Autograph (volume)
| Autograph | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Hard rock , glam metal , heavy metal |
| founding | 1983, 2002-2005, 2013 |
| resolution | 1989 |
| Founding members | |
| Steve Plunkett (1983–1989, 2002–2005) | |
| Steve Lynch | |
| Randy Rand | |
| Steven Isham (1983-1989) | |
| Keni Richards (1983–1988, 2013–2014) | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Simon Daniels (since 2013) |
guitar |
Steve Lynch (1983–1989, since 2013) |
bass |
Randy Rand (1983–1989, since 2013) |
Drums |
Marc Wieland (since 2014) |
| former members | |
Drums |
Eddie Cross (1988-1989) |
guitar |
TJ Helmerich (2002-2005) |
bass |
Lance Morrison (2002-2005) |
Drums |
Matt Laug (2002-2005) |
Autograph is an American glam metal band from Pasadena , California . The band is best known for their hit Turn Up the Radio .
history
Foundation and successes (1983–1988)
Autograph was founded in 1983 by singer and songwriter Steve Plunkett after he left the band Silver Condor . Plunkett began to record and write his own material with musician friends with whom he had already played in other bands.
Lead guitarist was Steve Lynch , whom Plunkett knew from his time in the band Looker . Lynch was previously with Savoy Brown and in the backing band of Greg Lake . Plunkett knew the bassist Randy Rand from the band Wolfgang , with whom he had played in the clubs of Pasadena. He gave up his engagement with Lita Ford for Autograph . Keyboardist Steve Isham gave the band a more commercial and pop-oriented sound. Drummer Keni Richards and Plunkett knew each other from their time together in the band John Doe . Richards' acquaintance with Van Halen front man David Lee Roth eventually led to the band's breakthrough. Autograph was making demo recordings when David Lee Roth offered the band to go on tour with Van Halen. The band had not signed a record deal or released an album at the time. The tour was the big 1984 tour in which Autograph appeared as the opening act at 48 concerts. Finally, after a concert at Madison Square Garden , New York in March 1984 , the band was offered a recording deal by RCA Records .
The band then went into the studio to record Sign In Please , which was released in October 1984. After the album received little attention at first, the single Turn Up the Radio became a big hit. Ironically, the song was picked for the album at the last minute. Also noteworthy is Steve Lynch's guitar solo in Turn Up the Radio , in which Lynch uses his two-handed tapping technique in a very melodic way . The solo was voted Guitar Solo of the Year in 1985 by Guitar Player Magazine .
The second album That's the Stuff was recorded and released in the fall of 1985. Autograph went on tour as the opening act with various bands such as Mötley Crüe and Heart .
Autograph finally published Loud and Clear in the spring of 1987. Ozzy Osbourne and Vince Neil von Mötley Crüe have a guest appearance in the music video for the title track . The album was still not a great success. The band members cite the lack of support and promotion from their record company as the reason.
The separation of RCA and the dissolution of the band (1988–1989)
In 1988 the band separated from RCA Records. Keyboardist Isham left the band and was not replaced as the band wanted a harder sound without keyboards. One began to record a new album, but the work was discontinued again because no interested record label could be found.
Richards also left the band at this time. He was replaced by Eddie Cross, the band went on a small tour and made sporadic recordings. A new record deal with Epic Records did not come off at the last minute and the band broke up after six years.
Autograph version 2.03
Steve Plunkett founded "Autograph v2.03" in 2002 with a new line-up and in 2003 released an album called Buzz . The idea for this came to him, who had in the meantime been involved in music composition for over 40 films, while working on the soundtrack for the film Rock Star , which is set in a hair-metal environment . However, this band broke up in 2005.
Reunion (from 2013)
The founding members came together for a reunion in 2013. However, Steve Plunkett was not interested and was replaced by Simon Daniels. The band is planning new recordings and releases. A new single called You Are Us, We Are You was released in January 2015. In 2017, Get Off Your Ass was released for the first time in 14 years, a new album.
style
Paul Suter described the style as "high energy pop metal". Oliver Klemm called it "heavy pop rock". In Metal Star Autograph ran under "Melodic Charts-Hardrock". In the Rock Hard Encyclopedia , the style was described as “tight and melodious, guitar-heavy hard rock”. And in short as " AOR ". Randy Rand saw his band in the 1986 Crash Interview as a party band.
The Eclipsed wrote about the album Buzz that it was "Melodic Hard Rock", similar to Shakra or Hardline .
Reception and trivia
- The song Turn Up the Radio was part of the soundtrack for the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and was heard in the game on the radio station V-Rock .
- Turn Up the Radio is ranked 93rd in “The 100 Greatest Rock Songs” by VH1.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
|||
| 1984 | Sign In Please |
US29  (29 weeks)US |
First published: October 1984
|
| 1985 | That's the stuff |
US92 (15 weeks) US |
First published: October 1985
|
| 1987 | Loud and Clear |
US108 (15 weeks) US |
First published: March 1987
|
more publishments
- 1997: Missing Pieces
- 2003: More Missing Pieces
- 2003: Buzz
- 2011: The Anthology
- 2016: Louder
- 2017: Get Off Your Ass
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
US
|
|||
| 1984 | Turn Up the Radio Sign In Please |
US29 (19 weeks) US |
First published: December 1984
|
More singles
- 1985: Send Her to Me
- 1986: Blondes in Black Cars
- 1986: That's the stuff
- 1987: Loud and Clear
- 1987: Dance All Night
- 1988: She Never Looked That Good For Me
Individual evidence
- ↑ 30 Years Ago: Autograph Release 'Sign In Please'
- ↑ a b c Silvie Simmons: Autograph in the empire of the Navajos . In: Crash . The definitive hard rock & metal magazine. February 1986, p. 34 ff .
- ↑ Legendary Rock Interview with Autograph bassist Randy Rand | Legendary rock interviews
- ↑ a b c Steve Lynch, Autograph, Steve Plunkett, Sign in Please, Turn up the Radio, That's the Stuff
- ↑ Legendary Rock Interview with Keni Richards of Autograph and Dirty White Boy | Legendary rock interviews
- ↑ LynchLicks - About ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c Steve Plunkett Interview (2003)
- ^ Renald Mienert: Autograph Version 2.03. Back with a new version . In: Eclipsed . Rock magazine. No. 55 , September 2003, magazine, p. 13 .
- ↑ Sign In, Please: Guitarist Steve Lynch Discusses the Return of Autograph | Guitar World
- ↑ Reactivated Autograph To Release First New Song In Over 25 Years - Blabbermouth.net
- ↑ Get Off Your Ass , review on powermetal.de
- ↑ Paul Suter: Autograph. Los Angeles . In: Crash . The definitive hard rock & metal magazine. September 1987, On Stage, p. 74 .
- ↑ Oliver Klemm: Autograph. Missing pieces . In: Rock Hard . No. 121 , June 1997, p. 110 .
- ↑ Autographs have awakened to new life . In: Metal Star . Europe's Leading Hardrock Monthly. February 1990, News, p. 12 .
- ↑ Holger Stratmann (Ed.): Rock Hard Enzyklopädie . 700 of the most interesting rock bands from the last 30 years. Rock Hard GmbH, Dortmund 1998, ISBN 3-9805171-0-1 , autograph, p. 30 .
- ↑ R [enald] M [ienert]: Autograph. "Buzz" . In: Eclipsed . Rock magazine. No. 53 , June 2003, CD Reviews, pp. 38 .
- ↑ VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs - Stereogum
- ↑ a b Chart sources: US
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: US
