Complete List of Affinity Albums And Songs

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Affinity, a progressive rock and jazz-rock band from England, emerged from the University of Sussex music scene in the late 1960s. The group’s classic lineup featured vocalist Linda Hoyle, guitarist Mike Jopp, bassist Mo Foster, keyboardist Lynton Naiff, and drummer Grant Serpell. With a shared interest in jazz, blues, psychedelic rock, and the experimental spirit of the era, Affinity developed a sound that blended sophisticated musicianship with the energy of rock. The band signed with Vertigo Records and released its self-titled album Affinity in 1970, produced by John Anthony and recorded at Trident Studios in London.

Affinity released only one studio album during its original lifetime. Linda Hoyle and Lynton Naiff left in 1971, after which Vivienne McAuliffe and Dave Watts joined the remaining members as the group worked on material intended for a second album. Those recordings were not issued at the time and eventually appeared as the archival collection 1971-72 in 2003. Additional live recordings, demos, early university-era performances, and reunion material have since expanded the Affinity catalog, while the original 1970 album has been repeatedly reissued, including a major four-CD remastered and expanded edition in 2021.

AFFINITY STUDIO ALBUMS

Affinity (1970)

Released 1970

The self-titled debut album Affinity was the band’s only studio album released during its original run. Produced by John Anthony and recorded at Trident Studios in London, the record combined Linda Hoyle’s powerful blues-influenced vocals with Lynton Naiff’s Hammond organ, Mike Jopp’s guitar, Mo Foster’s bass, and Grant Serpell’s drums. The original Vertigo LP contained seven tracks, including the Linda Hoyle and Lynton Naiff composition “Three Sisters,” the atmospheric “Night Flight,” and extended reinterpretations of material by The Everly Brothers, The Lovin’ Spoonful, and Bob Dylan. John Paul Jones contributed brass arrangements to the sessions, adding another layer to the album’s jazz-rock sound. Although the record did not become a major commercial success, it developed a strong reputation among progressive-rock and jazz-rock collectors. Its later reissues helped establish Affinity as one of the more distinctive short-lived British groups of the period.

Track Listing

“I Am and So Are You” – 3:33
“Night Flight” – 7:19
“I Wonder If I’ll Care as Much” – 3:24
“Mr. Joy” – 5:05
“Three Sisters” – 5:02
“Coconut Grove” – 2:40
“All Along the Watchtower” – 11:37

Three Sisters

Night Flight

I Am The Walrus

“I Am the Walrus” was not part of the original seven-track Vertigo LP. Affinity recorded the Beatles song for television in 1969, and the performance later appeared on archival and expanded editions of the band’s catalog.

AFFINITY ARCHIVAL AND RELATED ALBUMS

If You Live (2002)

Released 2002

If You Live collected Affinity recordings from 1968 through 1970 that had not appeared on the original Vertigo LP. The eight-track set includes versions of Laura Nyro’s “Eli’s Coming,” Mose Allison’s “If You Live,” Stevie Wonder’s “You Met Your Match,” and The Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus.” It also includes original material such as “Yes Man” and “Little Lonely Man.” The recordings feature the classic lineup of Linda Hoyle, Mike Jopp, Mo Foster, Grant Serpell, and Lynton Naiff. As an archival release, it gives a broader view of the band’s repertoire before and around the period of the 1970 album. Several of these recordings were later incorporated into expanded reissues of Affinity.

Track Listing

“Eli’s Coming” – 3:32
“United States of Mind” – 2:50
“Yes Man” – 7:25
“If You Live” – 3:16
“I Am the Walrus” – 4:08
“You Met Your Match” – 3:03
“Long Voyage” – 4:19
“Little Lonely Man” – 3:58

Live Instrumentals 1969 (2003)

Released February 4, 2003

Live Instrumentals 1969 documents a period when Linda Hoyle was temporarily unable to sing and the instrumental members of Affinity performed a residency at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London. The album features Mo Foster, Mike Jopp, Lynton Naiff, and Grant Serpell exploring jazz standards and contemporary material in extended instrumental arrangements. Songs include “Jive Samba,” “All Blues,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” and a version of The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” Additional tracks came from radio recordings and earlier university performances connected to the group’s origins. The collection shows how deeply Affinity’s rock sound was grounded in jazz before the band recorded its Vertigo album.

Track Listing

“Jive Samba” – 4:50
“Dis Here” – 5:48
“Comin’ Home Baby” – 3:48
“Out of the Storm” – 7:25
“Fever” – 3:15
“13 Death March” – 5:42
“All Blues” – 4:17
“81” – 4:01
“A Day in the Life” – 6:48
“All Blues” – 4:25
“81” – 4:36
“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” – 4:47
“Jive Samba” – 3:45
“On Green Dolphin Street” – 4:28

1971-72 (2003)

Released 2003

1971-72 documents the second incarnation of Affinity after Linda Hoyle and Lynton Naiff left the band. Vocalist Vivienne McAuliffe and keyboardist Dave Watts joined Mo Foster, Mike Jopp, and Grant Serpell as the group developed material for a proposed second studio album. The recordings were made as demos and full-band rehearsals rather than as a completed commercial album, and they remained unreleased until Angel Air issued the collection in 2003. The music includes new compositions alongside Jimmy Webb’s “Sunshower,” Mike d’Abo’s “Poor Man’s Son,” and a medley linking Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” with Miles Davis’ “It’s About That Time.” The album reveals a somewhat more folk-oriented and rock-based version of Affinity while retaining the band’s jazz influence. The group eventually folded after its members joined Mike d’Abo on tour in 1972.

