The same night as their second single was released (October 15, 1964), the Soul Agents appeared at Soho’s Marquee Club with Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men. Allmusic says of the 1964 album by this group: “One of the unsung jewels of the British R&B scene, Long John’s Blues is, astonishingly, the sole surviving document of what was, at one point, among the most exciting live acts on the entire circuit.” Rod Stewart appears on banjo on this album.
* * *
Rod Stewart – then known as “Rod the Mod” – left Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men in November 1964 to pursue a solo career. After trying out with several bands, Rod settled on the Soul Agents as his backing band the following month. No formal agreement was made, and they never could record together since they had separate recording contracts. For individual gig contracts though, they were billed as “Rod Stewart and the Soul Agents”. Without any rehearsals, their first performance together was at the Marquee Club on December 3, 1964, and they were regulars for months afterward at the club; Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men was also on hand for that first show and several other times.
On January 3, 1965, Rod Stewart and the Soul Agents filled the Mecca Ballroom in Hampshire to capacity; and on January 14, 1965, the Marquee Club featured the group as the headliner for the first time.
* * *
The same night that their third single was released (February 19, 1965), the Soul Agents (but without Rod Stewart) appeared on the storied British music television program, Ready Steady Go!. They performed their new song “Don’t Break it Up” and then backed blues legend Buddy Guy on two songs. Johnny Keeping left the band immediately after the taping to care for his ailing father and take over the family business.
The Soul Agents and Buddy Guy had joint appearances at several British clubs in the coming weeks after the Ready Steady Go! show, often with Rod Stewart. In April 1965, Jim Sach also exited the band and became an accountant, leaving the Soul Agents with just three members plus Rod Stewart.
* * *
After Don Shinn contracted tuberculosis in July 1965, Rod Stewart left the Soul Agents and joined a “supergroup” called Steampacket that was formed by Long John Baldry with organist Brian Auger and vocalist Julie Driscoll, who had previously recorded together as part of Brian Auger and the Trinity.
(May 2014)
