Vinegar Joe were a British R&B band in the early 1970s, who were best know… Read Full Bio ↴Vinegar Joe were a British R&B band in the early 1970s, who were best know for live shows. The core members were lead singers Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer, Elkie was known as the "Wild Woman of Rock", comparisons were made with Tina Turner and Janis Joplin. Bassist Steve York, keyboard player Tim Hinkley and guitarist Pete Gage who also played piano. Conrad Isidore played drums on their first album "Vinegar Joe". They released three albums on different record labels before the band dissolved at the end of 1973. Brooks and Palmer went on to have solo success.

Rusty Red Armour
Vinegar Joe Lyrics

We have lyrics for these tracks by Vinegar Joe:

Angel You spend all your time waiting for that second chance For…
Circles If you can count from one to three You will understand The…
Proud To Be I'm sorry If I wear mascara and I paint my toenails…
Proud To Be (A Honky Woman) I'm sorry If I wear mascara and I paint my toenails…

The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos

TRACKS

No Related Genres

More Genres

No Artists Found

More Artists Load All

No Albums Found

More Albums Load All

No Tracks Found

01Rusty Red Armour5:06

PT5M6S

Vinegar Joe

02Early Monday Morning4:47

03Ride Me Easy Rider5:49

04Circles4:07

05Leg Up4:58

06See The World6:21

07Never Met A Dog3:43

08Avinu Malkenu3:28

09Getting Out5:10

10Live A Little, Get Somewhere5:29

Genre not found

Artist not found

Album not found

Search results not found

Song not found

Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@ellascott4497

Never saw this before and I loved it 🌹!

Long hair , thin body way before the iconic handsome suits the persona like a cross between a young Mr. Mick Jagger and the Doors , Mr. Jim Morrison going on here.

Wow?!

Thanks for this totally unexpected upload on Jun 29th 2022 Wednesday night👍☕🍎

Be well and thanks again.

@djdanathe701

27w

Lyrics:
Don’t sing me no more of your obscure tunes
I bet your Ma don’t think you’re so glamorous
You’ve shown me your cards and the stars and the runes
How come you don’t act more amorous?

Well, I’ve heard all your tales about where you have been
And the royalty you’ve met as well
It’s not that I can’t believe all that
Honey, but really, come on, what the hell?

With your bizarre repertoire
Which you perform on your Japanese guitar
How’s a body supposed to treat you like
The sweet little lady you really are?

I don’t really mean to embarrass you
And my friends that are all around us
It’s just that you’re trying to prove you know where it’s at
With their handful of uptight scoundrels

So just look pretty, and keep out of the light
Don’t try to be an attraction
We don’t need to know you can be so young
Makes our years seem like distraction

Stay away from your home if you need the applause
Your friends know you just too well
Keep your surprises tucked under your mysterious belt
Baby, that you don’t have to sell
Silly girl.

All comments from YouTube:

@kamuelalee

5y↑88

Wow, never seen Robert Palmer like this...he's pulling the Mick Jagger vibe.

RIP to the legend, you are missed.

@rexgeorg7324

4y↑6

Funky Stones bro

@stephenhegney4370

3y↑3

💯

@stephenhegney4370

3y↑4

@Rex. Georg III 💯

@tombenton6047

3y↑4

Gosh, it's Mick's brother Robert Jagger!!!

@BurtReynoldstash

2y↑2

In those leather trousers more like Jim Morrison from the doors.

5 More Replies...

@bainsk8

5y↑52

RIP Robert, thank you for all of the great music you created and performed. What an amazing talent.

@notmemate

14y↑21

Tragically underrated band.

@sarahhursey3215

3y↑12

Omg.. I stumbled on this.. amazing young Robert and Elkie.. they sound so great.!! . lush live music... cant beat it xx

@zinesilol88

13y↑29

Elkie Brooks voice is amazing. !!!

@duncanjowett5575

11w

WOW!! Listened to these for a couple years & loved it.

This the first time ive SEEN them. Very weird to see Bob Palmer trying so hard to be Jagger. God love him for going on to find his own (very special) way.❤

@TheRockerxx69

5y↑27

Saw them 4 times live in 1972. Amazing band . Still in my system

@robertcarli1969

Don't lie, liar.

@TheRockerxx69

2y↑6

@Robert Carli l m 70 y.o. seen them at Reading Festival 1972, London Lyceum August 1972, Marquee club april and October 1972. I have the pics.

