Limelight (band)
| Limelight | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | Mansfield , England |
| Genre (s) | New Wave of British Heavy Metal , Hard Rock , Progressive Rock |
| founding | 1974, 1997 |
| resolution | 1987 or later, 1997 |
| Current occupation | |
| Ian Beestin | |
| Glenn Scrimshaw | |
| Clive Jackson | |
Keyboard, electric bass , vocals
|
Mike Scrimshaw |
| former members | |
Drums |
Pat Coleman |
Limelight was an English rock and new wave of British heavy metal band from Mansfield that was formed in 1974 and disbanded around 1987. In 1997 the group got back together for a few appearances.
history
The Scrimshaw brothers Glenn and Mike had been active in various bands since 1964, although they had not yet finished school at that time. They also released two singles in 1972. Members in this early phase included bassist John Dakin, drummer Jimmy Stephenson, bassist and singer Trevor Wilson and singer John Brierly. In 1974 Pat Coleman joined the duo as a permanent drummer, after which it was decided to found Limelight. Here Glenn officially took over the electric guitar and Mike the bass and keyboard. In reality, the trio often switched instruments among themselves, especially when recording in the band's own studio, which had been set up by the Scrimshaw family. Mike contributed second guitar tracks, while Glen switched to keyboard or Mellotron and Coleman took over the vocals. The first local appearances followed in the Midlands and in the north of England. After that, the band also performed in mainland Europe and Australia . In Doncaster , the band signed a contract with Future Earth Records , which in 1980 the single Metal Man with the song Hold Me, Touch Me appeared as the B-side . In the second half of 1980, the self-titled debut album was recorded at Matrix Studios in London and released a few months later. The release was accompanied by a nationwide tour with Saxon in the winter . The group also performed at the Hammersmith Odeon in London . During this time the band also performed with Gary Moore . In 1981 the album was re-released on Avatar Records , which gave it better distribution. In the following months Limelight went on tour with Dark Star and Chevy , who were signed to Avatar Records. Towards the end of the year the single Ashes to Ashes was recorded, which had not yet been included on any album, with the song Knife in Your Back , which differs slightly from the album version, as the B-side. The release took place in early 1982 on Future Earth Records. To promote the single, other gigs were held, with Limelight also starring at the Monmore Festival alongside bands like Tytan and Vardis . In the following years the band played a few appearances, several times in the Marquee Club and played songs such as Human Emotion , Drowning , Over the Wall and Red Light , which could not be found on any sound carrier, and a cover version of All Along the Watchtower . It wasn't until 1984, when the debut album was re-released on Mausoleum Records , that the band became more active again. This re-release is called Ashes to Ashes and contains the title song as a bonus. Meanwhile, the group wrote new songs and contributed the title song and One Day at a Time to the low-budget film White Fire . In the mid-1980s, the band came together for several recordings and stayed mostly in Germany . The band recorded a second album called White Fire with producer Bernard Fransits . However, due to differences between the members as well as the production team, it remained unpublished. An attempt to release a new album in the second half of the 1980s also failed. Since 1987, the band has also stopped performing. That year she had played a couple of comeback shows in the Midlands. No liquidation was officially announced. In the period that followed, the Scrimshaw brothers continued to write songs for their own use, occasionally performing as the Stumble Brothers or with other bands. Sometimes they got back together as a trio to play at private parties.
style
According to Malc Macmillan in The NWOBHM Encyclopedia , the band was initially influenced by Rush and Led Zeppelin . On Metal Man , the band had developed a distinctive and accomplished style, which, however, didn't have much in common with the style of other young NWoBHM bands at the time. The music is semi- progressive and can be classified between Cryer , Spitzbrook and Bleak House . The songs White Fire and One Day at a Time would have a more commercial sound. Manfred Kerschke found in NWoBHM New Wave of British Heavy Metal The glory Days that the single Metal Man offers "melodic heavy sound" with progressive complexity and old sounds, such as Yes , and newer ones such as Iron Maiden . The later White Fire is a semi-ballad and has little to do with the old song material. The song has been "trimmed for radio suitability" and makes heavy use of keyboard sounds. In The International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal , the music is referred to as a mixture of pomp rock and straight rock or of Rainbow and Led Zeppelin. In his review of the self-titled album, Martin Popoff drew comparisons in his book The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties with old Thin Lizzy and UFO , White Spirit , a pop version of Iron Maiden and eccentric progressive rock. The album is considered to be a pioneer of Gothic Metal with double lead guitars and competent vocals. According to Eduardo Rivadavia from Allmusic , the single Metal Man offers unusual progressive hard rock, but is not too far removed from bands like Iron Maiden, Diamond Head and Saxon. The debut album goes even more against progressive hard rock and has hardly anything to do with heavy metal . He compared the single Ashes to Ashes with works by UFO. In 1997 the band was revived for isolated appearances and now consisted of keyboardist Clive Jackson, guitarist Trevor Wilson and drummer Ian Beestin in addition to the Scrimshaw brothers.
Discography
- 1980: Limelight (album, Future Earth Records )
- 1980: Metal Man (single, Future Earth Records)
- 1982: Ashes to Ashes (single, Future Earth Records)
- 1984: Ashes to Ashes (album, re-release of the debut album with the title song as a bonus, Mausoleum Records )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Eduardo Rivadavia: Limelight. Allmusic , accessed March 12, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c d e Malc Macmillan: The NWOBHM Encyclopedia . IP Verlag Jeske / Mader GbR, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-931624-16-3 , p. 353 ff .
- ↑ a b c Biography. (No longer available online.) Rockdetector.com, archived from the original on March 12, 2016 ; accessed on March 12, 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.
- ^ Matthias Mader, Otger Jeske, Manfred Kerschke: NWoBHM New Wave of British Heavy Metal The glory Days . Iron Pages, Berlin 1995, p. 119 f .
- ↑ 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. 192 .
- ↑ 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. 198 .
