, if only because he never really established a well-defined musical (or personal) identity of his own, as the other members did. In the latter regard,
as one of the two or three best drummers ever to come out of Birmingham. But who, apart from some really inquisitive
, released at the start of the 1970s, seems hardly to have sold at all in its own time. And since then, he's had to stand in the shadow of the similarly named Australian vocalist.
Rick Price was born in Birmingham, England, in June of 1944. He grew up knowing all of the hit songs by
Johnnie Ray and
Guy Mitchell and picked up his first guitar after he turned 13, to be part of a school play. By that time, he was listening to
Bill Haley,
Elvis Presley,
Eddie Cochran,
Buddy Holly,
Cliff Richard, and
Lonnie Donegan. Three years later, while working at his first regular job and training as a television repairman, he heard a friend's homemade electric guitar and he knew he'd have to have one -- which he duly got, courtesy of his parents, and proceeded to imitate the work of
Hank Marvin of
the Shadows. His earliest band of any note was
the Cimarrons, who sounded a lot like
the Shadows (or tried to).
From
the Cimarrons, he moved on to
the Sombreros, who changed their name to
Sight & Sound a little later. Their original focus was harmony vocals, their influences
the Four Seasons and
the Beach Boys, but by 1967 they'd started doing songs in keeping with the psychedelic boom. And by that time,
Price had started a songwriting partnership with
Mike Sheridan, the former leader of
Mike Sheridan & the Nightriders. The group recorded three singles, "Ebenezer," "Little Jackie Monday," and "Alley Alley," all co-written by the duo, and none successful. The group eventually deteriorated into more of a musical comedy outfit. One day in early 1969, after a performance in front of a club audience that included
Roy Wood, the leader/principal composer of
the Move (who were down to just three members:
Wood,
Carl Wayne, and
Bev Bevan) offered him a spot in the group. He joined just as "Blackberry Way" was making its way up the U.K. charts to number one. He was with them through the brief period of cabaret performances, plus their first (and only) tour of the United States, and lasted two years with the group.
Price even recorded most of the original bass parts to the first
Electric Light Orchestra album, although the latter were re-recorded by
Wood before it ever reached the public.
From there,
Price moved into an ultimately unhappy contractual relationship with Gemini Records, recording
This Is to Certify with
Mike Sheridan. Then he was back with
Carl Wayne in an outfit called
Light Fantastic, who showed a lot of promise but could never get it together in terms of recording. This was followed by a stint in the progressive rock band
Mongrel, which included
Keith Smart on guitar and
Charlie Grima on drums. And from there it was on to
Wizzard,
Roy Wood's new band (which included
Smart,
Grima, and, at one point,
Mike Sheridan). The latter group put him back on the charts with a few U.K. hits, "See My Baby Jive," "Angel Fingers," and the holiday hit "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday."
Wizzard lasted through 1975, and then
Price moved on to
the Wizzo Band, playing pedal steel guitar, no less. Since the 1980s, he has worked with his wife
Dianne Lee, late of the duo
Peters & Lee.
–
Bruce Eder, Rovi