[2] Family formed in late 1966 in Leicester, England, from the remaining members of a group that was previously known as The Farinas[2][5] and later briefly The Roaring Sixties, whose sound was grounded in rhythm and blues[6] though they did not record under that name.

The American record producer Kim Fowley suggested they call themselves "The Family" as they regularly wore double-breasted suits in performances, giving themselves a mafia style appearance, a look they soon abandoned in favour of a more casual dress code.

[6] Miller was originally slated to produce it, but he was tied up with production of the Rolling Stones' album Beggars Banquet and he is credited as co-producer on only two tracks, "The Breeze" and "Peace of Mind".

The bulk of the album was produced by former Traffic member Dave Mason,[6] and recorded at London's Olympic Studios with engineers Eddie Kramer and George Chkiantz.

Alongside Pink Floyd, Soft Machine, The Move, and The Nice, Family quickly became one of the premier attractions on the burgeoning UK psychedelic/progressive "underground" scene.

Their lifestyle and exploits during this period provided some of the inspiration for the 1969 novel Groupie by Jenny Fabian (who lived in the group's Chelsea house for some time) and to Johnny Byrne.

[9] Music in a Doll's House was released in July 1968 and charted at number 35 in the UK to critical acclaim,[4] thanks to strong support from BBC Radio 1's John Peel.

The album's highly original[10] sound was characterised by Chapman's vocals, rooted in the blues and R&B,[2] combined with several unusual instruments for a rock band, courtesy of the presence of multi-instrumentalists Grech and King, including saxophones, violin, cello, and harmonica.

[14] Returning to the UK, the band performed at The Rolling Stones' Hyde Park gig and the Isle of Wight Festival that summer.

In late 1969, Jim King was asked to leave Family due to "erratic behaviour" and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist John "Poli" Palmer.

He was replaced by former Mogul Thrash bassist John Wetton,[4][6][19] who had just declined an invitation from Robert Fripp to join King Crimson.

In September 2012 the band announced a one-off reunion gig on 2 February 2013 at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London featuring Roger Chapman, Poli Palmer, Rob Townsend and Jim Cregan[25] Demand for tickets was so great that an extra show was scheduled for the previous night as well and an expanded line-up of the band (also featuring Chapman's regular back-up musicians Paul Hirsh, John Lingwood, Nick Payn, Gary Twigg and Geoff Whitehorn, billed as "The In Laws")[26] played to sell-out audiences.

The setlist on both nights included: Top of the Hill, Drowned in Wine, Holding the Compass, Part of the Load, Ready to Go, Crinkly Grin, Burning Bridges, No Mule's Fool, Sat'dy Barfly, Between Blue and Me, Hung Up Down, Burlesque, In My Own Time.

[1][3] John "Charlie" Whitney was an accomplished and innovative guitarist,[3] and Family's often complex[28] song arrangements were made possible through having multi-instrumentalists like Ric Grech, Jim King and Poli Palmer in the band and access to keyboards such as the Hammond organ, the new Mellotron, violin, flute and vibraphone.