Pat Travers Band

Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, singer and songwriter who began his recording career in the mid-1970s.

Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto. Soon after picking up the guitar at age 12, he saw Jimi Hendrix perform in Ottawa. Travers began playing in bands early in his teens; his first bands were the Music Machine (not to be confused with the Californian psychedelic/garage band of the same name), Red Hot, and Merge, which played in clubs in the Quebec area.

Career

Early career While performing with Merge, he was noticed by rock artist Ronnie Hawkins, who invited Travers to perform with him. In his early twenties, Travers moved to London and signed a recording contract with the Polydor label. His self-titled debut album was released in 1976 and featured bassist Peter "Mars" Cowling, who was a mainstay in Travers' band for several years. An appearance on the German TV show Rockpalast in November 1976 was later released on CD+DVD under the title Live at Rockpalast – Cologne 1976 in 2017. This performance showcases an early version of Travers' band featuring Cowling and drummer Nicko McBrain.

Rise to popularity...