Tony Dangerfield

Tony Dangerfield was one of the longest surviving musicians to come out of Joe Meek's stable of artists. Although he isn't remotely as well known as Ritchie Blackmore, he passed through some notable and extraordinary bands. Dangerfield was playing with Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages in 1964 when Meek tried grooming him for stardom à la Heinz Burt (another bassist), intending him to be another P.J. Proby. Thus was spawned Tony Dangerfield & the Thrills, who cut one single ("I've Seen Such Things") on Pye, produced by Meek. The band was successful in Germany for a time, and backed Teddy "Kingsize" Taylor on tour there, but Dangerfield eventually went back to other band situations -- with Ritchie Blackmore and Matthew Fisher, he played in Lord Caesar Sutch & the Roman Empire for a few weeks, and played with Blackmore again in Neil Christian & the Crusaders, and was in the original lineup of the Fleur de Lys offshoot group Rupert's People, all in 1966-1967. Dangerfield remained active in music through the 1990s as a singer and musician on the pub rock scene in England. He passed away in July of 2007. ~ Bruce Eder