Whatever Happened To Joe Egan?
Stealers Wheel’s three albums from the 1970’s have been remastered and reissued, putting an end to a situation whereby you could only hear their music digitally on a cheap ‘best of’. I’ve been bingeing on them in the car and on the iPod this week and finding that the songs sound just as good now as they did in the mid 70’s, when I was a huge fan. Their music had a richness and invention that seemed to put them in the same league as The Beatles. Then they were gone.
But if you’re under 45 and have heard of Stealer’s Wheel, it’s probably because Quentin Tarantino made memorable use of their first and biggest hit ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ in ‘Reservoir Dogs’. Or if you’re a muso, you might be aware that they were the band Gerry Rafferty was in before he went solo and made ‘Baker Street’.
Rafferty was good at choosing partners. His first was the soon-to-be comedian Billy Connolly in The Humblebums, who recorded the original version of one of his most gorgeous songs ‘Steamboat Row’. In 1971 he made a pretty good solo album, which I used to have, before forming Stealers Wheel with Joe Egan. Their self titled first album from 1971 is a masterpiece. Produced by the legendary Leiber and Stoller (as was the second), it’s got ‘Stuck In The Middle’, Egan’s fragile, transcendent ‘Gets So Lonely’ and ‘Another Meaning’ and Rafferty’s guilty but gorgeous ‘Late Again’. The album’s other big song (like ‘Stuck’, a co-composition) is ‘You Put Something Better Inside Me’ which Rod Stewart recorded at the time but didn’t release. If he had, it might now be considered a classic, rather than a half remembered song by a neglected band.
The following year came ‘Ferguslie Park’, which is even better. That’s the album that includes the catchy, cynical ‘Star’ and includes the utterly compulsive ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My Mind’. Both Egan songs, as is the dreamy ‘Waltz (you know it makes sense)’. Rafferty’s best new song is ‘Over My Head’. You get the sense of two fine writers competing with each other, influencing each other and bringing the best out of each other, as in the fine closer ‘Everything Will Turn Out Fine.’
The third, post-split album, ‘Right Or Wrong’ (1975) is less consistent, perhaps because Leiber-Stoller are no longer around (production is by Mentor Williams). All but one of the songs are co-compositions and a couple go into their slightly funky shuffle-rock automode. But the album also contains some of their very best moments. You wouldn’t want to be without it. (I’d say ‘download these tracks’ but none of the albums are on iTunes). There’s the brilliant ‘Benediction’ which always takes me back to a big Catholic church with very formal masses that we used to attend on visits home to Sheffield. The title track is one of their best jaunty numbers while ‘This Morning’ is another of their transcendent, dope-tinged hymns. ‘Home From Home’ is a fantastic song – how could a duo this good decide to split up? Presumably they packed it in because they weren’t successful enough.
A legal limbo followed. Three years later, Rafferty made ‘City To City’ which included ‘Baker St’. An intermittent solo career followed, plagued by Rafferty’s dislike of playing live. I followed the solo stuff for a while but it became clear to me that Egan was the songwriter I really admired, or maybe Egan when he was with Rafferty. I belatedly got my hands on Egan’s ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ first solo album from 1979 recently (it’s currently available for free download here, unfortunately the link for ‘Maps’ leads to a dud file) and it’s pleasant – nice single, great title track – but hardly in the same league as the Stealers Wheel songs. The plangent keyboards that Egan played and which are such a notable part of his dreamier Stealers Wheels songs are sadly absent. Both this and ‘Maps’ from ’81 sank without trace and never appeared on CD (but see comments).
When I started to plan this post I went back to the Wikepedia page on Egan and discovered that he had contributed to a ’92 Rafferty album, ‘A Wing And A Prayer’, so I bought it, only to discover that he’s but one a bunch of backing vocalists on a dull album. BlogKihn has the same wording as Wiki, and concludes that ‘as of 2005, Egan lives in Renfrewshire and runs a publishing company from his home’. But I can find no other trace of Joe Egan on the net to confirm that, so the title of this post stands. One of our best songwriters, still only 58, has been missing in action for 27 years. Gerry Rafferty’s been pretty quiet for a long time too. A Stealers Wheel reunion, now that would be something to hear. But, in the meantime, they left us with two and a half classic albums. Seek them out.
