The History of The Animals, Animals II, Animals III, Animal Tracks,
and the Animals Greatest Hits show
The Animals 1963 - 1966 (1st Generation)
The original Animals who were famous for their hits in the 1960’s were formed in the North East of England city of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963 and were known for their distinctive gritty rhythm and blues sound derived from a mix of British pop and American blues. They were also known in the USA as part of the ‘British Invasion’. The Animals were Eric Burdon on vocals, Hilton Valentine on guitar, Chas Chandler on bass, Alan Price on keyboards, and John Steel on drums. The band shot to fame Worldwide with their No1 signature song ‘House Of The Rising Sun’, as well as having many other successful hits including ‘We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place’, ‘I’ts My Life’, ‘I’m Crying’, 'Bring It On Home To Me', and 'Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’.
Following the success
of House of The Rising Sun in 1965 Alan Price left the band to follow a solo
career and was replaced by Dave Rowberry on keyboards. In February 1966 John Steel left the band and was replaced by Barry Jenkins on drums until the band split in
late 1966. Eric Burdon then moved to the USA and along with Jenkins formed the 'psychedelic' band 'Eric Burdon and the New Animals'.
Hilton Valentine's Animals / Animals II / The Animals 1994-1995 (2nd Generation Pt.1)
In the UK in 1993, when Hilton Valentine was a member of Tyneside based Rhythm & Blues band The Alligators, he was approached by Peter Barton, an agent from Lancashire in the UK, to see if he would be interested in performing some shows in Germany as The Animals. Hilton liked the idea and quickly set about augmenting the Alligators band with a keyboard player to recreate the original 1960’s Animals sound. Auditions were held at the Pheasant pub in Tynemouth where Hilton, along with original Animals bass player Chas Chandler and original drummer John Steel were present. Following a comprehensive trial run of the Animals songs Chas Chandler decided that local keyboard player Steve Hutchinson (Stevie Hutch) was in his words “The man for the job”. Chas Chandler however declined to become a member of the band due to health problems, but did offer instead to become the manager for the band.
Using the remaining members from The Alligators band, the line-up of Hilton Valentine's new Animals band was complete, and with all of the members living within 10 miles of Newcastle the birth place of the original Animals band. The line-up comprised of original Animals Hilton Valentine on guitar and John Steel on drums, Robert Kane (aka Robert Robinson) on Vocals, Steve Hutchinson on keyboards, George Fearon on guitar, and Joss Elliott on bass guitar.
John Steel, who at that time kept in regular contact with Eric Burdon in the USA, contacted Eric Burdon to ask if he would mind if this new band could use 'The Animals' name. Eric allegedly replied stating that Hilton and John were both Animals as much as he was, and did not mind so long as there would not be any confusion with his own band that regularly performed in the USA and Germany as Eric Burdon and The Animals. To solve this problem George Fearon
suggested that the psuedo name 'Animals II' could be used in those two countries. So with the acceptance of all the original members of the band Hilton now had 'THE ANIMALS' back on the road again.
This new 2nd generation of The Animals performed its first 'dress rehearsal' show under the name of 'Hilton Valentine’s Animals' on 14th March 1994 at The Pheasant pub in Tynemouth, followed by another show at Bultins in Ayr Scotland. Much larger shows then followed shortly afterwards in the UK and Scandinavia with both Chas Chandler and Eric Burdon’s blessing under the original name of 'The Animals'.
Hilton's unmistakable guitar playing and John's unique drumming style, coupled with Robert Kane's uncanny vocal resemblance to Eric Burdon and Steve Hutchinson's ability to play the keyboard in the distinctive style of Alan Price undoubtedly made for a very authentic re-creation of The Animals sound, leaving fans in no doubt that The Animals were well and truly back on the road.
In the summer of 1995 after two years of extensive touring as the Animals in Europe and Scandinavia unrest had unfortunately grown within the band, said in part to be due to the strong Alligators influence within the band. Hilton and John's determination to promote their band's identity as 'The Animals' resulted in them looking for replacement dedicated band members. Robert Kane and Steve Hutchinson retained their exacting roles however Joss Elliott and George Fearon having heard of the impending split immediately left the band.
