Based in Chesterfield, England, "The Idle Hands" are a high calibre, classic British Blues Rock band.
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| Profile | Dave Robinson: Guitarist |
| Early days | Started playing guitar at 16. |
| 1981 | "Scarabas" (Prog’ rock). No official releases. |
| 1986 | "Studio Tan" (Pop/Rock). Tape ‘Slap it on thick’. |
| 1989 | "The Idle Hands Blues Band". Rock Tape ‘Everybodys Blues’ |
| First Blues | Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, Led Zeppelin, B B King, Rory Gallagher |
| Influences | Too many to mention including those of above, but there’s nothing like a bit of Frank Zappa ! |
| Guitars | Fender Stratocasters, occasionally Gibson Les Paul Custom, Gibson Firebird and Fender Telecaster Custom |
| Amps |
Fender Blues Deville or old Marshall 45 watt head with a 2/12 cab |
| Other gear | Rotosound strings of various gauges to suit guitar, Marshall Governor 2 pedal. |
Roger Mayer Wah Wah pedal, Voodoo Vibe.
| Profile | Simon Evans: Drummer |
| 1973 | At
school, formed a band "Second
Coming" (Pop songs, covers) after a stint with
the local Brass Band. Club circuit whilst at school (Sheff, Notts, Stoke etc). |
| 1977-78 | Turned Pro carried on with Clubs, then night clubs and eventually a residency at Tudor Court Hotel Nottm. (Played Floyd, Yes and Queen). |
| 1980 | "Ariane" - Club circuit |
| 1985 | "Lyrix" - Club circuit |
| 1990 | "Some Like it Hot" - Irish Celidh band |
| 1994 | "Five go off "- Irish celidh band - stand-in drummer still playing occasionally. |
| 1996 | Played on Judy Dunlop album "Tea and Cakes" (2 tracks) |
| 1996 | "The Idle Hands" |
| Influences | No real individual influences, from Cozy Powell to Nick Mason, Ginger Baker to Buddy Rich. |
| Musical tastes | Eagles, Bonnie Raitte, Eric Clapton, Steeley Dan, Pink Floyd, Joe Walsh and James Taylor.. |
| Blues | I'm a late developer with blues I'm afraid, only since joining TIH have I appreciated Hendrix, Zeppelin (Bonham of course) and the likes of BB King and realise what I've missed for all these years. If only I was 16 again ! |
| Gear | Pearl Masters. |
| Profile | Jamie Burns: Bass Guitarist |
| Early days | Started playing bass at 16 |
| 1981 | "Scarabas" (Prog' rock). No official releases. |
| 1984 | "Thunderchilde" (#2). Demo cassette 'First Strike' released in 1985. |
| 1989 | "The Idle Hands Blues Band". Demo cassette ‘Everybodys Blues’ |
| First Blues | Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher. |
| Influences | Jim Lea/Slade,Dennis Dunaway/Alice Cooper Band, Geezer Butler/Black Sabbath,Martin Turner/Wishbone Ash, John Deacon/Queen & Alan Lancaster/Status Quo |
| Bass Guitars | 2 x Gibson Thunderbirds(Tobacco '91 & Tobacco '76 Bicentennial). 2 x Gibson RD Artists' (Sunburst '77 & Maple '78 )... |
| Amps | 600w Peavey bass head & a 4 x 10 cab. |
| Other gear | Jim Dunlop Cry baby bass Wha, Q-Tron envelope filter, Sadowsky pre-amp, Peavey chorus, Elite Stadium Roundwound Bass Strings, Extra Light Gauge ( 30, 50, 70, 90). |
| Profile | Phil Allen: Vocalist |
| 1980 | "High Horse". No releases. |
| 1982 | "Thunderchilde". (#1). No releases. |
| 1984 | "Thunderchilde". (#2). Demo cassette 'First Strike' released in 1985. |
| 1986 | "Cloudburst". No releases. |
| 1987 | "Stateline"(#1). Tape: 'Dancing with Strangers'. |
| 1988 | "Stateline" (#2). Single: 'Emergency' released in 1989. |
| 1990 | "Stateline" (#3). 3 track Promo tape: 'Stateline' released in 1991. |
| 1992 | "Overload". No releases. |
| 1994 | "The Idle Hands Blues Band" |
| Influences - vocalists | Ian Gillan, Robert Plant, Paul Rogers, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Rory Gallagher, JL Hooker, BB King...too many to mention really! |
| Influences - Bands | T-Rex, Slade, Sweet, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rory, Stacks of rock/blues bands from the late 70's etc etc |
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The Idle Hands
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Phil Allen
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Dave Robinson
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Jamie Burns
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Simon Evans
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| 1989 | Formed as “The Idle Hands Blues Band” |
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| (From
the right) Dave Robinson (guitar), Jamie Burns (Bass), Chris Jerman
(drums) and Andy Grasby (vocals). |
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| 1993 | Released 17 track promo cassette “Everybody’s Blues” |
| 1994 | Vocalist Andy Grasby left and was replaced by Phil Allen. |
| 1997 | Drummer Chris Jerman left and was replaced by Simon Evans. The band name was shortened to “The Idle Hands”. |
| 1998 |
Released 6 track cassette “Feels like Blues…” |
| 2000 | Released 13 track studio CD “ The Devil makes work” |
| 2001 | Released 16 track Live CD “Blues and Booze” |
| 2002 | Re-issue of “ Feels like Blues” on CD. |
| 2004 | Released 14 track studio CD “A Touch of the Blues” |