Stealers Wheel formed in Scotland in 1972...the pride and joy of two school pals, Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty...the latter you might remember for his solo hits in the late 1970's.The duo, the core of what would become Stealers Wheel, met as teens in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Rafferty played guitar, Egan played piano...and both sang.

Joining the new band were Roger Brown, Rab Noakes, and Ian Campbell. That 1972 lineup would be short-lived. By the time a record deal had been inked with A&M Records later that year, the three had been replaced by Paul Pilnick, Tony Williams and Rod Coombes.

This is the Stealers Wheel that recorded their self-named debut album.

Producing that album? Influential American songwriters and producers, Lieber and Stoller!

One of Jersey's Favorite Hits, "Stuck In The Middle With You" cruised all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in Spring 1973. In England, it was a #8 hit...

Unfortunately, by the time the album was doing brisk sales, and "Stuck" was moving up the charts, Rafferty had left the band!

Luther Grosvenor stepped into Rafferty's shoes, and stayed with the band for much of their 1973 tour. DeLisle Harper replaced Tony Williams on tour!

The million-plus sales of "Stuck In The Middle With You" eventually persuaded Gerry Rafferty to return...however, Grosvenor, Coombes and Pilnick all departed!

This officially left Stealers Wheel a duo...Rafferty and Egan...using various backing musicians on tour, and in the recording studio!

The followup single, "Everyone's Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine" turned out...modestly (#49/1973) on the Billboard Hot 100.

Debuting on the charts in early 1974, "Star" fared better, reaching #29.

Later in 1974, a second album "Ferguslie Park" was released. It featured Rafferty and Egan, backed by 9 largely unknowns.

The album, named after an area of the duo's native Paisley Scotland, was a commercial failure.

Tensions between the two founding members over what studio musicians to use on a third album, plus business problems for producers Lieber and Stoller, caused Stealers Wheel to basically disappear from the music scene for a year and a half!

Mentor Williams stepped in to produce the contractually obligated third album, "Right Or Wrong." By the time the album hit store shelves in 1975, Stealers Wheel had broken up. Two singles failed to get any attention.

The band's breakup stalled the solo careers of both Egan and Rafferty for the next three years! Legal disputes between management prevented either from entering a recording studio.

After a settlement was reached, both Rafferty and Egan wrote and recorded songs with lyrics referring to the rather bitter breakup (and history) of their (former) hit-making band!

Egan put out two albums for Ariola Records (Europe).

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"City To City," 1978 (Craig Allen photo)
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Rafferty emerged as a major solo artist with the 1978 release of the "City To City" album, and the song "Baker Street," which held on to the #2 slot on the charts for six weeks!

But wait...all is not lost...for Stealers Wheel!

A "Best Of Stealers Wheel" CD was released in 1990.

Stealers Wheel got a big boost in 1992, when "Stuck In The Middle With You" was prominently featured in the soundtrack to the (bloody, 70's song-filled) Quentin Tarantino movie "Reservoir Dogs."

All three Stealers Wheel albums were reissued in England in 2004 and 2005.

After being pursued by American music distributors in 2008, Tony Williams reformed the group in Blackpool, England, with two other original members, Rod Coombes and Paul Pilnick. Blackpool-based songwriter and musician Tony Mitchell came aboard. Luther Grosvenor has expressed interest in rejoining the new version of the band, should they decide to tour at some point... Neither Rafferty nor Egan have had been associated with the venture...

Sadly, Gerry Rafferty died of liver failure on January 4, 2011. He was 63.

 

 

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