Les Harvey(1945-1972)
Leslie Harvey, born 1945 in Glasgow, Scotland, was the guitarist for
the great Scottish blues-rock band
Stone the Crows. He was the younger
brother of renowned Scottish soul singer
Alex Harvey. It was the older
Harvey who introduced Les to vocalist
Maggie Bell. Along with
bassist/vocalist James Dewar, drummer
Colin Allen, and keyboardist
Jonathan McGinnis, Les and Maggie
formed the group "Power" in the late 1960s. They garnered much
attention and were eventually signed by
Led Zeppelin's manager
Peter Grant, who changed their
name to Stone the Crows. With
Maggie Bell's bluesy Janice-like
wail and Les Harvey's tasteful and economic lead guitar work,
Stone the Crows became a sensation. With
an ever-growing fan base and 3 solid albums under their belt: "Stone
the Crows", "Ode to John Law" and "Teenage Licks", they were on the
verge of a major breakthrough. Tragically, on May 3, 1972 during a
sound check at the Top Rank Ballroom in Swansea, Wales, Les Harvey was
electrocuted onstage by a microphone which was not electrically
grounded. He was 27.