From an historical point of view, the era of the vinyl long-playing record was relatively short-lived (except for a recent revival of interest among serious collectors and audiophiles). Certainly, it lasted longer than what promises to be the relatively shorter time-span of the compact disc, but effectively, for the Barber Band, it was a period of something like only three decades. For a short time towards the end of the era, various recordings were issued both on vinyl and compact disc, but eventually this practice became no longer commercially feasible, and CD-only versions were the practice by the mid- to late-1980s.

The LP era in general, and for Chris Barber in particular, was a special one, perhaps due largely to the size and format of the records. For many of us there was something special about anticipating, buying, and even holding, a fresh Barber LP in its sleeve, sliding the record out of the lining, and placing it carefully on the turntable. Equally important were the artwork on the front cover, and the (usually) voluminous recording details, personnel, and notes that were to be found on the back. For this reason the "Chris Barber LP Collection" pages displays – for both archival and enjoyment purposes – scans or photographs of the front and back cover of each LP, plus a separate page for the sleeve notes, which in themselves tell a good part of the story of Chris Barber's Jazz Band. On each page, too, you will find selected short music clips and information about the availability of compact disc re-issues.

Click on any LP cover thumbnail image to go to a more detailed page for that record, including large scans of the front and back of the sleeve, music clips, personnel information, and -- where available -- links to CD re-issues.

Part 2 encompasses the seven years in which Ian Wheeler was a member of the Chris Barber Band for the first time (he re-joined some twelve years later). The period begins with Ian's enthusiastically-received appearance at a poll winners' concert at the renowned London Palladium theatre and ends with his contribution to the ground-breaking LP, Battersea Rain Dance. (Ian left the band before this record was completed; thus John Crocker, who replaced him, also appears on several tracks).

Superficially, this was a less prolific recording period for the Barber Band than the preceding seven years, perhaps because of the precipitous collapse of the "Trad Boom" and the decline in sales of jazz records after the Beatles appeared on the British music scene. However, the band did continue to record, even if not everything committed to tape was published at the time. It was also a period of tremendous innovation, not least because of Chris's decision to hire an electric guitarist, John Slaughter, whose presence was crucial to the sound and type of music included on Good Morning Blues and Dans Le Vent (a re-recording of Good Morning Blues for release in France).

Second, there were some important personnel changes: Graham Burbidge left the band after two decades, being replaced by former Spencer Davis Group drummer Peter York. Jackie Flavelle also left, his replacement being Vic Pitt, who stayed for thirty years; Roger Hill replaced John Slaughter on electric guitar; and Sammy Rimington was added to the reed section alongside John Crocker.

This last change is particularly important, as it marked a significant and permanent (until a further expansion in 2001) of the Chris Barber Jazz & Blues Band to an eight-man organization, increasing the musical range of its sound, noteworthy in terms of new interpretations of tunes that the six- and seven-man outfits had played for many years, as well as a broadening of its repertoire.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the seven-year period between 1979 and 1986 was the stability of the band's personnel: in fact this was the longest stable time-span in the band's entire history from 1954 until the present day. The period began when clarinettist Sammy Rimington and drummer Pete York left at the same time, to be replaced by the returning Ian Wheeler and a new drummer, Norman Emberson. It was also during this time that guitarist Roger Hill made his mark on the band, and in fact we define this era as coming to an end when Roger left and John Slaughter returned to the band.

Equally important was how prolific the band's output was. In total, some 11 LPs were recorded and released, three of them double-albums. Other recordings (including some videos) were also made, but these did not become public until several years later, when they appeared on compact discs, videocassettes and DVDs. Chris also made some guest recordings with other bands, but these will feature in a later section of this web page.

It was also during this time that the band began to experiment with alternative recording techniques: first in the form of two direct-to-disc records (Come Friday and South Rampart Street Parade), and second in digital format (The Grundig Concert '80).