Chris Hargrave and The Wholly Innocents

Chris Hargrave has been involved in the Americana/country scene for a long time, going back to the days of his band 7 Year Itch, a country rock band that rose phoenix-like from the ashes of Charlie Dore’s backing band, when country was about as fashionable as a mullet in the army. 

However, they carved out a niche, particularly in Europe, with a cult following in the UK, which wasn’t hindered by the fact that Albert Lee played guitar with the band before going off to play with someone called Eric Clapton. 

Tours with Frankie Miller, Rockin’ Dopsie and the Cajun Twisters, and a later lineup of The Burrito Brothers gave them some credibility. However, limousines, swimming pools, and platinum records seemed happy to avoid the band and they folded. 

Chris took off to Norway after some advice from Irish roots master Ron Kavana, where he became heavily involved in the Americana/roots scene all over Scandinavia, working with the likes of Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Rodney C Riley, Svein Finstad, Casino Steel and Claudia Scott, and Nashville based songwriter Paul Gannon. 

Chris wrote and co wrote many songs with many artists, enjoying a fruitful number of years, including a number 1 and a number 2 hit in Norway, and a hit in Denmark with his band at the time The Latest Flames, with a very rootsy version of the old soul classic Midnight Hour. Some dates in Canada with a band that included the late Little Feat drummer Richie Hayward was a pinch me moment for Chris 

Deciding eventually to return to London, Chris started gigging with a UK-based version of The Latest Flames while starting work on his own originals project, Chris Hargrave and the Wholly Innocents, which to date has produced the EP Of Course I Would. 

Road-testing the songs as a duo with guitarist John Clare, the response so far has been terrific, particularly for the lead track Of Course I Would. With more new songs in the pipeline, Chris is gearing up for more acoustic duo gigs, and full band gigs in 2025.