The Savages | uk

The Savages were perhaps best known for being the backing band for the eccentric, British initiator of 'shock and roll', the late Screaming Lord Sutch. The band was formed in 1960 and continues to this day, having as its former members, such great luminaries of the British rock scene, including, Jimmy Page and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord of Deep Purple, Jeff Beck, Keith Moon of The Who (Pete Townshend is said to have auditioned for The Savages),Adrian Gurvitz,Albert Lee, Mick Abrahams, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Nicky Hopkins, Matthew Fisher, and a host more. Sutch would at times use the name, The Savages, at some gigs where the established line-up of Savages was not available, usually for financial reasons, and pick-up bands would be brought in, but the 'real' Savages were a constant over the 50 years. Following the death of Sutch in 1999, the band continued to perform with members Tony Dangerfield (who joined the Savages initially during the 1960s) Dave Dix, Angie Antinori, Jack Irving (all three joined during the early 90's) and Johnny Casanova (who joined the band in 1995 following a meeting with Sutch and the band at a festival at Donnington ) although performances were infrequent due to the individual commitments of the band members. Following the death of bassist Tony Dangerfield in 2008, the band has reestablished itself with the current, 2009 line-up of Angi Antinori on lead guitar, Jack Irving on drums and vocals, Johnny Casanova on keyboards and vocals, and Savages original bassist, Ricky Brown (aka Fenson).
Both Jack Irving and Angie Antinori also play with the North London band Map of China featuring Bob Stephenson on bass, Jim Byers on guitar and James Byers on guitar and vocals. .