He was the founder, guitarist, primary songwriter and sole constant member of the blues rock band Savoy Brown, which he formed in 1965.

But it was 1969 before its classic line-up gelled around Simmonds, rhythm guitarist Lonesome Dave Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens, drummer Roger Earl, and the monocle- and bowler-wearing vocalist Chris Youlden.

Looking In, also in 1970, featured not only "Poor Girl" and "Money Can't Save Your Soul" but one of the era's memorable LP covers, a troglodyte-like savage staring into an eye socket of a monstrous skull.

Later, Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens and drummer Roger Earl left to form the successful but decidedly rock band Foghat.

On the album Street Corner Talking (1971) and Hellbound Train (1972) launched favourites "Tell Mama", "Street Corner Talking", a cover of the Temptations' Motown standard "I Can't Get Next To You" and the nine-minute epic "Hellbound Train" (decades later Love and Rockets adapted it as "Bound For Hell").

The 2004 live set You Should Have Been There, recorded in early 2003 in Vancouver with Simmonds handling lead vocals – and also as a solo acoustic act.