After former members of Joe Cocker’s band decided to keep the master’s songs and unique live interpretation alive as the band “Cocker Rocks”, they teamed up with British singer Eliot Tuffin, recorded a live album, booked and announced a tour for spring 2018 and, in the following months, received a great amount of positive and widespread media attention. However, unexpected legal matters concerning post-mortem personal rights have surfaced which, in some countries, make it highly problematic to continue using the name “Cocker Rocks”.
Having always approached Cocker’s musical legacy with nothing but the highest regard, the band are filled with consternation and have changed their name accordingly: “In the best interest of being respectful of a man that gave us so much, we’ve decided to now be known as Mad Dogs Unchained. We hereby want to apologize to our fans for any confusion and wish you all a beautiful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!”
In the spirit of Cocker’s strong, grounded work ethic, Mad Dogs Unchained will continue what they have already set in motion. The tour in early 2018 will happen as planned, tickets of course will retain their validity. For the numerous fans, nothing but the band name will change. Because of the now mandatory sales ban, the 2017 live album released via SAOL/CMM will be taken from the market in its current form.A re-release for digital distribution named “Live 2017” is being prepared right now so that the album can be made available again as soon as possible via all the downloading and streaming platforms under the new band name Mad Dogs Unchained.
In further positive news: British amplifier builders VOX and the New York-based company Aguilar were so impressed with the Mad Dogs Unchained performance that they are now both officially endorsing the tour which starts in February 2018.
