Группа "Steamhammer" была сформирована в конце 1968 года ветеранами ритм-энд-блюзовой и фолковой сцены Уортинга Мартином Квиттентоном (гитара), Кирэном Уайтом (вокал, гитара, гармоника), Мартином Пью (гитара), Стивом Дэйви (бас) и Майклом Раштоном (ударные). Ее первые публичные выступления состоялись в качестве аккомпанирующего ансамбля Фредди Кинга, однако после этого квинтет пустился в автономное плавание и весной 1969-го заключил самостоятельный контракт с "CBS Records". В марте в продажу поступил альбом "Reflection", содержавший помимо оригинальных номеров Квиттентона-Уайта вещи Би Би Кинга ("You'll Never Know") и Эдди Бойда ("Twenty-four Hours").
Пластинку отличал спокойный, но довольно мрачный настрой, однако на перенасыщенной британской блюз-роковой сцене трудно было завоевать внимание публики, и работа не вызвала ожидаемых эмоций. И хотя "Reflection" продавался плохо, концерты группы в континентальной Европе пользовались повышенным спросом благодаря инструментальным импровизациям Пью и чувственной гармошке Уайта.
Летом 1969-го грянули первые перемены: сначала ушел Квиттентон, а вскоре его примеру последовал и Раштон. "Steamhammer" восполнили потери с помощью Стифа Джолиффа (саксофон, флейта) и Мика Брэдли (ударные), причем появление первого из них повлекло за собой тягу к джазовым формам и дополнительным аранжировкам. Все эти новшества в достаточной мере проявились на осеннем альбоме того же года "MK II". И хотя музыка "паровых молотов" по-прежнему сохраняла блюзовую основу, такие композиции как "Supposed To Be Free", "6/8 For Amiran", "Passing Through" значительно раздвигали рамки жанра.
Впрочем, работа ненамного подняла статус "Steamhammer" на родине, хотя фестивальные выступления на континенте все так же проходили на ура. Когда настала пора готовить третий альбом, Джолифф успел ретироваться, и пластинку записывали вчетвером. Уход саксофониста обозначил возвращение к прямолинейному блюзу , но при этом "Mountains" вышел более роковым чем "Reflection".
В отличие от первых двух релизов диск вызвал долгожданную благожелательную реакцию, причем гвоздем программы критики единодушно признали исполненный вживую номер "Riding on the L&N". Выход пластинки сопровождали концерты в Германии и странах Бенилюкса, а по окончании гастролей группа лишилась Уайта и Дэйви.
Оставшиеся у руля Пью и Брэдли пригласили в компанию экс-басиста "Renaissance" Луиса Сеннамо и зимой 1971-го записали альбом "Speech". Данный опус разительно отличался от всех предыдущих работ – диск содержал всего три длиннющих, большей частью инструментальных, композиции, претендующих на звание прогрессивных.
Критики встретили работу в штыки, а публика отреагировала индифферентно, так что скорый конец "Steamhammer" был вполне предсказуем. 8 февраля 1972 года от лейкемии скончался Брэдли, а Пью и Сеннамо вскоре переключились на проект "Armageddon". Что касается других бывших "молотов", то можно отметить, что Квиттентон сотрудничал с Родом Стюартом, а Джолифф провел некоторое время в рядах "Tangerine Dream".
(rockfaces.ru; Last update 28.10.10)

Steamhammer:
— (noun) A ram worked piston-wise by steam striking downward.
— (verb) Blows whose force and level are delicately adjustable.
