Eddie Hardin born 19 February 1949

Eddie Hardin (19 February 1949 – 22 July 2015) was an English rock pianist and singer-songwriter, best known for his associations with the Spencer Davis Group, Axis Point, and Hardin & York. 

Peter York & Eddie Hardin

Born in South London, Hardin's musical career began when he was a young piano student. By the time he was 13 he’d learnt enough to join his first group in South London, playing a Vox Continental organ. As his playing progressed he discovered the Hammonds and soon mastered the M102. His first big break came in 1967 when, aged just 18, he joined the legendary Spencer Davis Group. Dubbed 'the singing keyboard wunderkind',  he soon made his presence felt in this mega star-outfit and appeared on the UK hit singles "Time Seller" and "Mr. Second Class" . By mid-1968, and with the band's star on the descent, Hardin left with the group's drummer Pete York, due to 'differences over musical policy' to form the duo, Hardin & York. 

Spencer Davis Group

Signing to Bell Records, the pair released the album, "Tomorrow Today" and undertook numerous tours of mainland Europe, and in particular Germany, where they regularly filled medium-sized venues and also supported the likes of The Nice and Deep Purple. Two further Hardin & York LPs followed: "Smallest Big Band In The World" (1970) and "For The World" (1971 ) before the pair decided to go their separate ways and pursue solo ventures. His best known work is perhaps his lead vocal on the theme from the Thames Television children's magazine series Magpie, recorded by the then line-up of the Spencer Davis Group under the pseudonym The Murgatroyd Band in 1971. 

                                      

Hardin's solo career kicked off with November 1971's "Driving" & "Where I'm Going To SleepTonight" Decca single which was swiftly followed by the 1972 LP "Home Is Where You Find It" and another single, "Why Does Everybody Put Me Down"/"Spend Your Money Honey" . He then put his solo attempts on hold when he took part in the 1973 reformation of the Spencer Davis Group where he was again reunited with Pete York. The reunion lasted for just two LP's "Gluggo" and "Living In R Back Street", before the band again split up. Hardin along with York and bassist Charlie McCracken then formed Hardin-York-McCracken and released one critically acclaimed self-titled LP, in 1974, for Vertigo Records. 

Hardin continued as a solo artist, occasionally reuniting with York, much of his work from 1974 onwards was produced by Roger Glover who had recently left Deep Purple. Hardin featured on Glover's solo project The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast that year, singing lead on the track "Sir Maximus Mouse" and playing on and co-writing others, most notably the hit song "Love Is All". After this he released the singles "S'Easy"/"Strange Times" and "Summer Days"/"Seems I'm Always Going To Love You" and the album "You Cant Teach An Old Dog New Tricks" . 

Axis Point

Between 1979 and 1981, he led Axispoint, who also featured bassist Charlie McCracken, drummer Rob Townsend and guitarist John 'Charlie' Whitney, and who released two LP's "Axispoint" and "Boast Of The Town". Also in 1981 he released a single "Resurecttion Shuffle" under the name of A30 Eddie. Following the demise of Axispoint, Hardin stayed with RCA for 1982's "Circumstantial Evidence" LP  and then teamed up with Zak Starkey to work on a musical version of "Wind In The Willows" which also featured Donovan and John Entwistle. 

In the 1980’s he released a couple of 'New Age' style albums for Coda Records, "Dawn Til Dusk" (1986) and "Survival" (1980), overseen the re-issuing of Hardin & York's old recordings and took part in occasional reformations of the Spencer Davis Group in the 2000’s. That wasn't the end of the Hardin and York story, though.  The friends would periodically reunite, recording new albums in 1981 and 1995, and would tour together and remain involved on various projects with their friends in Deep Purple.  They remained close until Hardin's death following a heart attack on 22 July 2015, while relaxing in a swimming pool. He was 66 years old.

(Edited from Mark Brennan article , Wikipedia, Second Disc)