The Average White Band Artistfacts

1971–1982, 1989–2024
Alan GorrieBass, guitar, vocals, keyboards1971–1982, 1989–2024
Onnie McIntyreGuitar1971–1982, 1989–2024
Roger BallAlto saxophone, keyboards1971–1983, 1989–1996
Molly DuncanTenor saxophone1971-1983
Robbie McIntoshDrums1971-1994
Hamish StuartGuitar, bass, vocals1971–1983
Steve FerroneDrums1974-1983
Eliot LewisKeyboards, guitar, bass, percussion, vocals1989-2002
Fred VigdorTenor saxophone, keyboards, backing vocals1996-2024
Rocky Bryant Drums2006-2024
Brent CarterVocals2011-2024
Rob AriesKeyboards, bass2013-2024
Cliff LyonsAlto saxophone2015-2024
One of the defining funk and soul bands of the 1970s, The Average White Band formed in London in 1971 around a core of Scottish musicians who had crossed paths at Dundee Art College and on the Scottish club circuit. Their groove was so convincing that many American listeners assumed they were a Black group from the United States.
The band's name came from an offhand remark. Guitarist Onnie McIntyre told Uncut magazine that saxophonist Molly Duncan had a friend in the diplomatic service who'd worked in Uganda and liked to sum up the mayhem by saying it was "all too much for the average white man." Someone floated the phrase as a band name. The group initially said no, then reconsidered because they sounded nothing like a typical white rock band. The irony appealed to them, they tried it out, and it stuck.
James Brown was their North Star. AWB modeled their sound on James Brown and The J.B.'s, aiming to match the tightness, groove, and discipline of Brown's rhythm sections rather than British rock traditions.
Their second album, AWB (1974), topped both the Billboard Pop and R&B album charts in the US, an unusual feat for a non-American soul band. Its centerpiece, the instrumental "Pick Up The Pieces," reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Instrumental Performance.
Tragedy struck at the peak of their rise. Original drummer Robbie McIntosh died of a heroin overdose in 1974, shortly after a party in Los Angeles and just as the band was breaking internationally. His replacement, Steve Ferrone, went on to become one of rock's most in-demand session drummers, later working with Tom Petty and many others.
Albums like Cut The Cake and Warmer Communications kept AWB on the pop and R&B charts through the late 1970s, with multiple releases earning Gold status. The band split in the early 1980s but reformed around Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre, who continued touring under the Average White Band name well into the 21st century.

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