AVERAGE WHITE BAND - RENAISSANCE 1988-2003 AVERAGE WHITE BAND

Widely and rightly regarded as one of the best ever soul and funk bands, Average White Band tore-up the rule book and conquered the US, UK & International charts with a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980.
AWB’s repertoire has been a source of inspiration and influence for many R&B acts and they are one of the most sampled bands in history, remaining relevant today, continuing to reach new generations of younger audiences. Snoop Dogg, Fatboy Slim, Ice Cube, Puff Daddy, TLC, Rick Ross, will.i.am and Mark Ronson amongst countless others, have all borrowed sections of their grooves.

Having split in 1982, Average White Band re-formed in 1988 with a different line-up but with Alan Gorrie, Onnie McIntyre and initially, Roger Ball remaining.

“Aftershock” is the Band’s 11th album, originally released in 1988 and includes the singles ‘The Spirit Of Love’, which features Chaka Khan and Ronnie Laws, as well as ‘Sticky Situation’. Other special guests include The Ohio Players. The album was produced by John Robie, Dennis Lambert & Alan Gorrie, and AWB.

Following an eight-year hiatus, Average White Band returned in 1996, recording “Soul Tattoo”, the Band’s 12th album, at Daryl Hall’s studio in New York State and includes the single ‘Back To Basics’, with Hall & Oates collaborator Klyde Jones, on lead vocals on ‘Every Beat Of My Heart’, and Daryl Hall appearing on ‘I Wanna Be Loved’, which was co-written with Alan Gorrie. The album was produced by Average White Band and Peter Moshay.

In 1998 and in support of “Soul Tattoo”, AWB went on the road with Tower of Power and recorded “Face To Face” at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The album featured several new cuts as well as longstanding favourites. This is the first CD reissue of that show since its original 1999 release.

Following a seven-year break, Average White Band returned in 2003, with their most recently released whole-studio album, “Living In Colour”, which includes two soul classics in ‘I’m Gonna Make You Love Me’ and Major Harris’ ‘Love Won’t Let Me Wait’.
Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre were joined by Klyde Jones, Fred Vigdor and Brian Dunne, along with additional musicians Eliot Lewis, Cliff Lyons, John Fumasoli, Tony Kadleck, Bill Harris, Carlos Gomez, Joe Najmy and Rob Aries. The album was produced by Average White Band and Matt Noble.

The final non-album Bonus Track is 2017’s ‘Harvest For The World’ which features The Isley’s Chris Jasper, who sadly passed away in 2025. A pairing of great soul and R&B legends.

This period of AWB’s recorded history is as important as their earlier material, as it showcases how Bands can develop a new sound and work with different production techniques, whilst still retaining their authentic musicianship.