Brand X were an English jazz fusion band from London. Formed in late 1974, the group originally featured vocalist and percussionist Phil Spinelli, guitarists John Goodsall and Peter Bonas, bassist Percy Jones, keyboardist Robin Lumley and drummer John Dillon. After Spinelli, Bonas and Dillon left, the remaining members and new drummer Phil Collins became a largely instrumental outfit. The latest lineup of Brand X included only one official member, Goodsall, alongside keyboardist Chris Clark, percussionist Scott Weinberger, and drummer Kenny Grohowski, and ended in 2021 with Goodsall's death.

The official Brand X website has asserted that the only official legal members of Brand X since its reformation were original members Jones, Goodsall, and Lumley. All other musicians during this time period are described as legally being "employees" and "guests".

History 1974–1980 Brand X were formed in 1974 by Phil Spinelli, John Goodsall, Peter Bonas, Percy Jones, Robin Lumley and John Dillon. Before the end of the year, Dillon had left, and was replaced on a part-time basis by Genesis drummer Phil Collins. After recording an album for Island Records in February 1975 which is shelved, creative differences lead to the departure of both Bonas and Spinelli, leaving Brand X an instrumental four-piece. The group's debut album Unorthodox Behaviour was recorded between September and October 1975 and released the following year.

At the end of 1975, Brand X made their live concert debuts at several shows in and around London. For the performances, they added former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford on additional percussion. Shows at the beginning of the following year saw Isotope's Jeff Seopardie in place on Bruford for a couple of shows, followed by Andy Ward of Camel for one, and finally Preston Heyman from late-February. This lineup recorded one album, which was released as Missing Period in 1997. After a final appearance at Reading Festival, Heyman was replaced by Morris Pert.

After recording the band's second album Moroccan Roll, Collins took a break from Brand X for the Genesis Wind & Wuthering Tour. He was initially replaced by Karma drummer Joe Blocker for a string of rehearsals, before Kenwood Dennard took over for shows starting in June. By April 1978, Lumley had followed Collins as the second core member of Brand X to step back from the band, opting instead to focus more on his work as a record producer. He was replaced by J. Peter Robinson in June, at the same time as Chuck Burgi was brought in to take over from Dennard.

In July 1978, during the tour in promotion of the forthcoming Masques, Goodsall was forced to leave temporarily after suffering tendinitis, with Mike Miller taking his place for the rest of the year. For the North American leg of the tour starting in October, the unavailable Burgi was replaced by Mike Clark. In April 1979, Brand X recorded with two lineups – the first with Goodsall, Jones, Robinson and Clark; the second with Goodsall, bassist John Giblin, Lumley and Collins. The material was released as Product in 1979, Do They Hurt? in 1980 and Is There Anything About? in 1982.

Following the recording of the three albums, Brand X toured with a lineup featuring Goodsall, Jones, Lumley, Robinson and Collins. For a month-long tour the following month, Collins was replaced by Clark. Following these dates, the group stopped working together and began to focus on other projects, although they never officially disbanded.

1992–2021 In 1992, Goodsall and Jones reformed Brand X with new drummer Frank Katz, releasing X-Communication and returning to live performances in December. They remained a trio until February 1996, when they recorded Manifest Destiny with new keyboardist Marc Wagnon and other contributors. For the subsequent tour, Katz was replaced by Pierre Moerlen due to problems with his passport, while Kris Sjobring took over from Wagnon. After a final tour in 1999 with Mick Stevens in place of Jones and John Holmes in place of Moerlen, the band broke up for a second time.

Seventeen years later, in the summer of 2016, Goodsall and Jones reformed Brand X for a third time, adding former drummer Kenwood Dennard and new members Chris Clark on keyboards and Scott Weinberger on percussion. The following year, Dennard was replaced by Kenny Grohowski. Founding member John Goodsall died on November 11, 2021. Following Goodsall's death, the two founding members Lumley and Jones confirmed Brand X's disbandment on November 14, 2021, via Facebook.

