The band achieved limited chart success and is best known for the role it played in developing the careers of numerous musicians including Mel Collins, John Helliwell, Robert Palmer, Jess Roden and Dougie Thomson.
[3] Bown formed The Alan Bown Set around May 1965, initially with three former members of The John Barry Seven—Jeff Bannister (lead vocals and organ) (born Jeffrey Bannister, 7 January 1943), Dave Green (sax, clarinet and flute) and Stan Haldane (bass)[4]—together with Pete Burgess (guitar) and Vic Sweeney (drums).
In 1966 Green was replaced by John Helliwell and shortly after Jess Roden joined as a vocalist, allowing Bannister to concentrate on keyboards.
[5] In November 1966 Burgess was replaced by Tony Catchpole and in 1967 the band released "Gonna Fix You Good (Everytime You're Bad)" / "I Really, Really Care" and recorded the soundtrack for Jeu de Massacre, a French film featuring Jacques Loussier.
a psychedelic band on Verve Records, They finally released their first full album Outward Bown in 1968 and appeared on Top Gear.
Bown then formed a new band with Dave Lawson (keyboards), Tony Dangerfield (bass) and Frank White (guitar) replaced by Pete Goodall, formerly with Thunderclap Newman, Nick Payn (tenor saxophone and flute) and Alan Coulter (drums), but after a major tour, Bown finally disbanded the group in July 1972.
[4] Melody Maker spoke of their Outward Bown album in 1968 as: "A fine band who have had difficulty in crystallising their approach but always record quality pop.