Track Listing

“Moira’s Hand” – 5:21
“Grey Skies” – 8:42
“Cream on Your Face” – 5:23
“Sunshower” – 5:47
“All Along the Watchtower / It’s About That Time” – 7:45
“Rio” – 4:50
“Poor Man’s Son” – 3:25
“Sarah’s Wardrobe” – 4:17
“Highgate” – 3:56

Origins 1965-67 (2004)

Released June 8, 2004

Origins 1965-67 reaches back to the University of Sussex jazz trio that preceded Affinity. The recordings feature Lynton Naiff on piano, Nick Nicholas on double bass, and Mo Foster on drums, with material recorded at the university and other student settings between 1965 and 1967. The set is dominated by jazz standards including “Autumn Leaves,” “Django,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Dat Dere.” It also includes a later bonus recording with Linda Hoyle. Although these performances predate Affinity as a named band, the collection documents the musical foundation from which Affinity developed.

Track Listing

“Autumn Leaves”
“Django”
“My Funny Valentine”
“I Got Plenty of Nothing”
“Dat Dere”
“Lover Man”
“Blues Etude”
“Some Day My Prince Will Come”
“Cubano Chant”
“Jordu”
“My Funny Valentine”
“Autumn Leaves”
“You Look Good to Me”
“The Preacher”
“My Funny Valentine”

Origins: The Baskervilles 1965 (2007)

Released July 2, 2007

Origins: The Baskervilles 1965 documents another pre-Affinity group connected to Mo Foster’s university years. The Baskervilles were a college covers band, and these recordings capture their repertoire of Beatles, Rolling Stones, Byrds, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Ray Charles, and other contemporary material. Foster played drums in the group, several years before becoming Affinity’s bassist. The release is included here as an Affinity-related archival title rather than as a proper Affinity studio album. Its thirty-two tracks provide a detailed picture of the pop, rock, R&B, and jazz influences that surrounded Foster before Affinity formed.

Track Listing

“She’s Not There”
“I Feel Fine”
“It’s Good News Week”
“Mr. Tambourine Man”
“I Saw Her Standing There”
“Hallelujah I Love Her So”
“Freight Train”
“Love Potion No. 9”
“You Like Me Too Much”
“Day Tripper”
“We Can Work It Out”
“Peggy Sue Got Married”
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
“Yesterday”
“Bumble Bee”
“Perfidia”
“Another Girl”
“Summertime Blues”
“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
“Get Off of My Cloud”
“Sweets for My Sweet”
“Hang On Sloopy”
“Get Off of My Cloud” (Reprise)
“Mr. Tambourine Man” (Rehearsal)
“Always Something There to Remind Me” (Rehearsal)
“You Like Me Too Much” (Rehearsal)
“Perfidia” (Rehearsal)
“Trains and Boats and Planes” (Rehearsal)
“The Last Time” (Rehearsal)
“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”
“Take Five”
“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”

The Baskervilles Reunion 2011 (2012)

Released August 20, 2012

The Baskervilles Reunion 2011 returned to the music of the college band that preceded Affinity. Released by Angel Air in 2012, the album consists largely of covers from the 1950s and 1960s, including songs associated with Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, and The Zombies. The release is historically connected to Affinity through Mo Foster and the Sussex music scene rather than being a continuation of the 1970 Affinity lineup. Its inclusion in the wider catalog reflects the archival emphasis that developed around Affinity and its musical roots. The album closes with “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” extending the group’s repertoire beyond the beat and rock songs that dominate most of the set.

Track Listing

“Maybe Baby”
“I Feel Fine”
“C’mon Everybody”
“Mr. Tambourine Man”
“Satisfaction”
“Sleep Walk”
“Peggy Sue Got Married”
“The Sound of Silence”
“Hallelujah I Love Her So”
“We Can Work It Out”
“I Saw Her Standing There”
“Fever”
“Kansas City”
“She’s Not There”
“Summertime Blues”
“Love Potion No. 9”
“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”
“That’ll Be the Day”
“Yesterday”
“La Bamba”
“You Don’t Know What Love Is”

AFFINITY EXPANDED COLLECTION

Affinity: 4CD Remastered & Expanded Box Set (2021)

Released September 24, 2021

The four-CD remastered and expanded edition of Affinity brought together the band’s original album, bonus studio and broadcast recordings, the 1969 instrumental material, early University of Sussex recordings, and the 1971-72 sessions. Issued by Esoteric Recordings through Cherry Red, the box set remastered the surviving catalog and brought material previously spread across several archival releases into one collection. It includes the original seven-track Vertigo album alongside singles, BBC material, television recordings, live performances, demos, and rehearsals. Because much of the box duplicates songs already listed in the individual releases above, it does not repeat those tracks. The collection remains the most comprehensive single-package overview of Affinity’s recorded history.