Stud -

Stud was an English/Irish jazz-rock/jam band from London that released a self-titled album on Decca in 1971, followed by a second studio release and a live disc on German jazz label BASF in 1972. An SWF Session from that year was later issued on CD by archivists Long Hair. On the first album, the band was a trio comprised of ex-Blossom Toes guitarist Jim Cregan and the rhythm section from Taste: bassist Richard McCracken and drummer John Wilson. On the second album, they were joined by former Animals/Family multi-instrumentalist John Weider.

Cregan subsequently appeared on Family’s 1973 swan song It’s Only a Movie. After a stint in the final lineup of Cockney Rebel, he landed a longtime gig in Rod Stewart‘s backing band. Weider resurfaced in the rustic-rock outfits Moonrider and Gulliver, while McCracken appeared in hard-rockers Axis Point and Fastway.

Members: Jim Cregan (guitar, vocals), John Weider (violin, piano, guitar, vocals), John Wilson (drums), Richard McCracken [Charlie McCracken] (bass)

Stud assembled in 1971 when English guitarist Jim Cregan effectively replaced Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher in the blues-rock powertrio Taste, which issued a pair of 1969/70 albums on Polydor. Gallagher had left for a solo career, leaving bassist Richard McCracken and drummer John Wilson without a band. Cregan hailed from psych-rockers the Blossom Toes and played on 1970/71 albums by Shawn Phillips (Second Contribution) and Julie Driscoll (1969). He left the Toes as they merged with Driscoll for a 1971 album as BB Blunder.

Stud’s self-titled debut album appeared on Deram in 1971. It features six numbers, including the lengthy “1112235″ (12:20) and the two-part “Horizon” (11:07). All the material is group-credited, save for the Cregan compositions “Turn Over the Pages” and “Song.”

Stud was produced by Billy Kennedy (Anno Domini, Jonesy) and engineered by Barry Ainsworth (Deep Purple, May Blitz, Hawkwind, Beggars Opera, Continuum, Stonehouse). The album’s vivid cover art, which depicts a reared white horse before an arched underpass, was illustrated by Anne Marie Anderson, who also did covers for Fuchsia and Caravan (In the Land of Grey and Pink). For its release on German Polydor, the horse rears before a field with the Stud nameplate in Blackletter.

In Germany, Stud appeared on the TV music program Beat-Club and found an audience more receptive to their improvisational rock. They expanded to a four-piece with multi-instrumentalist John Weider, who’d played guitar in Eric Burdon’s “New” Animals and bass in the 1970 lineup of Family.

Signing to the German BASF label, Stud released their second album, September, in 1972. Half the album’s 10 numbers are credited solely to Weider, who plays guitar, piano, and violin on this release. Cregan contributed three numbers, including “Samurai” and the six-minute “Five to Mid-day.” He collaborated with McCracken on “God Knows”.

September was produced by Kennedy at Command Studios in Piccadilly and engineered by Pete Booth (Khan, Steamhammer). The original album features an orange-tinted horizontal gatefold depicting a comic female centaur.

Discography: