Nobody’s Business

Nobody’s Business was an English hard-rock band that released a 1978 self-titled album on Nippon Columbia. The band featured the seasoned talents of vocalist Bobby Harrison (Procol Harum, Freedom, Snafu), guitarist Joe Jammer (Stealers Wheel, Olympic Runners), and bassist Tony Stevens (Foghat, Rock Follies). Stevens later backed Maggie Bell in soul-rockers Midnight Flyer.

Members: Joe Jammer (guitar, vocals), Bobby Harrison (vocals), Jerry Frank (drums), Tony Stevens (bass)

Background

Nobody’s Business took shape in 1977 when singer-percussionist Bobby Harrison visited guitarist Joe Jammer in Chicago and joined him on demo tapes for Jammer’s Planetary Citizen Band project. Recent Foghat bassist Tony Stevens completed the three-member core.

Harrison was born Robert Leslie Harrison on June 22, 1939, in East Ham, London. He drummed with Brentwood group the Rockefellas in the late 1950s and later joined Golden Apples of the Sun, whose 1965 single “Monkey Time” appeared on Immediate. Harrison next formed Powerpack, which released two 1966/67 CBS singles, then cut “Sonny” under his own name for the label.

In 1967, Harrison joined a tentative Procol Harum after the original session for “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” then drummed alongside guitarist Ray Royer on a rejected remake of the song and its b-side “Lime Street Blues.” When Harum stabilized around ex-Paramounts personnel, Harrison and Royer formed Freedom, which made the 1968 Nerosubianco soundtrack and four studio albums. After their 1972 breakup, Harrison cut solo tracks with guitarist Micky Moody. Harrison and Moody then formed Snafu, which recorded three albums over the next two years. In 1975, Capitol issued Harrison’s earlier solo sessions in the United States as Funkist.

Jammer was born Joseph Edward William Wright on September 27, 1951, in Chicago. He took up guitar at eleven and played school dances with neighborhood groups. By 1969, Wright organized Tuesday jam sessions at the Kinetic Playground, where he met Led Zeppelin at their February 7 Chicago appearance. He worked a summer Zeppelin roadie and returned with the band to London, where manager Peter Grant connected him with producer Mickie Most, who developed the Joe Jammer Band through single sessions and an LP project.

As a London sessionist, Jammer notched credits with Eddy Mitchell, Stealers Wheel, and Jerry Lee Lewis. On Regal Zonophone, he released a 1973 solo album, Bad News, recorded with Stevens and drummer Reg Isidore. Jammer also played on Olympic Runners sessions and backed ex-Stone the Crows singer Maggie Bell on her 1975 tour opening dates with Bad Company.

Stevens was born on September 12, 1949, in London and started playing guitar at ten. In 1968, a Savoy Brown advertisement prompted him to switch from lead guitar to bass for an audition that secured him a place in the band. At the end of 1970, Stevens left Savoy Brown with guitarist-singer Dave Peverett and drummer Roger Earl. In 1971, the three musicians formed Foghat with guitarist Rod Price. Stevens made four albums with Foghat, then left in 1975 for session work that included the film soundtrack to Tommy and the second season of Rock Follies.

Early Nobody’s Business personnel also included Bad News drummer Reg Isidore, an Aruba-born drummer educated in London. Isidore worked with Peter Bardens and joined Robin Trower with bassist-singer James Dewar in late 1972, recording Twice Removed from Yesterday and Bridge of Sighs. 

Nobody’s Business rehearsed at the Speakeasy in London and played three or four shows at the club, where Julie Endhoven became their manager. She then arranged a six-week residency at the Exericis discotheque in San Antonio, Ibiza, where the band developed its live set. The group also filmed a 30-minute promotional performance.

By July 1977, Nobody’s Business booked studio time in France with producer Chris Kimsey. Just prior to the album sessions, Isidore cleared out for American drummer Jerry Frank, a onetime member of soul band the Babysitters and a recent sideman for country singer Gary Smith.

Discography:

• Nobody’s Business (1978)

Resources:

• Chris White, Music Week, July 9, 1977 — “Launching Nobody’s Business in slow and easy stages.” This is the key contemporary source. It traces the project to Harrison visiting Jammer in Chicago, names the Planetory Citizen Band demos, identifies Stevens as the third core member, documents the Speakeasy rehearsals and performances, explains Julie Endhoven’s management role, describes the six-week Exhercis residency in Ibiza, and gives the planned French sessions with Chris Kimsey. (World Radio History)
• Joe Jammer — Bad News. Jammer’s site credits Tony Stevens on bass and Reg Isidore on drums on the 1973 album, establishing that three future Nobody’s Business musicians already shared recording history. (Annie Ma)
• Joe Jammer — biographical material. Jammer recounts his Chicago connection with Led Zeppelin, his November 1969 move to London, and Jimmy Page giving him the Jammer name; his discography also documents the 1970s session work and Olympic Runners recordings. (Annie Ma)
• Tony Stevens interviews. Stevens confirms the Savoy Brown–Foghat sequence, his 1975 Foghat exit, Rock Follies, Nobody’s Business in 1977, the Ibiza engagement, and the later recording work near Nice. (VW Music Rocks)
• Beyond the Pale / Procol Harum archive. The Harrison material confirms his East Ham origins, Procol Harum role, subsequent Freedom partnership with Ray Royer, and later Snafu work. (Procol Harum)
• 2007 reissue-derived account. The later album notes identify Reg Isidore as the original drummer and Jerry Frank as his replacement. This detail does not appear in the July 1977 Music Week piece, which describes Harrison, Jammer, and Stevens as the three-member core. (therockasteria.blogspot.com)