Steamhammer’s origins began with the blues. Like many of their peers, they soon experimented with instrumental passages, introspective lyrics, and ultrasonic guitar effects, along with folk, jazz and classical influences. After making a name for themselves in the English pubs of the late 1960s, Steamhammer’s self-titled album debuted on Columbia Records in 1968. It featured their trademark single, “Junior’s Wailing” — a pumping “…Rock me baby, rock me all night long” number that sold well in Europe. Their first album proved formative to the band’s memorable sound, with performances built on a series of complex movements: changes of key and rhythm, one moment delicate, the next, hard-hitting ‘body’ music. Each instrument – drums, guitar, bass, and flute — alternated lead, the rest providing a background framework for the solos. These were the qualities that captured blues legend, Freddie King’s attention, when he asked the band to back him on two European tours. “It was a real blast,” Martin remembers. “Steamhammer would play their set, then Steve Davy, Mike Rushton and Martin Quittenton would stay up on stage with Freddie to play his set. White and I would sit in the audience to watch Freddie play. He could surf, he could rock – a real master, he was.”Steamhammer stayed on the road as one of the era’s hardest working bands, relentlessly refining their live set to create sophisticated arrangements and a generous helping of spontaneity, where everyone always got a crack at the whip.
Beginning in 1970, personnel changes shifted the band’s sound, which ultimately helped them expand their musical scope:
-Drummers Mike Rushton and Mickey Waller were replaced by Mick Bradley, whose aggressive drumming pushed the band to further experiment.
-Flute player Steve Joliffe left in 1970, later emerging in Tangerine Dream
-Bassist Steve Davy left in late 1970, replaced by the classically trained Louis Cennamo
-Lead vocalist Kieran White left the band in early 1973 to record solo albums, after which, the band decided to proceed as a trio, with a focus on complex arrangements and a more progressive rock sound
The genesis of Armageddon began, in fact, with the final Steamhammer album, Speech, in 1973, produced by ex-Yardbird and Renaissance frontman, Keith Relf. In the winter of ‘74, two years after drummer Mick Bradley’s sudden death from leukemia, Relf sought Louis and Martin out to form a band in California. Armageddon exploded onto the scene in late 1974, their potential so great that Rolling Stone magazine ran two articles on them before they had a drummer, a contract, or even a name for themselves. Relf brought in Bobby Caldwell on drums, and introduced the band to A&M Records producer Jerry Moss. Half a song into a set at the Charlie Chaplin Sound Stage in Hollywood, Moss signed Armageddon.
After much industry buzz, Armageddon released a stunning self-titled effort that landed in stores, fall of 1975. Liner notes on the album describe the band’s music as, “breathtaking, intense, and highly sophisticated.” The band’s secret weapon was their musicianship. Given complete creative reign over the project, the stark, powerful energy of their “live” sound quality was integral to the album’s success. “We were pleased with how the record came out,” Pugh recalls, “but to hear the band live was to witness the real epicenter of where we were coming from. Armageddon was all about four guys who were just crazy about the music.”
Armageddon never took their mind-blowing record on the road, due to another string of setbacks that stunted their momentum. Foremost was Relf’s battle with chronic asthma, which forced him to retire in spring of 1976. (Relf died suddenly in May of that year.) Punk and “arena” rock also loomed large on the horizon, a sharp veer away from the band’s interests. Through it all, Martin Pugh had been a central figure in the Steamhammer-Armageddon story. Pugh appeared on each album and co-wrote, co-produced, and co-arranged every track on the Armageddon LP. Martin also pushed forward with various musical efforts when the band dissolved. He and Caldwell tried to reassemble Armageddon in the early 1980s, producing a number of songs for a second LP under Capitol Records with Jesus Christ Superstar’s lead singer on vocals, and were literally hours away from completing the deal, when it fell through, due to creative differences. Caldwell eventually returned to Captain Beyond, Louis reunited with his former band, Renaissance, and Martin stayed in Los Angeles, continuing to pursue musical projects. Although their careers took them in different directions rather prematurely, rock aficionados agree that Armageddon was one of the most inspired collaborations ever undertaken, bringing together four extremely talented musicians, and garnering a loyal group of fans — many of them Steamhammer followers — worldwide.
(steamhammer.com/about-steamhammer)