ANTHONY “TOP” TOPHAM
Anthony “Top” Topham (born 3 July 1947, Southall, Middlesex) is an English musician, and artist. He is best known as a blues guitarist, and also for being the first lead guitarist of The Yardbirds. Topham left the band before they achieved mainstream popularity, and was replaced by Eric Clapton, the first of three lead guitarists from the Yardbirds to gain an international reputation (the other two being Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page). Aside from his musical career, Topham also works as an interior designer and painter. (More from Wikipedia)
The core of the Yardbirds though is Paul Samwell-Smith (bass guitar and producer), Keith Relf (vocalist and harmonica), Chris Dreja (bass and rhythm guitar), and Jim McCarty (drums); together with original lead guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham, the band originally assembled in May 1963 under the name the Blue Sounds before settling on the Yardbirds, a slang term for hobos waiting around for a freight train, and also a nickname for legendary jazz musician Charlie Parker. In September 1963, the Yardbirds took over as the house band for the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, succeeding the Rolling Stones.
(May 2014)
