGWT) was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 They even managed an additional claim to fame, during some session work making jingles, of recording the theme for a famous Shredded Wheat commercial series ("There are 2 men in my life. Shredded Wheat is a Breakfast cereal made from whole Wheat. It comes in two sizes bite sized (3/4 in x 1 in and normal size which are sometimes . . "). They released a critically-acclaimed eponymously titled album on the Vertigo label in 1970. Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the sixties for its Record label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI (with

They now considered themselves to be successful and as such treated themselves to the "ultimate instrument", a 'split' Hammond B3 organ. The Hammond organ is an electric organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company They couldn't yet afford a new one but they managed to purchase a second-hand one that had once belonged to Brian Auger. Brian Auger (born 18 July 1939, Bihar, India) is a Jazz and rock Keyboardist, who has specialized in playing

The end

They received many rave reviews, most for the band, but some for individual members, including British DJ Anne Nightingale's proclamation that Linda Hoyle was "the girl most likely to succeed in 1970". A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience Annie (formerly known as Anne) Nightingale MBE is a British Radio broadcaster Perhaps this was a portent to the end. An omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the Future, often signifying the advent of change After two and a half years of playing, and not actually getting a lot of money for it the members were starting to realise that the fun had gone. In spite of a forthcoming US tour and Naiff and Foster starting to write a second album, Hoyle announced in the middle of a Swedish tour that she'd had enough and wanted to quit both the band and the music business.

The band finished the remaining contracted gigs and went their separate ways.

Discography

Although Affinity only actually ever recorded one album at the time they existed, in recent years archived tapes have been discovered which enabled a further four Affinity-related albums to be 'posthumously' released.

• Affinity — (1970, Vertigo), (2002, Angel Air)
• Live Instrumentals 1969 — (2003, Angel Air)
• 1971-1972 — (2003, Angel Air)
• Origins 1965-67 — (2004, Angel Air)
• Origins: The Baskervilles 1965 (2007, Angel Air)

In 2006 a 5-CD limited issue, collectors edition of the Affinity collection was released on the Japanese AMR "Archive" label. Angel Air is an Independent record label established in 1997 by Peter Purnell in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England. it was in a special packaging consisting of a reproduction of the original LP cover, with an expansive write up on the history of Affinity including a Pete Frame-type family tree diagram designed by Mo Foster and Kurt Adkins. Peter 'Pete' Frame (b 10 November, 1942, in Luton, Bedfordshire) is a music journalist best known for producing intricately-detailed outlines

Related links

• Angel Air website
• Mo Foster official website
• AMR official website (in Japanese)