1980s
WARLOCK
Fronted by former model Doro Pesch, the German metal band Warlock originally consisted of guitarists Rudy Graf and Peter Szigeti, bassist Frank Rittel, and drummer Michael "Micha" Eurich. Warlock originally formed in 1982 in Dusseldorf, Germany, and spent the majority of the next year playing in various German clubs, gathering a solid fan base.
The group was heavily influenced by such fellow European metal outfits as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Accept, both musically and with their lyric/subject matter. The quintet issued their debut album in 1984, Burning the Witches, following it up with 1985's Hellbound. The release was accompanied by a tour of Europe. The band also signed a contract with Phonogram that same year. Rudy Graf left the band later in the year, to be replaced by Niko Arvanitis, of Stormwind.
In 1986 the band released their third album: True As Steel, which received a considerable amount of air play in North America, mainly due to their hit single 'Fight For Rock'. Warlock’s first music video accompanied the single and appeared on MTV. 1986 was also the same year Warlock played at England's annual mammoth metal festival, Download. the band also opened for the 'Fight For Rock' festival in Manheim, West Germany that summer, alongside The Scorpions, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Ozzy.
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Frank Rittel and Peter Szigeti soon left the band, to be replaced by Tommy Bolan and Tommy Henriksen. However, Rittel and Szigeti appeared on Udo Dirkschneider’s solo album ‘Animal House’ in 1987. Warlock released a fourth album, with their brand new line-up ‘Triumph and Agony’ in 1987. the video for the single ‘All We Are’ was played regularly on MTV’s “Headbangers Ball”. Warlock proceeded to play their only US tour, opening for Megadeth.
Niko Arvanitis and Michael Eurich left Warlock in December 1987, and were replaced by Bobby Rondinelli and Jon Levin. Doro Pesch now remains the only original member. Doro is still active and still performs Warlock material. In 2004 Doro rejoined some of the original band members to play a selection of various festivals.
Albums:
Source: artistdirect.com
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Def Leppard
Iron Maiden
Megadeth
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Warlock Video
BLOW MONKEYS
The British pop band, Blow Monkeys were founded in 1981 by frontman Dr. Robert, bassist Mick Anker, Saxophonist Neville Henry and drummer Tony Kiley. A new wave orientated act they released their first single, “Live Today Love Tomorrow” in 1982 before becoming a more commercial pop rock act and then a dance act before splitting in the 1990s.
Their debut album, “Limping for a Generation” was released in 1984 but wasn’t a major success. Their first major success came in 1986 with the release of their second album, “Animal Magic” and the hit single “Digging Your Scene” which reached No.12 in the UK and No.14 in the US. January 1987 saw their third album, “She Was Only a Grocer’s Daughter” released which made No.20 in the UK mainly thanks to the single, “It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way” which made No.5 in the singles chart.
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1990 saw the release of their final album, “Springtime for the World” before the band split up. In 2007 the band members announced a reunion with a new album, “Devil’s Tavern” and a tour in 2008.
Discography:
Source: ArtistDirect; Wikipedia
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Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band established in 1965 by Syd Barrett (lead vocals and lead guitar), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass guitar) and Richard Wright (vocals and keyboard). They became famous for their psychedelic and space rock music which later evolved to progressive rock. The band is known for its imaginative live shows, album cover art, philosophical lyrics and experimental music.
Pink Floyd have sold more than 200 million albums globally making them one of the most successful rock acts of all time and they have also been an influence to many 1970s bands such as Yes and Genesis. Pink Floyd enjoyed relative success in the late 1960s especially in the London underground music scene before Barrett’s erratic behavior led to him being replaced by David Gilmour. Bass player Roger Waters then became a tour de force within the band and remained dominant until his departure in 1985.
'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn', released in 1967, was the band’s debut album and was well received at the time and is now considered a prime example of British psychedelic music. The reason Barrett was let go from the band was for his excessive use of LSD causing him to spend concerts staring into space or playing one chord for the whole performance.
After Barrett’s departure and the introduction of David Gilmour the band released the album 'A Saucerful of Secrets' which reached No.9 in the UK charts and is the only Pink Floyd album not to chart in the US. It featured the 12 minute epic title track and hinted at what was to come from this band. They were then recruited to produce the soundtrack for the film, ‘More’, which was released in 1969. The music was released as an album in its own right called 'Soundtrack from the Film More'. They then released the double album, 'Ummagumma' which was an avant-garde mix of solo projects, studio experimentation and live recordings. The album was critically acclaimed and proves Pink Floyd’s most popular release yet charting at No. 5 in the UK. Their next album, 'Atom Heart Mother'. proved a great success and reached No.1 in the UK and No. 55 in the US. This allowed Pink Floyd to embark on their first full US tour.
1970-75 was the bands big breakthrough period and produced what many consider the band’s two masterpiece albums, 'The Dark Side of the Moon' and 'Wish You Were Here'. 'The Dark Side of the Moon' became the band’s first No.1 in the US and is the third highest selling album of all time (behind 'Thriller' and 'Back in Black') selling over 45 million copies worldwide. It stayed in the US Billboard Top 200 for 741 weeks. It only ever reached No. 2 in the UK but staying in the charts for an incredible 301 weeks. 1975 saw the release of 'Wish You Were Here' which was just as well received by critics and fans alike and is the only Pink Floyd album to chart at No.1 in both the UK and the US.
'Animals', their next album release was a highly political album and although reaching No. 2 and No. 3 in the UK and US charts respectively it wasn’t well received by critics. 1979 saw the release of “The Wall” which gave Pink Floyd new acclaim and included the likes of 'Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)', 'Comfortably Numb' and 'Run Like Hell'. It sold over 11.5 million copies and was certified 23x platinum by the RIAA.
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1985 saw Waters leave the band and Gilmour take up the leaders mantle and enjoyed success with the release of “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” which charted at No.3 in both the UK and US and then in 1988 released the double album, 'Delicate Sound of Thunder'. In 1994 the band released 'The Division Bell' which was the 2nd Pink Floyd to reach No.1 in both the UK and US. 1996 saw the band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Pink Floyd appeared at Live 8 and it was hoped that the band would take up a $250 million dollar offer of a world tour but they refused.
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
