and a short speaking part in which Ferguson played a character based loosely on himself in the film Model Shop. Spirit also provided much of the instrumental soundtrack. The band went on to tour and record several albums. Jo Jo Gunne Ferguson and Mark Andes decided to leave Spirit in 1971 and form their own band. Ferguson was Jo Jo Gunne's main songwriter (writing virtually all the material) and only lead vocalist. Jo Jo Gunne became the second act signed to the new Asylum Records label. The band scored a moderate hit with the single "Run, Run, Run" from their debut album (1972). With the first record and some touring already completed, Mark Andes decided to leave and join a band that would later become Firefall, with his brother Matt staying behind with Jo Jo Gunne. Jimmie Randall, an Austin, Texas, bassist was recruited in Mark's place. Jo Jo Gunne toured all over the US and Europe for the next three years, and recorded three more albums, Bite Down Hard (1973), Jumpin' The Gunne (1974) and Where's The Show (1975). Matt Andes left the band after the third album and was temporarily replaced with Star Donaldson on lead guitar, and then, later, John Staehely. After a four-year existence, the group split up in the mid-1970s. Jo Jo Gunne reformed in 2005, and recorded a new album, Big Chain, which included both new material and new versions of several old Gunne songs. Solo career Ferguson took a year and a half off to rest, until record producer Bill Szymczyk asked Ferguson to come down to his Coconut Grove recording studio in Miami. He contributed in 1975 on piano and vocals to Joe Walsh's live recording of You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind, before Walsh subsequently went on to join Eagles. Ferguson recorded three studio albums and a limited-run live album for Asylum. While managed by Martin Pichinson, he scored a Top 10 hit with the title track on his second solo album, Thunder Island (1978), which peaked at No.9 in the US. Another minor hit was "Shakedown Cruise" (No. 31) from his last Asylum album, Real Life Ain't This Way. After his recording contract for Asylum was completed, Ferguson changed record labels, and recorded two more solo albums for Capitol Records. In 1983 his keyboards and bass were a prominent contribution to "Language", a 5-track EP by acclaimed Texas guitarist