Hi…I was the recording engineer at Apple 1972 who recorded the vast majority of the Stuck in the Middle with you LP. It would be great to chat to Joe…any idea where I might reach him please?
Kind regards
John Mills
Sorry, no. He is around though. He spoke on a half hour BBC Radio Scotland tribute (which also featured me, briefly, as a result of this blog post). If you email me via the link at the top of the page, I can sort you out with a copy.
Hi have always love Gerry and Joe never got to see them does anyone know if there is a tribute playing there stuff ant where Cheers Berty
Nice tribute. He and Gerry wrote some cracking stuff together and Ferguslie Park is a wonderful album. “Star” still blows me away after all these years, so if you ever happen to be passing this way Joe, all the best.
Have the same or at least a simular problem. I am searching for the sheet music of the song Star. but nobody can help me. the only (old) copy available is in the usa and the owner doesn’t want to ship to Europe. Joe is running a Publishing Company but even that I cannot trace.
Do you (or anyone else) have a lead to him or the publishing company.
Can’t help you there, sorry.
Hi all,
Stumbled across this thread whilst looking for something else.
Joe Egan lives in Paisley, where this photograph of him was taken in June 2017. He seems to live a very private life these days, and I cannot find any contact details for him. But he was tempted to turn out for this event, the unveiling of murals in Paisley town centre commemorating Stealers Wheel and others.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15375513.paolo-nutini-honoured-with-new-mural-in-paisleys-browns-lane/#gallery1
I guess if you contacted the Paisley First group who sponsored the artwork, or the newspapers who took the pictures, they might have more information.
Thanks for that, Alan. Joe deserves his own mural, surely?
I spoke to Joe last year (2018) and doing very well. Lives in Paisley. Very interesting man to talk to & very humble. No pun intended
Good to hear, thanks.
Here’s some contact information:
https://www.companieslondon.com/uk/01018678/baby-bun-music-limited
Hi, I was just watching all the old stuff on you tube of Stealers Wheel and then got on to this very interesting page. You say that neither of Joe Egan’s solo albums made it on to vinyl…? well i’m afriad that isn’t true, I bought his Out of nowhere album on vinyl back in 1979! I still have it, what an album!… Which brings us up to date… because as i now don’t have a record player and not being aware of any free download i looked on Amazon and there it was, available on CD. What an album!! It was great to hear again and read your piece about Stealers Wheel and Joe Egan…. Great artists.
Thanks for that, Keith. You’re quite right, I see that Out of Nowhere came out on CD in 2016 (but my post was written in 2008 and I’m not going to update it!). Good that it’s once again available.
First came across Stealers Wheel at a Leeds University Freshers gig in either 72 or 73 ( the other band at the gig that night being Supertramp ). At the time, I believe Gerry Rafferty had flown the nest ( prior the success of Stuck In The Middle and the split of the band ) and had been replaced by Luther Grosvenor ( formerly of Spooky Tooth and later re-invented as Ariel Bender with Mott The Hoople ). The story goes that the band worked hard on the road until Stuck In The Middle started to sell ( second time round ). Then GR wanted back in with the result that henceforth, Stealers Wheel became a duo of Egan and Rafferty with various session musicians in support ( as on the second and third albums ). Stealers Wheel have given and still give me a life of great music. Still regularly listen to the three albums and only this morning singing along with Joe’s ‘ Out of Nowhere ‘ CD before I just stumbled on this great blog. The music doesn’t date, has never been bettered ( personal opinion ! ) and if Joe gets to read this, many thanks to one of music’s most underrated talents.
You’re not quite right with your comment about the riginal Stealers Wheel, as the very first lineup was Gerry and Rab Noakes, as Joe was not able for some reason to be part of the band – the first concert was at City Hall, Candelriggs, and I was there, and sat on a window ledge with Billy Connolly – I was well acquainted with BIlly, Gerry and Rab as I was involved with the Sunday night folk sessions at Strathclyde Uni, so this part of the narrative is based on fact and my own recollections
Thanks for that, Stewart. Fascinating to hear that. I did see Rab play a few years back, at Nottingham’s lost, lamented Guitar Bar, a short walk from where I live. So this would be before the first SW album?
