Argent were an English rock band
founded in 1969
by Rod
Argent, formerly of The Zombies. The first three demos from
Argent, recorded in the autumn of 1968 featured Mac
MacLeod on bass. The other original members were drummer Robert
Henrit and bassist Jim Rodford (later members of The
Kinks) and guitarist/keyboardist Russ
Ballard, who contributed to several compositions through the
group's career (some of Ballard's compositions became hits when they
were covered by other artists, including Rainbow
and Santana).
When Russ Ballard left in 1973, he was replaced by guitarist/vocalist John
Verity and guitarist John Grimaldi and there followed a
period of intense recording and touring until the band decided to come
off the road late in 1976.
Argent's biggest hit was "Hold Your Head Up." They also
recorded the original version of "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You," which
was covered by KISS in 1992 under the name of "God Gave Rock 'N'
Roll To You II". It also became a Contemporary Christian Rock anthem
and was twice covered by Petra in 1977 and again in 1984, albeit with new verses. The sound of the
band was a mix of rock and pop but also covered more progressive
rock territory in songs like "The Coming of Kohoutek," an instrumental
from their Nexus album.
When Russ Ballard left the band after Encore,
they took an even more progressive/fusion turn and signed to a new
label (RCA)
for the two final albums. By 2005, all albums, including compilations, have
been re-released on CD, except Counterpoints.
Discography
- Argent (1970)
- Ring Of Hands
(1971)
- All Together Now
(1972)
- In Deep
(1973)
- Nexus (1974)
- Encore: Live In Concert
(1974)
- Circus
(1975)
- Counterpoints
(1975)
- The Best Of Argent - An Anthology
[Compilation] (1976)
- Hold Your Head Up
[Compilation] (1978)
- Music From The Spheres [Compilation]
(1991)
- BBC Radio 1 In Concert [Live] (1995)
- The Complete BBC Sessions [Live] (1997)
