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Psycho Motel | |
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| Origin | England |
| Genres | Heavy metal, hard rock |
| Years active | 1995–1999 |
| Labels | Sanctuary |
| Past members | Adrian Smith Andy Makin Gary Leideman Mike Sturgis (Hans Olav) Solli |
Psycho Motel was a British hard rock band, formed by Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith.
The band was formed in 1995 by Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith after he left Maiden in 1990. Smith briefly experimented with a project called ASAP (Adrian Smith and Project) before seemingly retiring from the music industry altogether in 1990. However, it was a chance meeting with Jamie Stewart, formerly bass guitarist with The Cult and Carl Dufresne that finally persuaded Smith back into the spotlight.
We became friends, and decided to form a little band called The Untouchables, just for fun. He didn't want to get back in the music business full time, and neither did I - to be honest I'd had enough of it. We started off playing just little clubs for fun and it snowballed from there. We played everywhere around Britain. But the one thing that I didn't want to do was to find myself committed to recording and touring, just like the old days.
Quote from Adrian Smith, as quoted from the State of Mind cover.
However, Stewart soon quit the project and was replaced by bassist Gary Leideman. In 1993, The Untouchables (featuring Smith on vocals, Carl Dufresne, Gary Leideman and Fabio DelRio). Dufresne and DelRio soon left the band and Smith decided to extend the line-up by bringing in singer Solli, a Norwegian who had been working with Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham in 21 Guns. A demo impressed enough for the band to land a recording deal. They changed their name to Psycho Motel and debuted with the album State of Mind in 1995, followed by Welcome to the World in 1997.
As far as Smith was concerned, the two records were distinct from each other:
They're quite different, because there are different singers on them. The first album we had a Norwegian guy called Solli who used to be with a band named 21 Guns. We did tour in Europe but he couldn't continue with us, because he had some personal stuff to take care of. He got divorced plus he lived in Norway, which is kind of difficult. So we had to find another singer. Then I found Andy, a young guy, 26 years old and we did the second album with him. He brought a more modern influence to the band. I was sort of doing a retro thing with my Hendrix and Zeppelin influences. On the first album with Solli, there was a more of a Robert Plant type vocal. The second album is more modern, because Andy was into Alice in Chains and Soundgarden so it made for a great blend. I really like the second album, although I've played the first album a couple of times and realized it's just as good.
Quote from Adrian Smith, as quoted from the Welcome to the World album cover.
After the release of Welcome To The World, Smith went to help on two albums and two tours with Bruce Dickinson. After this, they both re-joined Iron Maiden in 1999, and Psycho Motel split up. When asked if he would consider re-forming the band in 2001, he said that they had "no plans at the moment" but they would "possibly do some stuff next year". This has yet to happen with his continued success with Iron Maiden.
In 2006, both albums were re-released, Welcome to the World was released with two bonus tracks, "Wait" and "Just Like A Woman".
On an interview in 1996 Adrian confirmed Psycho Motel was formerly known as "Skeleton Crew". The band was a trio and Adrian was doing all the vocals. Shortly after the drummer quit, Solli was recruited along with Mike Sturgis. The name Psycho Motel came from a previous demo.
Janick Robert Gers is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. Gers was previously a member of Gillan and co-founder of the band White Spirit in 1975.
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Adrian Frederick "H" Smith is an English guitarist best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.
Rock in Rio is a live album and video by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, recorded at the Rock in Rio festival, Brazil in 2001 on the last night of the Brave New World Tour. The band played to approximately 250,000 people; the second largest crowd of their career and with the relatively recent return of lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band, they recorded their fifth live release.
A.S.a.P. were a rock band formed by guitarist and vocalist Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden. A.S.a.P. released an album in 1989 entitled Silver and Gold. A.S.a.P. stands for "Adrian Smith and Project", and the full name of the band is incorporated within the band logo, with each word written in tiny font underneath the corresponding letter in the abbreviation.
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Urchin were an English hard rock band.
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"Wasted Years" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the band's fourteenth single released and the first from their sixth studio album, Somewhere in Time (1986). It is the only song on the album that features no synthesizers. Released in 1986, it was the first single solely written by guitarist Adrian Smith, who also sings backing vocals. It reached number 18 in the UK Singles Charts.
Welcome to the World is the second and final Psycho Motel album, released in 1997. It features a different vocalist from the band's first album, 1995's State of Mind. In place of Hans Olav Solli is Andy Makin, whose "dark lyrics and distinctive vocal delivery" differentiate the album from its predecessor. It also features Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Dave Murray of Iron Maiden as guest guitarists.
"Infinite Dreams" is a live single released in 1989 by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the only single to be released in sync with a home video; 1989's Maiden England. The performance was recorded in Birmingham, England in 1988 towards the end of the massive world tour to support the album where the song originally appeared, being Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. It was the band's final single to feature "The Trooper"-era lineup for an entire decade until 2000's single "The Wicker Man" with guitarist Adrian Smith leaving the band in January 1990 after he did not approve of the direction the band were aiming for on their next album No Prayer for the Dying.
James Alec Stewart is a retired British musician who was the bassist of the post-punk/hard rock band The Cult. He recorded on The Cult's first four albums, Dreamtime, Love, Electric and Sonic Temple.
Mike Sturgis is an American drummer, having played for the band 21 Guns and later with Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith in Psycho Motel, where he played on both State of Mind (1996) and Welcome to the World (1997) albums. He was also the drummer for Wishbone Ash between 1995 and 1997 and drummer for Asia between 1994 and 2001.
The Entire Population of Hackney is the name used for a project featuring members of Iron Maiden, FM and Urchin that played two concerts in 1985. It is also the name used for a bootleg recording of the first show. It is most notable for being the spark that would lead to Adrian Smith forming his ASAP project later on and ultimately his split with Iron Maiden in 1990. It is also notable for leading to the first Iron Maiden recording without the current lead singer on lead vocals.
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