Hey. I stumbled here looking for more info about Joe Egan while listening to “Out of Nowhere” (loved seeing a pic of him by that mural!). I figure since people are talking here maybe someone here might know the answer. What is up with these two albums by “Stealers Wheel”, “Goin’ Back” and “Still the One”?
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lyDAq4iUEyVDyvrkudpQgRXhb9qp6iAEY
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_luncK3LkJnBuaaOZ3hCYa0oC13nEHEQ1Q
It’s not Joe. They have songs that were not even written while Gerry was alive. So they don’t contain old recordings by Joe or Gerry doing these covers. But it’s some band using this name with no information available about personnel on the internet from what I can find. Anyone know anything about them?
No idea, Jonathan. A bit of googling doesn’t help. The lead singer sounds a bit like Joe but I can’t see his getting involved with this set of motley covers and I don’t know who owns the name. It was five years since they put anything out, so doesn’t look like they got very far, whoever they are.
Well, I was able to find an answer to this! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Williams_(English_musician)
“After being contacted by iTunes and K-tel records in California, and following negotiations which started in 2006, Williams re-formed Stealers Wheel in Blackpool in 2008 with two other original band members, Rod Coombes and Paul Pilnick together with locally based musician and songwriter Tony Mitchell. On 10 November 2008 they started filming a music video for a re-release of “Stuck in the Middle” on the Fylde coast. They also began writing songs for a new album to be released in 2009, although they have no plans to go on tour.”
And I had missed that, but yes, they had a 2009 album: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l4Kuqtitrcn7Py2DTh8jSjql5nD5eTwOg
So this group came out with albums in 2009, 2016, and 2019. Also, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_of_the_Gypsy:
“After director Quentin Tarantino had used the track “Stuck in the Middle” by Stealers Wheel, in the soundtrack of his debut film Reservoir Dogs, there had been renewed interest in Stealers Wheel resulting from its inclusion. Tony Williams re-formed Stealers Wheel and in 2008, Mitchell was brought into the band to write and record songs for a new Stealers Wheel album, originally due to be released in 2012. ”
Sorry for the digression. 🙂 It was nice to find a site talking about Joe where people are still actively talking.
Thanks for that, Jonathan. When I wrote the post over thirteen years ago I had no idea it would become the most commented on item on my blog, which is coming to the end of its 21st year. Good to find that out but it sounds like a profoundly pointless idea. Anything that keeps musicians in work is OK, I guess…
I have a downloaded copy of Maps , I picked up from a Latin American guy about 20 years ago. Happy to share
I recently got my hands on the 2016 rerelease of Joe’s Out Of Nowhere album on CD. It is clear that he was involved in the reissue. His producer David Courtney and brother Kevin supplied liner notes. What surprised me was that the CD is a needle drop. There is a very expensive Korean release that seems to be taken from the mastertape(s). But the music is good and I’m glad I can listen to the music after all these years.
I’m glad I finally found this page and read that Joe is doing fine. I also like the 2017 photo that was supplied by Alan Quinn. He looks cheerful. I hope he lives a happy life with his loved ones.
I live in The Netherlands (the northern part) and have visited Glasgow twice. If I ever come to Scotland again I hope to go to Glasgow again and have the opportunity to shake hands with him.
Greetings from Assen, The Netherlands!
Great to find this blog, many years later. I am currently listening to the Korean Out Of Nowhere. It is beautifully remastered, unlike the three Stealers Wheel CDs! I wondered has anyone seen a CD that contains the single version of Everything’ll Turn Out Fine. It’s far better than the album version. The only way I can hear it is the uploads on YouTube, but I’d love it on CD.
Sadly, Joe passed away yesterday, 6th July 2024.
RIP Joe.
Saddened to see online this morning that Joe passed away yesterday. I do hope that a few obituaries and appreciations of this very talented and often overlooked artist will follow soon. RIP Joe and thanks for the music – you will be fondly remembered.
I think I saw a Joe Egan solo band project once called ‘Special Brew’. Have I remembered correctly? It was post Stealers Wheel.
It’s possible but first I’ve heard of it and nothing online. Maybe someone reading this will know more.