@chelseapoet3664

51w↑3

@Robert Carli I'm glad I'm not as cynical as you, not believing that people have done nice and cool things. Seek help

@keith-wg2de

27w

Not forgetting the legendary farnborough tech students union gig, Elkie wasnt impressed that we were just sitting on the floor, get up and dance you fekkers.....or words to that effect

@scottfree2248

4y↑23

Robert Palmer was taking it to eleven on the hipness scale

@TheRecords101

43w↑1

YOU NAILED IT..😇👍

@mimlo7534

3y↑3

Robert Palmer at about 23(?). This is so funny, he was really hamming it up. Miss him!

@AnthonyMonaghan

4y↑15

I honestly forgot how great this was. I remember seeing it on TOGWT back in the 1980's as part of some retrospective night. Couldn't compute that it was Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer I was watching. Fantastic song, easily as good as anything else that came out in '72. Very Little feat and just as funky. Palmer was a serious contender for cuts boy of the year here, and Elkie is as stunning as ever. Thanks

@marianievessnow6567

5y↑9

So Cool To See RP Way Back In The Day So Handsome He Is Truly Missed❤

@mikeotoole9631

5y↑12

I loved this band. Like the Faces, they really loved playing live.

@lyleliliwort8489

5y↑11

RIP:Robert Palmer

@guitarlover302

8y↑25

What a lovely voice Elkie has obviously loves what she does !

@northernlad52

4y↑8

the legend that is Elkie Brooks

@michaelbarton9632

1y↑1

If there was any justice in the world, Vinegar Joe would have as famous as the Stones, and never out of the charts.

@DefLepLvr1

13y↑9

How cool this is..I never saw this before...and I love Robert so much...it's nice to know more about his early career. How cute he was!

@zinesilol88

10y↑31

Elkie Brooks what an amazing singer, then and now.

@user-ko1ws1rc6h

Simon Mac い

@kennyb6591

6y↑4

...and one of the sexiest women alive.

@skygazer6898

5y↑6

I went to see Vinegar Joe in Watford back in the seventies. I never gave Robert Palmer a thought back then as I thought Elkie Brookes was the star attraction.

@bobgreen623

4y↑3

Exactly the same here, except I saw them at the old St Albans Civic.

@1946nimrod

The Greyhound in Fulham Palace Road was the nearest to me that they played!

@user-kc9dn5sy8x

49w↑4

The legends never die

@bigtony4829

10w

Still sound good in 2024

@marcuskeulertz5852

4y↑5

Both fits perfectly together. Reminds me a bit of Allmans Brothers Band and early Stones stuff.

@lovehorses57

34w↑1

Dang I can’t get over how great these guys were. They shoulda been big! Thanks for making this available. Very cool!

@jonathanroberts6110

3y↑2

Two singers like that the band was never going to last. Great sound.

@Solutions3000

What do you mean?

@Poecilia1963

2y↑1

@E. M. Sturdivant Gallieshaw I think he meant they were too good. Most bands only have one great singer.

@Solutions3000

@Sue Sutton Thank you.

@msstevie1951

14y↑1

I never in a million years would have recognized Robert Palmer if not for his name being posted on here! Amazing I never saw him out of a suit and tie but I LIKE IT!!!!! A LOT!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

@marymungomidge5546

3y↑3

Hey!! I’m 53, always thought Ellie brooks was boring ballads. Totally converted to an amazing performer! RP was a class act
Wish I had gone to a live gig with Prince, RP and Elkie B

THANKS!!

@johndoyle486

51w

There's so much talent on that stage it actually frightens me...

@danielmcgrath9960

8y↑8

Saw these guys at Bristol Art School back in '71, liked it them ...love it now

@paulmoss8059

4y↑2

Saw these at the California Ballroom Dunstable,,what a privilege

@potdog1000

2y↑2

brill, loved them both

@Polly6761

13y↑5

Being a huge early Robert Palmer fan, i don't know how I missed this ! "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley.......Oh my !!!!!!!!!

@leerocheleau1465

4y↑3

Simply irresistible :)

@davidchrysostom695

2y↑1

The way Robert Palmer attacks that first note !

@kojack1129

Elkie brooks so nice looking looked up power station came upon this. Greetings from new jersey

@FeatherstoneApothecary

2y↑2

wow what a gem!

@rissarussell2624

8y↑25

liking the leather pants Robert ;-)

@t1mytun

11y↑5

Yes I always thought the Whistle Test was live, mind you I was watching on a black and white TV set and yet all my memories of it are in colour - so I suppose my mind was filling in the blanks.