Members ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsPercy Jonesall Brand X releasesJohn Goodsallall Brand X releases, except Live from Chicago (2015) and Live from Stockholm (2016)Robin LumleyPeter Bonas1974–1975guitarnonePhil SpinelliJohn Dillon1974Phil CollinsBill Bruford1975percussionnoneJeff Seopardie1976Andy WardPreston HeymanMissing Period (1997)Morris Pert1976–1979 all Brand X releases from Moroccan Roll (1977) to Do They Hurt? (1980), and from Timeline (1999) to Live from New York (2016)Joe Blocker1977noneKenwood DennardJ. Peter Robinson1978–1980Chuck Burgi1978Mike Miller1978 guitarMike ClarkJohn Giblin1979 Frank Katz1992–1997Marc Wagnon1996–1997Manifest Destiny (1997)Kris Sjobring1997–1999nonePierre Moerlen1997 John Holmes1999Mick StevensbassChris Clark2016–2021Scott WeinbergerpercussionKenny Grohowski2017–2021

Timeline

Lineups PeriodMembersReleasesMid – late 1974Phil Spinelli – percussion, lead vocals John Goodsall – guitar, backing vocals Peter Bonas – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, backing vocals John Dillon – drums, percussionrowspan="2" Early 1975Phil Spinelli – percussion, lead vocals John Goodsall – guitar, backing vocals Peter Bonas – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, backing vocals Phil Collins – drums, percussionEarly – late 1975John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussionUnorthodox Behaviour (1976)November – December 1975John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussion Bill Bruford – percussionrowspan="3" January – February 1976John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussion Jeff Seopardie – percussionFebruary 1976John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussion Andy Ward – percussionFebruary – August 1976John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussion Preston Heyman – percussionMissing Period (1997)August – December 1976John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussion Morris Pert – percussionMoroccan Roll (1977) Livestock (1977) Live from Ronnie Scotts (2015)Early 1977John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Joe Blocker – drums, percussion Morris Pert – percussionApril 1977John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussion Morris Pert – percussionLivestock (1977) Spring 1977 – April 1978John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Kenwood Dennard – drums, percussion Morris Pert – percussionLivestock (1977) Timeline (1999) Live in San Francisco (2015) Live from New York (2016)May – July 1978John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers Chuck Burgi – drums, percussion Morris Pert – percussionMasques (1978)July – August 1978Percy Jones – bass J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers Chuck Burgi – drums, percussion Morris Pert – percussionAugust – October 1978Mike Miller – guitar Percy Jones – bass J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers Chuck Burgi – drums, percussion Morris Pert – percussionLive from Stockholm (2016)October – December 1978Mike Miller – guitar Percy Jones – bass J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers Mike Clark – drums, percussion Morris Pert – percussionLive from Chicago (2015)April 1979John Goodsall – guitar John Giblin – bass Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussionProduct (1979) Do They Hurt? (1980) Is There Anything About? (1982)April 1979John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers Mike Clark – drums, percussionSummer – late 1979John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Phil Collins – drums, percussionLive at the Roxy LA (1995)Early – mid-1980John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass J. Peter Robinson – keyboards, synthesisers Robin Lumley – keyboards, synthesisers Mike Clark – drums, percussionBand inactive mid-1980 – mid-1992Mid-1992 – February 1996John Goodsall – guitar, keyboards Percy Jones – bass, keyboards Frank Katz – drums, percussionX-Communication (1992) Timeline (1999)February 1996 – early 1997John Goodsall – guitar, keyboards Percy Jones – bass, keyboards Marc Wagnon – synthesizers, percussion Frank Katz – drums, percussionManifest Destiny (1997)Early – summer 1997John Goodsall – guitar, keyboards Percy Jones – bass, keyboards Kris Sjobring – keyboards, synthesisers Pierre Moerlen – drums, percussionrowspan="2" Spring – summer 1999John Goodsall – guitar, keyboards Mick Stevens – bass Kris Sjobring – keyboards, synthesisers John Holmes – drums, percussionBand inactive summer 1999 – summer 2016Summer 2016 – spring 2017John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Chris Clark – keyboards, synthesisers Kenwood Dennard – drums Scott Weinberger – percussionBut Wait... There's More! (2017)Spring 2017 – October 2020John Goodsall – guitar Percy Jones – bass Chris Clark – keyboards, synthesisers Kenny Grohowski – drums Scott Weinberger – percussionLocked & Loaded (2018) Live from the Rites of Spring Festival (2018)October 2020 – November 2021John Goodsall – guitar Chris Clark – keyboards, synthesisers Kenny Grohowski – drums Scott Weinberger – percussion

References