The Animals at this point had a full diary of shows to fulfill so on 28th July 1995 Hilton and John recruited bass
player Graham (Fred)
Hill, and guitarist Dave Whiffen who would go on to perform many shows touring with the band in the UK and
Scandinavia.
In August 1995 local guitarist Tony Ions was brought in for the recording of the Northern Ireland TV Show "It's only Telly" which was broadcast on 23rd August
1995. This TV show lineup featured Hilton Valentine, John Steel, Robert Kane, Steve Hutchinson, Graham Hill and Tony Ions.
The Animals 1993 left to right: Steve Hutchinson, Hilton Valentine, John Steel, George Fearon, Robert Kane, and Joss Elliott
The Animals 1994 left to right: Steve Hutchinson, Hilton Valentine, Robert Kane, John Steel Joss Elliott, George Fearon
The Animals / Animals II 1995 – 1999 (2nd Generation Pt.2)
Due to personal commitments Dave Whiffen and Graham Hill left the Animals line up in 1995 and local guitarist Steve Dawson and local bass player Martin Bland joined the band as the new replacement members alongside the long established band members Hilton Valentine, John Steel, Steve Hutchinson and Robert Kane. This would turn out to be the longest stable line-up in the history of The Animals.
The band with this new line up line up successfully toured and performed throughout the World under the name of The Animals playing concerts as far a field as Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Middle East, Far East, Japan, Europe, and Scandinavia, as well as performing successful tours of the
USA and Germany under the psuedo name of Animals II, cataloging a total of more than 600 shows Worldwide.
The 1995 - 1999 line up of The Animals also recorded
and released many CD's which included new versions of their old hits featuring new piano arrangements by Steve Hutchinson along with some new band compositions. These CD's included the extremely rare official 1990's 'ANIMALS' CD: 'THE ANIMALS - INTERESTING LIFE', which was recorded in October 1996. This particular limited release CD which was released under the name of The Animals has now become a collector’s item due to the CD being later re-released in 2001 under the Animals II name.
On 21st November 1996 The Animals appeared live on the British breakfast TV show "GMTV" to promote the upcoming release of the album.
Many further compilation albums were subsequently released around the world using the 1996 recordings under different album titles and covers.
The Animals 'Interesting Life" CD Released in 1996
The Animals 2000 - 2001 (2nd Generation Pt.3)
By the end of 1999 The Animals were in high demand and were attracting much higher profile shows and revenues so Hilton and John decided to replace the existing long standing North East line-up of the band with higher profile musicians.
Long standing keyboard player Steve Hutchinson was replaced by London keyboardist Dave Rowberry who had been a member of The Animals in the 1960's for 18 months after Alan Price left the band. Bass player Martin Bland was replaced by London musician Jim Rodford from 70's band The Kinks. Long standing guitarist Steve Dawson was not included in the new line-up, and the job of new front-man went to singer Tony Liddle (vocalist from Saxon and The Tygers of Pan Tang).
This was a change that took Hilton and John's second generation of The Animals into a different direction and was unfortunately relatively short lived, resulting in Hilton Valentine, who was unhappy about the new changes, leaving the band in April 2001 to live in
the USA.
Hilton Valentine's exit split up the band and marked the end of the second generation of The Animals that spanned the years 1993 to 2001.
Following the break up of The Animals in 2001
[After relocating to America in 2001 to pursue a solo career, Hilton Valentine collaborated with Eric Burdon in his USA based band 'Eric Burdon and The Animals' and performed with him on his 2007 and 2008 tours. In 2008 Hilton resumed his solo recording career with various performances in the USA and the UK. In January 2021 Hilton died at the age of 77. Eric Burdon still continues to perform around the World with his own USA based band 'Eric Burdon and The Animals']
[In 2001, manager Peter Barton formed his own band 'Animals & Friends' taking on the role of vocalist and bass player alongside John Steel, Dave Rowberry and Lancashire guitarist John E Williamson. Following the sudden death of Dave Rowberry in 2003 Mickey Gallagher took over the role on keyboards. In 2013 Barton and Williamson left the band and they were replaced by Danny Handley on vocals and guitar, and Roberto Ruiz on bass.]
