Dark Star (Birmingham)
| Dark Star | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | Birmingham , England |
| Genre (s) | New Wave of British Heavy Metal , Hard Rock , Adult Orientated Rock |
| founding | 1979 as Berlin, 1985 |
| resolution | 1982, 1987 |
| Current occupation | |
| Mark Oseland | |
| Steve Atkins | |
| Bob Key | |
Electric guitar |
Dave Harrison |
| Rik Staines | |
| former members | |
Electric bass |
Chris Causton |
Dark Star was an English new wave of British heavy metal and rock band from Birmingham , which was founded in 1979 under the name Berlin , dissolved in 1982, reunited in 1985 before finally dissolved in 1987.
history
The band was founded in 1979 under the name Berlin and consisted of the brothers Dave Harrison (electric guitar) and Rik Staines (vocals, keyboard), bassist Chris Causton, guitarist Bob Key and drummer Steve Atkins. They had previously run a cover band called Nightride, but adopted the name Berlin after they started writing their own songs. In the same year it went on tour through Great Britain with Budgie . A first demo followed , whereupon EMI became aware of the band and the song Lady of Mars was used for the second edition of the sampler Metal for Muthas , which was released in the spring of 1980. The label had previously drawn the band's attention to the fact that at least one other band was already using the name Berlin, whereupon they renamed themselves Dark Star.
In the summer of 1980, two more new songs were recorded with Rock 'n' Romancin and Renegade . In addition, the group worked on a first self-financed single, which should also contain Lady of Mars . However, since a person who was heavily involved in the organization of the recording process had stolen the money, press reports were published that the release of the sound carrier and the associated appearances could no longer be carried out due to the lack of money. Nevertheless, the single, if only in very small numbers, was released on the band's own label Steel Strike Records under the name Lady of Mars with Rock 'n' Romancin and Renegade in 1980. At Avatar Records , the single was re-released, but the song Renegade was no longer included. The label also financed a number of appearances, with Dark Star appearing on their "The Metallical Mystery Tour" together with White Spirit and Angel Witch . In late 1980, Causton left the cast and was replaced by Mark Oseland. In early 1981 the group began work on their self-titled debut album, which was released on Avatar Records that same year.
After the release it went on tour through Great Britain together with label colleagues Limelight and Chevy . This was followed by appearances in Europe together with Ten Years After , Budgie and Magnum . 1981 appeared in Spain on Avatar Records Lady of Mars , but with a different B-side called Louisa . The second single from the album Kaptain America was released exclusively in Spain in 1982, also with Louisa as the B-side. That same year, Avatar Records declared its bankruptcy. Then the band broke up. In 1993 the debut album in Japan was re-released on Pony Canyon with six bonus songs. In addition, the album was released again in 2013 on Rock Candy with seven songs as a bonus.
Towards the end of 1985 the band was revived. The band, now consisting of Harrison, Staines and Key as well as session members who completed the line-up in the studio and live, then held gigs with Robin George , among others , before signing a record deal with FM-Revolver Records . The second album Real to Reel was released in 1987 . It features backing vocals from original members Steve Atkins and Chris Causton. Other guest musicians include steel drummer Simon Atkins, keyboardist Paul Hodson and bassist Dave Keates. Shortly after the release, the band broke up again.
style
According to Malc Macmillan in The NWOBHM Encyclopedia , the group plays typical music of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal on their debut album, reminiscent of Diamond Head and early Def Leppard . Real to Reel would especially appeal to the adult-oriented rock market and is comparable to music from Jokers Wild , Voyager and Winter's Reign . Songs like Spy Zone and Sad Day in London Town would lean strongly towards pop music and no longer have anything to do with the original band. In NWoBHM New Wave of British Heavy Metal The glory Days, Manfred Kerschke described the music as a mixture of hard rock at medium speed and smooth American pomp rock . Real to Reel offers hard rock influenced by the United States, which he described as conservative. The strong keyboard use is also characteristic. A saxophone is also used on the album . The International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal described the music of the debut album as honest British rock, which leans against American adult oriented rock. Martin Popoff noted in his review in The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties that Dark Star was one of the more promising NWoBHM bands, even if it was not successful. He drew a comparison with Iron Maiden of the 1970s and is also comparable with Gaskin , Witchfynde and Demon . The songs Lady of Mars and Lady Love have similarities to songs by Trespass , Diamond Head and a little Saxon . The songs would be based on a US rock charm and were anchored in the 1970s and expanded through the 1980s. Eduardo Rivadavia from Allmusic found Lady of Mars melodic and inspired by Thin Lizzy . The debut album is a small classic and comparable to Def Leppard and Diamond Head. The music of the second album is commercial adult oriented rock.
Discography
- 1980: Demo (demo, self-publication)
- 1980: Lady of Mars (single, Steel Strike Records)
- 1981: Dark Star (Album, Avatar Records )
- 1982: Kaptain Amerika (single, Avatar Records)
- 1987: Real to Reel (album, FM-Revolver Records )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Malc Macmillan: The NWOBHM Encyclopedia . IP Verlag Jeske / Mader GbR, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-931624-16-3 , p. 72 ff .
- ↑ a b c Eduardo Rivadavia: Dark Star. Allmusic , accessed February 7, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Biography. (No longer available online.) Rockdetector.com, archived from the original on February 7, 2016 ; accessed on February 7, 2016 . 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.
- ↑ Dark Star (10) - Dark Star. Discogs , accessed February 6, 2016 .
- ^ Matthias Mader, Otger Jeske, Manfred Kerschke: NWoBHM New Wave of British Heavy Metal The glory Days . Iron Pages, Berlin 1995, p. 101 .
- ↑ Tony Jasper, Derek Oliver: The International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal . Facts on File Inc., New York 1983, ISBN 0-8160-1100-1 , pp. 37 .
- ↑ Martin Popoff : The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties . Collectors Guide Ltd, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 2005, ISBN 1-894959-31-0 , p. 85 f .
