Neil Christian & The Crusaders – The Very Best Of (2011)

Christopher Tidmarsh, 14 February 1943, Hoxton, East London, England. With backing group the Crusaders, Christian was one of the pioneering acts of Britain’s pre- Beatles era. His first line-up included guitarist Jimmy Page, who was later featured as a session musician on the singer’s 1964 release, ‘Honey Hush’. Albert Lee, Mick Abrahams and Alex Dmochowski (later of Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation) also graced the Crusaders at various times in its career, while Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Elmer Twitch (piano), Bibi Blange (bass) and Tornado Evans (drums) supported Christian when he toured to promote ‘That’s Nice’. This perky single reached the UK Top 20 in 1966, but when the similarly styled ‘Oops’ failed to chart, the singer moved to Germany where he had attracted a fanatical following. Christian subsequently returned to Britain and continued to record sporadically, but, unable to secure a consistent success, he later retired from active performing.