Music Background
Eric likes a wide variety of music, both listening to, as well as creating.
The Early Years
At school, he learnt various classical instruments, specialising in the violin and also the oboe. He played in the county schools orchestra, until his early teens, but then stopped to concentrate on sport. After many years without playing an instrument, he started playing the Bass guitar for fun with some friends in Germany, he then followed that by playing Bass Guitar in different bands over several years in the UK. Eric also enjoys mixing tracks when he has time.
The Bands
Blood Stained Grip
Mike Barber (Vocals/Guitar), Else Black (Vocals), Ian Felstead (Guitar), John Meadowcroft (Keyboards), Eric Butcher (Bass/Vocal)
BSG was made up of work colleagues in Nuernberg, Germany. They played a mix of cover, and a few original songs, mainly in the front room of a house. Never played live.
Hardback
Jon Ulrick (Vocals), Andrea Hayes (Vocals), Gary Garnett (Guitar), Grant Ronald (Keyboards), Pete Jones (Drums), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Formed from a bunch of friends, and based in North Hampshire, UK. The band played cover songs, and performed at many functions over a few years. They recorded a demo CD containing 4 cover songs.
Mead
Nick Mead (Vocals/Guitar), Gary Garnett (Guitar), Grant Ronald (Keyboards), Colin Hay (Drums), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Nick Mead (Vocals/Guitar), Gary Garnett (Guitar), Duane Cronje (Drums), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Nick Mead (Vocals/Guitar), Rik Martin (Guitar), Maz Hilborn (Keyboards), Tom Vincent (Drums), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Nick Mead (Vocals/Guitar), Gary Garnett (Guitar), Chris Ibbetson (Drums), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Nick Mead (Vocals/Guitar), Rik Martin (Guitar), Chris Ibbetson (Drums), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Formed by lead singer and songwriter Nick Mead, the band played mainly original songs over a period of five years. They recorded several songs, and played many gigs live. One song was included in a compilation album commercially released in Germany. For a variety of reasons, including the untimely passing of Colin Hay, the band went through several personnel changes during that time (as illustrated above). The band reformed briefly, but only did a few practices before the untimely passing of Chris Ibbetson.
Jon Ulrick (Vocals), Else Black (Vocals), Andy Marlow (Guitar), Tom Vincent (Drums), Grant Ronald (Keyboards), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Matt Saunders (Vocals), Else Black (Vocals), Andy Marlow (Guitar), Tom Vincent (Drums), Grant Ronald (Keyboards), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Matt Saunders (Vocals/Guitar), Else Black (Vocals), Dave Jull (Guitar), Tom Vincent (Drums), Grant Ronald (Keyboards), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Matt Saunders (Vocals/Guitar), Else Black (Vocals), Dave Jull (Guitar), Tom Vincent (Drums), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Founded by drummer Tom Vincent after Mead stopped playing together. They were a very popular function band, playing covers. They played together for almost 15 years, with very few personnel changes during the majority of that time.
Chris Beales (Vocals/Guitar), Mark Smith (Guitar/Vocals), Carlos Chadderton (Guitar), Gareth Critchfield (Drums), Grant Ronald (Keyboards), Eric Butcher (Bass)
Eric joined this Reading based originals band on Bass, and they played together for around 5 years. The band recorded several CDs, and Eric played on the “Brittle Sky” album. They did get to play a few live gigs, but nowhere near as many as they should have done. Recently reformed, and currently practicing. Hopefully the band will perform live again soon.
The Recordings
The Mead - Ford Lane compilation album is available to buy or listen to on various streaming platforms (Amazon here).