Humble Pie were an English hard rock band from Moreton, Essex. Formed in January 1969, the group originally included vocalist and guitarist Steve Marriott, guitarist and vocalist Peter Frampton, bassist and vocalist Greg Ridley, and drummer Jerry Shirley. The band currently consists of Shirley (who does not tour with the band) alongside guitarist Dave Colwell (since 2001), bassist Ivan “Funkboy” Bodley and drummer Bobby Marks (both since 2018), and vocalist, guitarist and organist Jim Stapley (since 2023).
Humble Pie were formed as a supergroup in January 1969 by Steve Marriott of Small Faces, Peter Frampton of the Herd, Greg Ridley of Spooky Tooth and Jerry Shirley of the Apostolic Intervention.[1] Frampton remained until September 1971, when he left to start a solo career.[2] The band's manager Dee Anthony explained that Frampton's departure was due to a lack of chemistry between him and Marriott, and suggested that the group would continue as a trio.[3] However, he was replaced later in the year by former Colosseum guitarist David "Clem" Clempson.[4] Humble Pie broke up in 1975 after the release of Street Rats, due to touring fatigue and personal conflicts.[5]
Marriott and Shirley reformed Humble Pie in January 1980,[6] adding guitarist Bobby Tench and bassist Anthony "Sooty" Jones.[7] Both new members left in the summer of 1981 after a period of heavy touring.[8] Marriott returned early the following year with bassist Jim Leverton, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Fallon Williams III, often billing themselves as "Steve Marriott and the Pie".[9] McJohn was soon fired and Leverton later left, with guitarist Tommy Johnson and bassist Keith Christopher joining in early 1983; Johnson was subsequently dismissed and replaced by Phil Dix, and later by Rick Richards, who was fired alongside Christopher later in the year.[10] Following a brief period as a trio with Williams and bassist Dave Hewitt, Marriott disbanded Humble Pie for a second time in late 1983.[10]
In 1989, Shirley obtained the rights to the name Humble Pie and reformed the band in Cleveland, Ohio as "Humble Pie featuring Jerry Shirley",[11] adding lead vocalist and guitarist Charlie Huhn, lead guitarist Wally Stocker and returning bassist Jones.[12] In the early 1990s, Marriott and Frampton worked together again and a return of the original Humble Pie lineup was rumoured[7] [11] Marriott died in a house fire on 20 April 1991 ending this speculation.[13] Shirley continued performing under the Humble Pie name with various musicians until August 1999, when he was forced to retire after suffering injuries in a car accident. Huhn completed a string of shows with guitarists Rick Craig (later Patrick Thomas), bassists Ean Evans and Kent Gascoyne also drummer Jamie Darnell (who left to join Foghat in February 2000).
Shirley reformed Humble Pie again in 2001 to mark the tenth anniversary of Marriott's death adding original bassist Ridley, former guitarist Tench and rhythm guitarist Dave Colwell all of whom recorded the album Back on Track, the band's first since 1981.[14] Keyboardist Dean Rees and Johnny Warman on vocals also guitar completed the lineup for a short European tour during 2002. This tour was cut short when Ridley became ill due to pneumonia which led to his death on 19 November 2003.[15] [16]
Ridley and Colwell reformed the band with American singer Jimmy Kunes (Cactus, Savoy Brown), co-lead guitarist James Volpe Rotondi (Mr. Bungle, AIR), R&B bassist Ivan “Funkboy” Bodley (Sam Moore, The Shirelles), and drummer Bobby Marks (Dokken, Joe Lynn Turner), for tours of the US in 2018 and 2019.[17] The band returned in 2022 with Jim Stapley replacing Kunes and Rotondi.[18]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Shirley | all Humble Pie releases | ||||
| Dave Colwell | Back on Track (2002) | ||||
| Ivan “Funkboy” Bodley | 2018–present | bass | none to date | ||
| Bobby Marks | drums | ||||
| Jim Stapley | 2023–present |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Marriott | all Humble Pie releases except Live at the Cleveland Agora Theatre (1990) and Back on Track (2002) | |||
| Greg Ridley | all Humble Pie releases from As Safe as Yesterday Is (1969) to Street Rats (1975), and from Natural Born Boogie (1995) to Live in New York 1971 (2012) | |||
| Peter Frampton | ||||
| David "Clem" Clempson | 1971–1975 | |||
| Anthony "Sooty" Jones | ||||
| Bobby Tench | ||||
| Fallon Williams III | 1982–1983 | drums | none | |
| Jim Leverton | ||||
| Goldy McJohn | 1982 | keyboards | ||
| Keith Christopher | 1983 | bass | ||
| Tommy Johnson | guitar | |||
| Phil Dix | ||||
| Rick Richards | ||||
| Dave Hewitt | bass | |||
| Charlie Huhn | 1989–2000 | Live at the Cleveland Agora Theatre (1990) | ||
| Wally Stocker | 1989–1990 | |||
| Sean Beavan | bass | |||
| Scott Allen | 1990–1992 | none | ||
| Alan Greene | 1990–1999 | guitar | ||
| Sam Nemon | 1992–1996 | bass | ||
| Brad Johnson | 1996–1999 | |||
| Ean Evans | 2000 | |||
| Kent Gascoyne | 2000 | |||
| Jamie Darnell | drums | |||
| Rick Craig | guitar | |||
| Patrick Thomas | ||||
| Zoot Money | 2001–2002 | Back on Track (2002) | ||
| Dean Rees | 2002 | keyboards | none | |
| Johnny Warman | ||||
| Jimmy Kunes | 2018–2022 | vocals | ||
| James Volpe Rotondi | ||||
| Period | Members | Releases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1969 – September 1971 |
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| November 1971 – early 1975 |
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| Band inactive early 1975 – January 1980 | |||
| January 1980 – summer 1981 |
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| Early – mid-1982 |
| none | |
| Mid-1982 – early 1983 |
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| 1983 |
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| 1983 |
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| 1983 |
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| Late 1983 |
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| Band inactive 1984–1989 | |||
| 1989 |
| none | |
| 1989–1990 |
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| 1990–1992 |
| none | |
| 1992–1996 |
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| 1996–1999 |
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| 1999–2000 |
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| 2000 |
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| Band inactive 2000–2001 | |||
| 2001–2002 |
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| 2002 |
| none | |
| Band inactive 2002–2018 | |||
| 2018–2019 |
| none | |
| 2022–present |
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