Ian Miller (lead guitar)
Dennis Lascelles (Hammond organ)
Steve Fields (bass)
Del Coverley (drums)
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Pete Hicks (lead vocals)
Phil Hearn (bass/vocals)
Mike Reed (drums)
Formed in February 1969 with a lead singer whose name no-one can recall, this group from the Bexleyheath area of southeast London included some notable individuals in its ranks during its short tenure together.
Del Coverley had started out with school band The Millionaires in 1963 and then progressed on to The Scimitars before joining The Big Wheel in late 1965. After working in Switzerland with The Big Wheel, Coverley joined Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede in October 1966 but left in late July 1967 to join the final incarnation of The Fenmen, who gigged as Kindness (reuniting with keyboard player/singer Andy Clark from The Big Wheel).
When Kindness split in late 1967, Coverley reformed The Big Wheel with original members, Del Grace (guitar), Barry Nicholls (bass) and Mike Manners (keyboards) plus new singer Pete Hicks.
In late 1968, Coverley left The Big Wheel to reunite with Andy Clark and his new collaborator guitarist Mick Hutchinson (both ex-Sam Gopal Dream and Vamp) in the short-lived Dogs Blues. Barry Nicholls who’d recently worked briefly with Pete Hicks in Promise joined the outfit but in January 1969 he was replaced by American Jerome Arnold (ex-Paul Butterfield’s Blues Band) and guest tabla player Sam Gopal.
However, the group split in early February when Arnold formed his own group and Andy Clark and Mick Hutchinson decided to continue as a duo and record their debut LP.
Coverley formed Fat Daughter with guitarist Ian Miller, keyboard player Dennis Lascelles and bass player Steve Fields, who had previously worked with local bands The Kinetics and The Abstracts.
When the original front man left, Coverley brought in singer Pete Hicks who had started out in 1965 fronting The Down & Outs. In 1966, he joined The South East London Blues Band who played a few times at Happening 44 in central London.
When the group split in 1968, Hicks worked with Coverley in Big Wheel (bringing in Alan Fuller from The Down and Outs to replace Mike Manners during the year) and then joined the band Promise.
Around early June 1969, Del Coverley and Steve Fields departed Fat Daughter and joined forces with Andy Clark and Mick Hutchinson in Clark-Hutchinson after they had cut their debut LP.
Fields, who changed his name to Stephen Amazing, also spent a brief time with The Skatalites. Amazing played in Upp (who featured Jeff Beck as guest guitarist on their LPs) in the Seventies but later died.
Bass player Phil Hearn, who had worked with Coverley in his early 1960s bands The Millionaires and The Scimitars, and drummer Mike Reed both joined at this point and their first gig was opening for Fleetwood Mac.
Later that year, the group opened for Alexis Korner (at Eel Pie Island) and Free among others.
When Hicks and Lascelles departed in early 1970, Hearn brought in a singer called John and a Hammond organist called Alan from his previous group Isis.
However, the new band didn’t last long and Phil Hearn and Mike Reed reunited with Pete Hicks in a new version of southeast London band Justin Thyme alongside guitarist Tony Pearman and organist Geoff Hurrell. That band’s original drummer Dave Neal went on to join Suzie Quatro.
Phil Hearn, who later moved to guitar, remained with Justin Thyme throughout the Seventies. He then became a sound engineer and worked with The Who, Aerosmith, Captain Beefheart, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Michael Jackson among many others.
Original keyboard player Dennis Lascelles later became a noted artist and lives in Brighton. Mike Reed later ran his own entertainment agency named Mike Reed Promotions.
Thanks to Phil Hearn, Pete Hicks and Del Coverley for information