Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1969. The band released its first album in 1973, having settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Glenn Hughes is an English bassist and singer, best known for playing bass and performing vocals in funk rock band Trapeze and in the Mk. III and IV line-ups of Deep Purple, as well as briefly fronting Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s. He is known by fans as "The Voice of Rock" due to his soulful and wide-ranging singing voice.
Swans are an American experimental rock band formed in 1982 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. One of few acts to emerge from the New York City-based no wave scene and stay intact into the next decade, Swans have become recognized for an ever-changing sound, exploring genres such as noise rock, post-punk, industrial and post-rock. Initially, their music was known for its sonic brutality and misanthropic lyrics. Following the addition of singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to incorporate melody and intricacy into their music. Jarboe remained the band's only constant member except Gira and semi-constant guitarist Norman Westberg until their dissolution in 1997.
Berlin is an American new wave band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained commercial success in the 1980s with singles including "The Metro", "Sex ", "No More Words" and the chart-topping "Take My Breath Away" from the 1986 film Top Gun. The best-known lineup consisted of singer Terri Nunn, bass guitarist and vocalist John Crawford, keyboardist David Diamond, guitarist Ric Olsen, keyboardist Matt Reid, and drummer Rod Learned.
Stanley Clarke is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fusion bassist to headline tours, sell out shows worldwide and have recordings reach gold status.
The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained as the only constant member throughout the band's career. They have explored a number of different styles, but their music is mainly a mix of folk music with rock and roll. They dissolved in 1993 when Scott departed to pursue a solo career. The group reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and to tour worldwide. Scott emphasises a continuity between The Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions."
Toto is an American rock band formed in 1977 in Los Angeles. The band's current lineup consists of Steve Lukather, David Paich, and Joseph Williams (vocals), as well as touring musicians, John Pierce (bass), Robert "Sput" Searight (drums), Dominique "Xavier" Taplin, Steve Maggiora and Warren Ham. Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, blues and jazz.
Marc Riley is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music.
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe were a progressive rock band active from 1988 to 1990 that comprised four past members of the English progressive rock band Yes. Singer Jon Anderson left Yes as he felt increasingly constrained by their commercial and pop-oriented direction in the 1980s. He began an album with other members from the band's 1970s era: guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Bill Bruford, plus bassist Tony Levin.
Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they were among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal and were associated with the birth of a tougher attitude within the hardcore scene in the late 1980s, related to the world of martial arts. Harley Flanagan and John Joseph are practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing, respectively.
Molly Hatchet is an American southern rock band formed by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1971. They were a popular band during the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s among the Southern rock and hard rock communities. The band released six studio albums on Epic Records between 1978 and 1984, including the platinum-selling hit records Molly Hatchet (1978), Flirtin' with Disaster (1979) and Beatin' the Odds (1980). They also had successful hits on the Billboard charts, including "Flirtin' with Disaster", "The Rambler", "Bloody Reunion" and "Satisfied Man". Molly Hatchet has released eight more studio albums since their split with Epic in 1985, although none of them have been as successful as their early albums, nor charted in the United States.
Joseph Thomas Elliott is an English singer-songwriter, musician, record producer and radio presenter, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the English hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute band the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band Down 'n' Outz. He is one of the two original members of Def Leppard still in the band and one of the three to perform on every Def Leppard album. Elliott is known for his distinctive and wide ranging raspy singing voice.
Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992. Campbell has also worked with Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King.
JoBoxers are a British new wave group formed in 1982, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne. Wayne, under the name Buzz Wayne, had previously fronted the New York-based rockabilly band Buzz and the Flyers.
Hipsway are a Scottish pop/new wave band.
Dale Thompson is an American singer, musician and songwriter. In 1983, along with his younger brother Troy, Dale formed the band Matrix and began writing original material. In 1986, Matrix was signed to a record deal and changed their name to Bride. Between 1986 and 2013, Thompson released 14 studio albums with Bride, along with five solo albums, before disbanding the group, with the brothers remaining the only two original members throughout Bride's career. A lyric tenor in Bride's early days, Thompson was known for his powerful and stratospheric voice, as is evidenced on such early Bride songs as "Evil That Men Do", "Hell No" and "Here Comes the Bride".
Chris Bostock is an English musician, songwriter and music producer, known for his work with JoBoxers, Subway Sect, Dave Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboys, The Style Council, Spear of Destiny, The X-Certs and The Stingrays.
Bradford is an English indie band originally from Blackburn, Lancashire, England. Current members of the group include vocalist-lyricist Ian Hodgson and musicians Ewan Butler and Stephen Street.
Patrick Simmons is an American musician best known as a founding member of the rock band The Doobie Brothers. Born in Aberdeen, Washington, he has been the only consistent member of the band throughout their tenure. Simmons wrote and sang many songs for the Doobie Brothers, including "South City Midnight Lady", "Dependin' On You", "Echoes of Love", "Wheels of Fortune" and "Black Water", the group's first #1 record.
James Grant is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter. He grew up in Glasgow's Castlemilk district and still resides in the city.
