The Groundhogs

The Groundhogs were an English blues and rock band founded in late 1963 in London. Named after John Lee Hooker's song "Ground Hog Blues", they were part of the burgeoning British rhythm and blues scene, backing Hooker on his album ...And Seven Nights. They were predominantly a power trio of Tony McPhee (singer, guitarist, song-writer), Peter Cruickshank (bass) and Ken Pustelnik (drums), with Clive Brooks replacing Pustelnik in 1972 until the band split in 1974. They issued seven albums via Liberty/UA, including the UK Top 10 Thank Christ for the Bomb (1970, #9), Split (1971, #5) and Who Will Save the World? (1972, #8). These albums were rooted in blues rock, but occasionally showed touches of progressive and psychedelic rock. McPhee resurrected the name with a different rhythm section in 1975 for two more studio albums, and again from 1982 to 2003 for a further two studio albums. A reunion of the early 1970s trio in 2003 featured McPhee, with Cruickshank and Pustelnik continuing afterwards as The Groundhogs Rhythm Section. McPhee resurrected the name again in 2007 through to 2014, although only for live performances.