@Chronyx-me4dl

11w

I found an album in a creek and I brought it home, I tried restoring it, but I just couldn’t get all the rust off of it. 😢 however, I put in my record player and it brought me to this song. Rusty red record for a rusty red armor

@johnpick8336

10y↑9

Smokin Band !!!!

@noahsledgebottom5508

7y↑2

LOve the tune and the band!!!

@robertsharpe4414

3y↑1

Elkie the bollocks seriously great

@frankmilligan6422

3y↑2

First thing that came to mind beside Robert doing his Jagger thing: They were like a British Delaney and Bonnie...

@chrispeyton6113

44w↑1

Love it.

@ellascott4497

@Jake-jr2zh

45w

Elkie Brooks was the star in this band.

@noahsledgebottom5508

8y↑2

Great piece of seventies music.....

@nettiebaby45

14y↑14

OH MY GOD, Robert is soooo cute with long hair,oooooooooo! Er, ahem! The band was marvelous singing a wonderful tune at The Old Grey Whistle Test. Marvelous, bravo, wonderful. Yes, Yes,yes.

@adrianvassallo5630

9y↑3

Great band, missed them at the time (too young) but have since groan to love them, pity they near reformed, a bite to lait now, with parsing of Robert (RIP)

@riff1able

26w

1 they have a great fun.

@msstevie1951

14y↑2

I never would have guessed in a million years this was Robert Palmer! I like it a lot,but he is unrecognizable without his suit and tie! LOL Thanks for sending this my way rocker53zero! ♥

@SANDSCORCHER

11y↑2

A young Mister P looking uncannily like a young Michael Jagger 8) Cool band and brilliant song. Quite superb. Never seen this before. Thanks very much for sharing. :-)

@SongmanC

12y↑5

Bought this record for 60 cents about 1976....nice deal if you can find it...love it

@grubbs104

7y↑1

SongmanC I'll give you a dollar for it right now

@davidsiuraneta7300

9y↑2

Great band & song!

@Stover205

So glad I stumbled onto this.

@george00719

8y↑7

Thats the kinda blues I like

@jowalsh9613

5y↑1

Amazing 😘😘💗

@stephenhayden1618

39w

Went to see Wishbone Ash in Chicago ‘73…then there was Barnstormer (Joe Walsh post James Gang) there was this…phenomenal…

@kerithmccoy3060

4y↑9

No lip synching on Old Gray Whistle Test, all live performance! Not to be confused with Top of the Pops!

@michaelschmidt9708

This was not live.

@kerithmccoy3060

3y↑1

@Michael Schmidt - Please go back to sleep!

@silasfatchett7380

1y↑1

Live vocals, recorded instruments.

@keithedmundson2318

36w

Lots of the OGW was syncted

@PaulWilliams66

12w

So wrong…

@metafis2490

6y↑2

The intro(up to the vocals) is like a funky version of the snooker music on BBC.

@arthurcholmes9388

Wow Screaming Bob Harris... brilliant

@busywl69

6y↑3

damn this is good

@philwearmouth1102

7y↑4

What a band .. 2 great singers & Pete Gage on guitar ... f me

@cosmicdredd4911

Thanks Phil. I was wondering who was playing such tasty guitar.

@michaelholland5242

Look at them aahhh m8t it sends a tingle up my spine.let’s go around again.Holsey67 🇬🇧

@millholmehouse

13y↑3

robert was so cool, even back then!

@mirunok5210

6y↑3

great`palmer`.....

@Jake-jr2zh

1y↑1

Amazing Brooks

@tasosprassas1964

12y

the best song of their ffirst (and best) album>

@RAMJAMOZ

11y↑3

My face explode? Well it was the frustration of being made to mime to the LP back tracks by the BBC (notice the congas in Bar 1 kiddies?) and I had nothing else to do but pull faces thinking to myself God when they see this in 40 yrs time despite all this effort we'll have never actually have broken the big time. Maybe we should all split up and go solo. So we did. cheers Pete Gage

@renodavid

N Sydney Soundies Lol, great stuff. I just saw this for the first time and was thinking that you didn’t look too comfortable trying to fake it. I can’t blame you — there were a lot of different guitar parts!

@JIF882

Remember seeing this clip on VH1's Before They Were Rock Stars

@trevorbrown6654

2y↑5

Vinegar Joe were such an interesting band, sounding vibrant and hypnotic. Sure they were a blues band and had a touch of the Stones to their songs but they had so much energy in their music. The proof of the pudding was that although Palmer and Brooks had great voices, I always felt that in their solo careers their music sounded too clinical and polished (and sometimes dull). Compare that with the organic sound they have here, where you can really feel the raw talent in the band.

