The sound recording worked sporadically and the film crew were only able to film TYA’s closing song. While they were gaining a growing body of fans in Britain they were far from superstars, and by the time they got to Woodstock, Ten Years After were virtually unknown in America – the festival really was their big break.Īt Woodstock, the humidity ravaged instruments was just one of the problems for the band. They followed Undead with, Stonehenge, in February 1969 that made the Top 10 of the UK album charts. It featured their show stopping, ‘I’m Going Home’, which the band played so effectively at Woodstock it was the genesis of Alvin Lee – guitar-god. It made the UK charts in the autumn of the same year. In 1968 they released Undead, a live album that showcased the band’s great stage show. Among the tracks was an excellent cover of Al Kooper’s ‘I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes’. This secured a contract with Decca Records subsidiary, Deram who released their self titled debut album in October 1967. Ten Years After’s big break came in 1967 when they played the National Jazz & Blues Festival held at Windsor Racecourse to the west of London. After several name changes they settled on Ten Years After in 1966 Alvin Lee idolized Elvis Presley and this was ten years after 1956, Elvis’ annus mirabilis. It was just Alvin and Leo Lyons of the Woodstock line up in the original band, with Ric Lee joining in 1965 (Ric was no relation to Alvin, who’s real name was the much less glamourous sounding Graham Barnes) Chick Churchill joined a year later, by which time the band had moved to London to try and make the big times. Ten Years After were no overnight sensation, having originally learned their chops in the Nottinghamshire area of the English Midlands, in 1960 as Ivan Jay and the Jaycats to begin with they were just another beat band.