During the 1960s, bassist Bruce "Bugs" Waddell was a member of The Thunderbirds, Chris Farlowe's backing band (along with Dave Greenslade and Carl Palmer).
[8][9] Around that time, Waddell formed a group with guitarist Steve Hammond (with whom he had co-written a single, "Dawn," for Farlowe[10][11]), keyboardist Peter Robinson (who had been in Episode Six with Ian Gillan[12]), cellist Paul Buckmaster (who had performed on David Bowie's "Space Oddity"[13]), and drummer Colin Davey.
Sensing that none among them had suitable singing skills, the band arranged for Farlowe to join them, since he had recently completed a nine-month tour of the United States and was available to contribute his vocals.
[1] Three singles resulted from the album sessions and were released that same year on Polydor: Despite their brief existence as a band, The Hill left behind a catalogue of tracks that would be covered by a number of other artists.
[18] Steve Hammond joined Fat Mattress, with whom he recorded a version of "Black Sheep of the Family" that was released as the B-side to the single "Highway.
He also composed the music for a sci-fi themed rock musical titled Flash Fearless Versus The Zorg Women Parts 5 & 6, which was released in 1975 and featured guest appearances by several singers and musicians of note, such as Alice Cooper, Eddie Jobson, John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Justin Hayward, Bill Bruford, and Jim Dandy, among others.