Axis Point -

Axis Point was an English hard-rock supergroup that released the 1978–80 RCA albums Axis Point and Boast of the Town. They featured guitarist Charlie Whitney (Family, Streetwalkers), bassist Charlie McCracken (Taste, Stud), and keyboardist–singer Eddie Hardin (Hardin & York). McCracken and Hardin first interacted in the 1973–74 Spencer Davis Group reboot. Axis Point features two drummers: Les Binks (Judas Priest) and proper member Rob Townsend, a cohort of Whitney in Family.

Members: Charlie Whitney (guitar), Eddie Hardin (vocals), Charlie McCracken (bass), Les Binks (drums, 1979-?), Rob Townsend (drums, ?-1980),

Background

Axis Point formed in 1978 at the Sunningdale home of keyboardist-singer Eddie Hardin, who summoned two colleagues from the cross-channel live circuit: bassist Charlie McCracken and guitarist Charlie Whitney.

Hardin first met McCracken on the German circuit, where Hardin & York and Taste toured in the same period. Hardin recruited McCracken into the 1973 Spencer Davis Group reunion for the albums Gluggo and Living in a Back Street. Hardin & York retained McCracken for the 1974 Vertigo album Hardin & York with Charlie McCracken.

Whitney co-founded Leicester beatsters The Farinas, which evolved into Family with singer Roger Chapman. Whitney and Chapman served as Family’s creative force material through their 1968–73 album run. The pair continued in Streetwalkers through the 1977 studio album Vicious But Fair.

Hardin proposed a new group to McCracken and asked him to bring Whitney into the project. The musicians wrote and rehearsed at the Sunningdale house and tested several drummers until Rob Townsend joined the lineup.

Townsend joined Family as drummer in 1967 and remained through the final album It’s Only a Movie. After a brief stint with Medicine Head, Townsend joined McCracken in the rhythm section on the Kevin Ayers albums Yes We Have No Mañanas and Rainbow Takeaway.

Hardin secured an RCA contract through RCA executive Jimi Boyks. Axis Point entered Kingsway Recorders in London in May 1978 to record the first album with producer-engineer Lou Austin.

Discography:

Axis Point (1978)
Boast of the Town (1980)

References:

Eddie Hardin, “Axispoint,” April 1999 — the key source. Hardin explains how he knew McCracken and Whitney, the Sunningdale writing sessions, the drummer search, the Boyks/RCA connection, Kingsway sessions, and early shows. (Spacer Ritual)
Music Week, December 9, 1978 — contemporary evidence for Axis Point activity, “Moving the Night Away,” German exposure, and the planned British release. (World Radio History)
Record World, May 19, 1979 — contemporary report on RMO Music, RCA, German and Canadian availability, and the projected August UK LP. (World Radio History)
Music Week, August 25, 1979 — contemporary UK review of RCA PL30039 naming Hardin, Whitney, McCracken, and Townsend. (World Radio History)
Charlie Whitney / Family Bandstand — detailed Whitney chronology from the Farinas through Family, Streetwalkers, and Axis Point. (Family Bandstand)
Mike Dolbear: Rob Townsend — Townsend interview covering Leicester bands, entry into Family, and subsequent session work. (Mike Dolbear)
Cherry Red, Hardin & York anthology — confirms the December 1974 German Vertigo release of Hardin & York with Charlie McCracken. (Cherry Red Records)
Original-LP-derived credits — confirms May 1978 at Kingsway Recorders, Lou Austin, and separate drum credits for Les Binks and Rob Townsend. (Strawberry Bricks)