@rickkoehnlein4629

52w

Awesome

@sebastiendamarey6673

Great Pete Gage on guitar !!!

@jw66jw

4y↑1

Rock and roll in its purest form, probably just how GOD intended it. One of the most amazing bands to see live. When you were there with them it almost felt like you were inside the music-Wow.

@Jake-jr2zh

Elkie Brooks was the main attraction. Great singer.

@d.j.patterson850

8y↑2

that John Woods drummer from The Junco Partners playing with Vinegar Joe?!

@bahbrajonz

12y

A little bit of Jagger inflection. Still sooo smooth.

@johndriver8646

4y↑4

Of Course The Bassist,Steve York, Is the driving wheel make the song strong !!

@blueswailer1952

11y

You wouldn't be sayin' that if you'd ever seen this lot play live. 'Nuff said.

@mellow5123

Oh my! Robert grooving big time. Love this early work.

@Jake-jr2zh

1y↑1

Elkie Brooks was the band.

@michaelmtz7703

Good stuff

@rickxlcr

14y↑3

Not one of their best, but back in the day there was nobody anywhere in the same league as Elkie,or since come to think of it

@jacquesL0711

14y

WoW !!!!

@Nealo81

12y↑1

Agreed - definitely a Stones-influenced feel to Bobbies vocals here - none the worse for that . . . probably both influenced by the soul and the blues apparent in the emerging Southern Rock genre.

@killervaark

11y↑5

It is a pity the early Whistle Test performances were marred by the Beeb's insistence on backing tracks. You should not feel bad: (1) they even made the Who do it, (2) at least the BBC later repented and let the bands play live and (3) we, who saw your gigs, know what you could do. It was a travesty of the highest order that VJ were left off not one but four DVDs of the OGWT! And then to rub salt into the wound, thay found space for that arch wastrel John Cooper Clarke.

@sianwarwick633

35w

Nice intro chord on addicted to love

@rocker53zero

14y

Sometimes the component parts of a band, add up to a greater total than the true value of the band. The reverse was true with Vinegar Joe.

@sporty05

3y↑2

Bass line almost sounded like Sneakin' Sally in the beginning

@djdanathe701

27w

@bojack40

4y↑5

In Ellie’s autobiography she says RP never spike to her after VJ. She claims not to know why, and she stayed friends with his mother, it certain,y made me wonder about him. He never seemed to want to acknowledge her (on stage) even in VJ days. I think she was always shockingly ignored as an artist by the British music (make) press of the day. About time the Brits reached out, or Glastonbury legend slot.

@zinesilol88

13y↑1

@Polly6761 Elkie was the powerful voice and stage persona in this band.

@livvynut

13y↑2

forget the palmer guy elkie's voice is stunning

@grubbs104

Pete Evans you can tell he would never amount to anything

@MrFrampo56

Fuck off! His is the main voice. A much classier and far more successful solo artist. Elkie Brooks ? A cover of Lilac Whine ( sic).

@Jake-jr2zh

1y↑1

@Ζήτω η Ελλάδα! Elkie Brooks was the soul of this band. She was know as the Wild Woman of Rock n Roll. Her version of Lilac Wine is the only version to have commercial success.

@MrFrampo56

@Jake Nonsense! I saw them live in the 70’s. Did you? Robert Palmer was the main man. He was in Kokomo, and Dada before and she was secondary , all day long. Pearl’s a singer , and Lilac Wine - 2 covers of so-so songs and that’s it. Compared to Robert’s canon of post Vinegar Joe work. It’s a no- brainer. Did you fancy her long hair or something?

@jonsilence

8y↑6

Rob Zombie on guitar! :) And Robert Palmer channeling Jagger...

@ericn1450

3y↑1

Considering the talents of the two lead singers it is practically shocking the band was unsuccessful.

@seymourfroggs

Robet Palmer being cool, Elkie Brooks can't keep still!

@Toudie6649

9y↑2

now that s what I m taking . about ??

@ashleygent1080

This is real music..jagged ripped Robert off lol

@spoonful1018

special

@milowagon

11y

Not happy! As the track draws to a close there is a girls vocal group doo dooing in the mix, but no ladies in the band (excluding Elkie) My whole youth was based on the Whistle Test being totally live......it appears not to be so. Oh well! another illusion shattered. Good track though.