Patto
Image:Pattoband.jpg
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genre(s)	Psychedelic pop, progressive rock
Years active	1970
Label(s)	Vertigo Records
Associated acts	Timebox
Members
Mike Patto (vocals) John Halsey (drums) Ollie Halsall (guitars and vibes) Clive Griffiths (bass)

Patto was a Progressive Rock jazz-rock band formed in England in 1970 consisting of Mike Patto (born Michael Thomas McCarthy, 22 September 1942, in Cirencester,Gloucestershire died 4 March 1979) on vocals, John Halsey (born 23 February 1945, in Highgate, North London) on drums, Ollie Halsall (born Peter John Halsall, 14 March 1949, in Southport Lancashire died 29 May 1992, in Madrid, Spain) on guitars and vibes, and Clive Griffiths (born 16 May 1945, in Middlewich, Cheshire) on bass.

History

Timebox was a '60's outfit that developed from a complicaded ancestry that included The Bo Street Runners, Patto's People, and the Chicago Blue Line. This soul/psych-pop combo made two singles for Pye's Piccadilly, before signing to Decca's Deram label in 1967. They also recorded five singles for Deram between '67 and '69 and appeared on BBC shows such as Noise at Nine, Stuart Henry on Sunday and Jimmy Young. After their last single failed in '69, keyboard player Chris Holmes (born Christopher Noel Holmes, 12 September 1945, in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire) left and they decided that their future lay in the burgeoning progressive rock movement.

In 1970 Patto was formed out of the remaining ex-members of Timebox and was signed to the newly formed Vertigo label. With Muff Winwood as producer they recorded their first album live in studio. This was due to the fact that Winwood felt this best way to capture the raw virtuosity of Halsall's guitar playing and Mike Patto's soulful voice. The album "Patto" sold poorly and is still considered an underrated classic today.

In December 1971 Patto entered the studio again to record their second album "Hold Your Fire". Again the sales were poor and they were dropped from Vertigo. This did not hinder the fact that they were becoming known as one of the most exciting live acts of their time.

Through his connections in England Muff Winwood was able to get the band signed to Island Records where they recorded the album "Roll 'em Smoke 'em Put Another Line Out". To their dismay this album also sold poorly.

In 1973 the band began to record their next album. For this album Mike Patto wanted to use more of his material which was less cynical than the usual Patto songs and much more commercial. For whatever reason Halsall failed to put much effort into his playing on tracks that he didn't take part in writing and when asked about this he left the band. The album that was called Monkey's Bum was also rejected by Island Records. Without their virtuoso guitarist Patto chose to call it quits with each member moving on to other projects.

Discography

Studio albums

• (1970) Patto
• (1971) Hold Your Fire
• (1972) Roll Em, Smoke Em, put another line out
• (1973) Monkey's Bum (Unreleased)

Live albums

• (2000) Warts and All

See Also

• Ollie Halsall

External Links

• http://home.chello.no/~twildhau/patto/
• http://www.olliehalsall.co.uk/patto.htm
• http://www.pattofan.com/ Mike Patto Fansite