ANIMALS III 2005 - 2021 (3rd Generation)
In 2005 Steve Hutchinson coupled up with previous Animals vocalist Tony Liddle and joined the Tony Liddle band with the idea of forming an Animals tribute band together under the name of Animals III as a follow on to their previous bands The Animals and Animals II but the idea did not come to frutition at that time.
In 2007 Steve Hutchinson who still remained to be the longest serving keyboard player for The Animals toured throughout Europe with his band The UK Legends and UK Rock Legends performing some of the Animals hits in the shows as a tribute to his previous bands The Animals and Animals II.
A video recorded in 2009 features excerpts from a live concert of the UK Legends band performing Animals songs at a festival in Poland and a later video in 2011 shows the band performing at festivals in Europe. Both of these videos were later used as promotional videos for the upcoming Animals III band.
In September 2014 Steve Hutchinson finally managed to collect together the musicians he needed to create an Animals tribute band under his band name ANIMALS III. The proposed line up of his Animals III band included former Animals vocalist Tony Liddle who had taken over the roll from Robert Kane in 2000, along with former 'Hilton Valentine's Animals' guitarist George Fearon, former Animals II bass player Martin Bland and the UK Legends drummer Mad Dog.
As soon as the proposed band members had been agreed Steve Hutchinson promoted his Animals III band for the next two years until the proposed band members were finally assembled again to perform the band's first show in Denmark in 2016.
Tony Liddle was not included in the final line up of the band which resulted in bass player Martin Bland sharing the vocals with additional guitarist Graham Hunter also from the UK Legends band. Drummer Paul Elliott from the UK Legends band also replaced Mad Dog during the proposed line up for the band in 2015.
Once on the road, just like the previous Animals and Animals II bands, Steve's new Animals III band quickly became recognised as one of the most energetic British R&B bands touring in Europe and was widely accepted on stage whether performing at Rock Festivals or Blues Festivals, and even in smaller blues clubs and Theatres.
In 2017 Drummer Mad Dog re-joined the band replacing Paul Elliott.
In 2017 guitarist Steve Lamb from the band Tygers of Pan Tang joined the line up replacing guitarist Graham Hunter.
The UK Legends performing Animals songs at a festival in Poland 2009 which was used as a promotional video for Animals III
The UK Legends performing Animals songs at a festival in Czesc in 2011 also used as a promotional video for ANIMALS III
UK Rock Legends performing Animals songs in 2014
Photoshoot of the first proposed Animals III line up in 2014. Left to right: Steve Hutchinson, Martin Bland, Tony Liddle, Mad Dog and George Fearon
In 2019 drummer George Defty from the band Geordie joined the ANIMALS III line up replacing Mad Dog.
In July 2021 some of the members of Steve Hutchinson's ANIMALS III band announced that they were intending to perform their own show misleadingly under the original name of THE ANIMALS. This resulted in Steve Hutchinson replacing those band members with a brand new line up for his own Animals III band comrising of Howard Baker on vocals, Graham (Fred) Hill (previously from The Animals and Animals
II) on bass, Graham Hunter (previously from Animals III) on guitar,
George Waters on drums, and Steve Hutchinson (previously from Hilton
Valentine's Animals, The Animals, and Animals II) on keyboards.
In September 2021 the outgoing ANIMALS III band members Martin Bland, Steve Lamb and George Defty with keyboard player Norma Seabroke, controversially mislead the public by advertising and performing their own shows illegally in the UK under Eric Burdon's legally trademarked name of 'THE ANIMALS'. They also illegally claimed to promoters that they were the official Animals III band by producing a fake Animals III trademark registration certificate.
The Animals / Animals II / Animals III Timeline in the UK from 1963 - 2021
The band with it's hard-driving Rhythm & Blues and distinctive 'Animals' sound is available for concerts in any country of the World and can be booked directly by contacting
Email: info@theatrebands.com
THE original ANIMALS - Created in Tyneside in 1963 - 1966
THE ANIMALS / ANIMALS II - Created in Tyneside in 1993 - 2001
ANIMALS III - Created in Tyneside in 2014 -2021
THE ANIMALS GREATEST HITS SHOW - created in Tyneside in 2019
ANIMAL TRACKS - created in Tyneside in 2021
....to continue their heritage of The Animals and keep the songs
of the original Animals band out there in the public domain.....
