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Bio:
When The Interns split, Roy Abbott and Nicko Halliwell
formed a new band called The Cheese with Ritchie McCracken (bass)
and John Wilson (drums). Wilson and McCracken had both
been members of the Derrick and The Sounds Showband from Omagh.
The Cheese had a good following locally and also played in London and
Dublin, where they played Stella House several times. They supported Ten Years After
on one occasion. Their live set was
a mixture of originals and covers (including 'Strawberry Fields Forever').
Cheese came to an abrupt halt in 1968 when an offer Rory Gallagher
made to McCracken and Wilson to form the second lineup of Taste proved too good to refuse.
It came as a complete shock to Abbott and Halliwell, who only learned of the move after
the band had returned from playing a gig at the Marque Club in London and the rhythm section
departed for Taste without notice. Roy Abbott eventually emigrated to Australia where
he joined the Mucky Duck Bush Band, an Aussie folk group with ties to the Australian Tourist Board,
with whom he performed for many years. He died in Perth in August 2013.
Roy thought the bands name was awful but i think it was quite witty (after The Cream comes The Cheese, geddit?)
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