He appeared quite regularly in the early 1960s in the Gyre & Gimble coffee lounge, around the corner from Charing Cross railway station, and at the Bluesville R. & B.
In the special, Baldry performs "Got My Mojo Workin'" and a medley of songs with members of the Vernons Girls trio; in the latter, the Beatles are shown singing along in the audience.
He took over in 1964 after the death of Cyril Davies, and the group became Long John Baldry and his Hoochie Coochie Men featuring Rod Stewart on vocals and Geoff Bradford on guitar.
[5] Long John Baldry became a regular fixture on Sunday nights at Eel Pie Island from then onwards, fronting a series of bands.
After Steampacket broke up in 1966, Baldry formed Bluesology featuring Reg Dwight on keyboards and Elton Dean, later of Soft Machine, as well as Caleb Quaye on guitar.
Attending a show in the Mecca at Shaftesbury Avenue, he saw a five-piece harmony group called Chimera from Plymouth, who had recently turned professional.
In 1967, he recorded a pop song "Let the Heartaches Begin" that went to number one in Britain, followed by a 1968 top 20 hit titled "Mexico", which was the theme of the UK Olympic team that year.
Baldry was still touring, doing gigs with Bluesology, but the band refused to back his rendition of "Let the Heartaches Begin", and left the stage while he performed to a backing-tape played on a large Revox tape-recorder.
[8] After time in New York City and Los Angeles in 1978, Baldry lived in Dundas, Ontario from 1980 to 1984[9] before settling in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he became a Canadian citizen.
In 1976, he teamed with Seattle singer Kathi McDonald, who became part of the Long John Baldry Band, touring Canada and the United States.
In 2003, Baldry headlined the British Legends of Rhythm and Blues United Kingdom tour, alongside Zoot Money, Ray Dorset and Paul Williams.
[20] During the mid-1970s, Baldry suffered from depression exacerbated by his collapsing career (particularly the failure of his 1973 album Good to Be Alive[21]) and separation from an Austrian boyfriend who was required to leave the United Kingdom when his visitor visa expired.
[22] Following an incident in which he was allegedly mugged in Amsterdam, Baldry was found barely conscious by his sister, Margaret, in their Muswell Hill home, having overdosed on Valium and alcohol in an apparent suicide attempt.
[23] By the release of his 1986 album Silent Treatment, Baldry suffered from crippling gout – which required several pairs of special shoes – as well as bronchial and sinus issues.
A few days after being discharged from Horton General Hospital, he developed agonising gout across his body, prompting Rod Stewart to admit him to the London Clinic, where he stayed for three weeks.
[27] He underwent hip replacement surgery to treat his osteoporosis, after which Tom Lavin of the Powder Blues Band noted that he appeared healthier.