Lucifer's Friend is a German hard rock band, formed in Hamburg in 1970 by guitarist Peter Hesslein, singer John Lawton, bassist Dieter Horns, keyboardist Peter Hecht, and drummer Joachim Reitenbach. The group was an early practitioner of heavy metal and progressive rock; they also incorporated elements of jazz and fusion into their music, especially in their fourth album Banquet of 1974. Beyond heavy metal, the band has been cited, too, as one of the pioneers of doom metal, helping to define both genres due to their heavy sound and dark oriented lyrics of their acclaimed debut Lucifer's Friend of 1970, and returning to their roots in 1981 with Mean Machine, although more influenced by speed metal.
John Cooper Lawton is a rock and blues vocalist best known for his work with Lucifer's Friend, Uriah Heep and the Les Humphries Singers.
The James Last Orchestra was a German/multinational big-band orchestra. The orchestra was established in 1964 as a studio orchestra, led by jazz musician Hans Last. The orchestra started touring in 1968 and has been very popular worldwide. From 1965, Polydor Records named him 'James Last', as they thought the name 'James' would be more suitable for the international market.
Prince of Darkness may refer to:
Blues from Laurel Canyon is a 1968 album by John Mayall, featuring British blues music. It was his first album after the breakup of his band the Bluesbreakers in May 1968, though others claim it was on 14 July 1968. It was also his last album with Decca before moving to Polydor.
Lucifer's Friend is the first studio album by the hard rock band Lucifer's Friend, released in 1970. Lucifer's Friend would change directions multiple times on upcoming albums. However, the progressive and krautrock influenced proto-doom metal on this album lives up to the sinister cover.
I'm Just a Rock 'n' Roll Singer is the third album released by progressive rock band Lucifer's Friend in 1973. This album marks the point where they completely turn away from dark lyrics and heavy metal sound.
Banquet is the fourth album by German progressive rock band Lucifer's Friend, released in 1974. By this time there was no hard rock sound, it was now strictly progressive rock mixed with jazz fusion. The song "Our World Is a Rock 'n' Roll Band" was the opening track on some versions of the original LP release, but the only CD releases to date do not include this track, which can instead be found as a bonus track on the Repertoire Records CD release of their self-titled debut.
Double Diamond is the sixth album by British jazz-rock group If and the second to be issued in the U.S. on the Metromedia Records label. With only Dick Morrissey left from the original band, the new line-up featured Fi Trench (keyboards) and Pete Arnesen (keyboards), Steve Rosenthal, Kurt Palomaki (bass) and Cliff Davies (drums). It was recorded at The Manor recording studios shortly after Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, and released in 1973.
Sneak Me In is the seventh album by Lucifer's Friend, an album in which Mike Starrs, formerly of Colosseum II, replaced John Lawton on vocals for a second time. This album and the previous Good Time Warrior (1978) were an attempt at a more commercial, accessible style which met with limited success. Starrs was replaced by the returning Lawton, for 1981's Mean Machine.
Good Time Warrior is the sixth album by Lucifer's Friend, an album in which Mike Starrs, formerly of Colosseum II, replaced John Lawton on vocals for the first time. This album and the following Sneak Me In (1980) were an attempt at a more commercial, mainstream style which met with limited commercial success. Starrs was eventually replaced by the returning Lawton for 1981's Mean Machine.
Mind Exploding is the fifth album by Lucifer's Friend. This album marks the point where they returned to a more hard rock oriented style with less of a progressive rock sound. It is more or less the missing link between I'm Just a Rock & Roll Singer (1973) and Banquet (1974); with the hard rock driven sound of the former, it still has the occasional horn section and progressiveness of the latter. This is the last album with John Lawton on vocals before he joined Uriah Heep. Lawton returned to Lucifer's Friend in 1981 to record the Mean Machine album.
Mean Machine is the eighth album by German rock band Lucifer's Friend, released in 1982.
Sumogrip is the ninth and final album by Lucifer's Friend before their reunion in 2014. This album once again displays the wide variety of styles Lucifer's Friend is famous for throughout their previous albums, living up to the "no album is the same" mantra. The band would stay together for a few years after the album's release before breaking up.
The Devil's Touch is the first of three compilation albums by Lucifer's Friend. This compilation collects some of Lucifer's Friend's best songs from their first album Lucifer's Friend (1970) up to Mind Exploding (1976). This compilation was released by Fontana Records in 1976. The other compilation would be released by Vertigo Records in 1980, which was called Rock Heavies: Lucifer's Friend.
Rock Heavies: Lucifer's Friend is the second of two compilation albums by Lucifer's Friend. This compilation collects some of Lucifer's Friend's best songs from their first album, Lucifer's Friend (1970), third album I'm Just a Rock & Roll Singer (1973), and fifth album Mind Exploding (1976). This compilation was released by Vertigo Records in 1980. This compilation is not as extensive as the Fontana Records release, The Devil's Touch (1976), in that it only includes three songs from Lucifer's Friend, one song from I'm Just a Rock & Roll Singer, and four songs from Mind Exploding.
Mutiny on the Mamaship is the debut album by former Parliament-Funkadelic drummer Jerome Brailey and his band Mutiny. The album was released by Columbia Records in 1979. The album was released a year after Brailey left P-Funk due to a financial dispute. This album featured a lyric sheet showing the dissatisfied content relating to George Clinton's treatment of members of the band.
Baby was an American southern rock band from Texas, from 1970 to 1977. The band created its own company Baby Enterprises, Inc., based in Amarillo, Texas, to take care of the range of interests a musical group has. One of its branches was Lone Starr Records to which Baby signed itself in the mid-1970s. Baby had a legion of fans in the Midwest and South in 1975-76 and headlined venues like the famed Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa while generating regional radio airplay on the band's first single, (It's Another) Saturday Night.
Electric Food is the self-titled album of Electric Food, a studio project that included (uncredited) singer George Mavros with musicians from Lucifer's Friend that released two albums in 1970, the other being Flash. In 2004 Electric Food and Flash were released on one CD by Mason Records. Both Electric Food albums sound very similar to Lucifer's Friend's debut but include strong influences from Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, and Spooky Tooth.
Flash is the second and final album by Electric Food. Soon after its release, the core of band formed Asterix and recorded one album: Asterix. Less than a year later Asterix would change their name to Lucifer's Friend. In 2004 Electric Food and Flash were released on one CD by Mason Records. Both Electric Food albums sound very similar to Lucifer's Friend's debut but include strong influences from Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, and Spooky Tooth.
