Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. It is said that the band is one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. By the time Hansen left Helloween in 1989 to form Gamma Ray, the band had evolved into a five-piece, with Michael Kiske taking over as lead vocalist. Schwichtenberg and Kiske both parted ways with Helloween in 1993; Schwichtenberg died two years later as the result of suicide. Between then and 2016, there had been numerous line-up changes, leaving Grosskopf and Weikath as the only remaining original members. As a septet, their current lineup includes four-fifths of the Keeper of the Seven Keys: Parts I and II-era (1987–1988) lineup, featuring three additional members, vocalist Andi Deris, guitarist Sascha Gerstner and drummer Daniel Löble.
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater. They started out influenced by American folk rock, with a set list dominated by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs and a sound that earned them the nickname "the British Jefferson Airplane". Vocalists Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews joined them before the recording of their self-titled debut in 1968; afterwards, Dyble was replaced by Sandy Denny, with Matthews later leaving during the recording of their third album.
Dave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk and rock groups including the Ian Campbell Folk Group and Jethro Tull.
Kate Anna Rusby is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the best known contemporary English folk singers. In 2001 The Guardian described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene." In 2007 the BBC website described her as "The first lady of young folkies". She is one of the few folk singers to have been nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Kai Michael Hansen is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of another power metal band Helloween, which he was a part of from 1983 to 1989 and rejoined in 2016. He is a prominent figure in power metal and has sold millions of albums worldwide. He is regarded as "the godfather of power metal", having founded two seminal bands in the genre. In 2011, he joined the band Unisonic featuring former Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske. Hansen and Kiske reunited with Helloween in 2017 for a world tour with all current members, celebrating the 30-year anniversary of release of the albums Keeper of the Seven Keys Parts I and II.
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second British folk revival, contributing to some of the most important groups and projects of the 1960s, and he became a much sought-after session musician, which led him throughout his career to work with many of the major figures in folk and folk rock music.
Robb Jenner Johnson is a British musician and songwriter who has been called "one of the last genuinely political songwriters". He is known for his mix of political satire and wit. He has his own record label, Irregular Records, and has released more than 40 albums since 1985, either solo or in several collaborations.
Andreas "Andi" Deris is a German singer, best known as one of the three co-lead vocalists of the power metal band Helloween, and co-founder and former lead singer of the metal band Pink Cream 69.
Liege & Lief is the fourth album by the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. It is the third album the group released in the UK during 1969, all of which prominently feature Sandy Denny as lead female vocalist, as well as the first to feature future long-serving personnel Dave Swarbrick and Dave Mattacks on violin/mandolin and drums, respectively, as full band members. It is also the first Fairport album on which all songs are either adapted (freely) from traditional British and Celtic folk material, or else are original compositions written and performed in a similar style. Although Denny and founding bass player Ashley Hutchings quit the band before the album's release, Fairport Convention has continued to the present day to make music strongly based within the British folk rock idiom, and are still the band most prominently associated with it.
A Thorn for Every Heart is a post-hardcore band from Chino Hills, California.
Brian McNeill is a Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and musical director. He was a founding member of Battlefield Band which combined traditional Celtic melodies and new material.
The Railway Children are a British new wave band, formed in Wigan in 1984, by Gary Newby (songwriter/vocals/guitar/keyboards), Brian Bateman (rhythm/guitar), Guy Keegan (drums), and Stephen Hull (bass).
The Tansads were an English band from Wigan, Greater Manchester, who were active during the 1990s. Playing a mix of folk, punk and indie music they developed a strong following on the festival circuit and on the crusty/traveller scene, but never managed to achieve a commercial breakthrough. Their ultimately unsuccessful career later became the subject of a book by former member Ed Jones.
The following is a discography of Helloween, an influential German heavy metal band, credited as the "fathers" of the power metal subgenre.
The Young'uns are an English folk group from Stockton, County Durham, England, who won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Group" award in 2015 and 2016 and “Best Album” for Strangers in 2018. They specialise in singing unaccompanied, and they perform traditional folk songs and sea shanties, contemporary folk songs such as the 40 year old song Billy Bragg's "Between the Wars" and 60 year old song Sydney Carter's "John Ball", and original works including "You Won’t Find Me on Benefits Street" and "The Battle of Stockton". They champion the folk music of the Northeast of England, where they are from, celebrating local history and performing songs by local songwriters such as Graeme Miles.
Straight Out of Hell is the fourteenth studio album by German power metal band Helloween. It was released in 2013 and produced by Charlie Bauerfeind.
Blackbeard's Tea Party are a contemporary folk rock band based in York, England. The five-piece band plays a mix of traditional folk songs as well as covers of more recent songs from the folk genre. They are also known for their instrumental arrangements of traditional and modern folk tunes, as well as self-penned material. Blackbeard's Tea Party function as both a concert and ceilidh band and have become well known on the English festival circuit, having performed at mainstream festivals including the Glastonbury Festival, Larmer Tree Festival & Bingley Music Live, as well as folk festivals such as Fairport's Cropredy Convention, Towersey Festival and the Cambridge, Bromyard, Shrewsbury & Sidmouth folk festivals.
The Black Feathers are a husband and wife roots music duo based in Gloucestershire, UK who play a blend of Folk and Americana. Their debut EP was listed in The Telegraph as one of the best Folk albums of 2014.
The Leylines are a folk rock band formed in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset in 2013. The band's violin and guitar driven sound has seen them headline multiple tours across the UK, as well as performing at world renowned festivals, such as Glastonbury Festival, Farmer Phil's Festival, Boomtown Fair and Bearded Theory. To date, The Leylines have released two full studio albums and one EP. In 2019 the band achieved a career highlight of playing to thousands of fans on the Big Top stage at Beautiful Days.
