The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation

The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation was an English blues-rock band that issued a standalone single on Blue Horizon/CBS in 1967, followed by four albums on Liberty between 1968 and 1970. The band morphed into Blue Whale for a final album — sometimes credited to drummer/bandleader Dunbar — on Byg Records in 1971. Dunbar drummed on the first four Journey albums and served in the 1979–82 lineup of the Jefferson Starship.

Members: Victor Brox (trumpet, keyboards, organ, vocals), Aynsley Dunbar (drums), John Moorshead (guitar, vocals), Keith Tillman (bass, 1967-?), Alex Dmochowski [aka Erroneous] (bass), Tommy Eyre (keyboards)

Background

The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation formed in 1967 when drummer Aynsley Dunbar teamed with singer and multi-instrumentalist Victor Brox. Guitarist John Moorshead and bassist Keith Tillman completed the quartet.

Dunbar came from Liverpool, where he entered R&B with Derry Wilkie and the Pressmen in 1963 before a 1964–66 stint with Stu James and the Mojos. John Mayall recruited Dunbar into the Bluesbreakers in September 1966, and Dunbar recorded A Hard Road with guitarist Peter Green and bassist John McVie. Dunbar then joined the Jeff Beck Group and played on the 1967 single “Tallyman” (b/w “Rock My Plimsoul”).

Brox graduated from university in philosophy, then led the Victor Brox Blues Train in Manchester. Brox left schoolteaching to join Alexis Korner in London. Dunbar recruited him from Korner’s group. Moorshead played lead guitar with Johnny Kidd and the Pirates from September 1965 to April 1966. He then replaced Peter Green in Shotgun Express. Tillman came from Brox’s Blues Train after an earlier spell with Stone’s Masonry.

Tillman soon left Retaliation for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and Dunbar replaced him with Alex Dmochowski, who previously played with Neil Christian’s Crusaders and Winston’s Fumbs. Retaliation played London’s Speakeasy, where Jimi Hendrix repeatedly joined the group onstage. The band released “Warning” (b/w “Cobwebs”) through Blue Horizon on Dec. 1, 1967. Mike Vernon produced the session.

The quartet backed Tim Rose across February and March 1968 on dates at the Marquee and Speakeasy in London. Retaliation then signed a four-album contract with Liberty. Ian Samwell produced the self-titled debut under the Liberty contract.

Discography:

• “Warning” / “Cobwebs” (1967)
• Doctor Dunbar’s Prescription (1969)
• The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation (1969)
• Remains to Be Heard (1970)
• To Mum, From Aynsley and the Boys (1970)
• Blue Whale (1971)