Posted on by Nathan Beaudry

Episode 335 – Armageddon (with Jonatan Hedlin)

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History:

  • Cennaro and Pugh were looking for a drummer and Aynsley Dunbar recommended Caldwell.
  • They got together and started rehearsing in late 1974.
  • Cennaro had long been friends with Peter Frampton who was able to put them in touch with a record label. They were initially managed by Frampton’s manager Dee Anthony then later Jerry Weintraub who managed Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan.

Core Band:

Technical:

Album Art & Booklet Review

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Album Tracks:

Side One:

  1. Buzzard (Caldwell, Pugh, Relf)
  2. Silver Tightrope (Caldwell, Pugh, Relf)
  3. Paths and Planes and Future Gains (Caldwell, Pugh, Relf)

Side Two:

  1. Last Stand Before (Caldwell, Pugh, Cennamo, Relf)
  2. Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun (Caldwell, Pugh, Relf)
    • a) Warning Coming On (1:00)
    • b) Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun (3:03)
    • c) Brother Ego (5:10)
    • d) Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun (Reprise) (2:18)

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Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet

Reception and Charts:

  • The band broke up shortly after the album release.
  • Caldwell stated that the band had continued issues communicating with the band’s management.
  • Pugh and Caldwell also were suffering from addiction.
  • The band only played live twice both at The Starwood in July of 1975 in Hollywood, CA
  • .Cennamo reunited with his friends from Rennaissance under the new name Illusion.
  • Caldwell returned to Captain Beyond for one more album and tour.
  • Relf returned to England after the recording of the album and sadly died of electrocution in 1976 while playing guitar in his basement. He had long had lung issues and had one removed when in The Yardbirds. Medication he took to control his asthma and emphysema may have lead to him being unable to survive the shock.
  • In the 1980s there was an attempt by Pugh and Caldwell to reform the group with Jeff Fenholt on vocals. The attempt was unsuccessful.
  • Pugh seemed to retire from music in the late 70s.
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20070121004102/http://www.keithrelf.com/articles.html
    • Armageddon’s Aborted 1975 Tour With Eric Clapton 
    • One of the main reasons that Armageddon did not achieve the heights of fame realized by other equally inspired rock bands was because they never got to take their mind-blowing record on the road. But it was certainly their original intention to do so, and Armageddon’s management at the time (Jerry Weintraub) had even secured a very desirable arrangement for them: an opening slot for Eric Clapton’s 1975 tour. If you think about this prospect, two things come to mind:

      1) Keith Relf and Clapton had been bandmates in The Yardbirds – after ten years of going in different musical directions, it might be interesting to see them reunite for a big tour.

      2) It may not have been a perfect match to have Armageddon as an opening band (listen to the Armageddon album, then put on “461 Ocean Boulevard”). At that time, Clapton was re-inventing himself as an artist, favoring more of a singer – frontman role. It seems that Eric had been greatly influenced by his associations with George Harrison, The Band, and Delaney & Bonnie, and this was reflected in his music circa the mid 70’s.

      Unfortunately, for still unknown reasons, it was decided at the 11th hour to cancel the tour. Without a doubt, a tour of this type would have sealed their fate as rock & roll legends. But as Martin Pugh said  recently “We were anxious to go on the road, and a tour with Eric certainly had great possibilities for us. But in retrospect, Armageddon was not an opening act anyway – we really were a headlining band”.  
    • Two live performances did take place in Hollywood, CA in July of 1975 – below is an advertisment from the “LA Times” for the only Armageddon shows that ever occured:

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