Steve Overland

Last updated

Steve Overland
Born King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
InstrumentsGuitar, Vocals
Member of FM
Formerly ofWildlife
The Ladder
Shadowman

Steve Overland is a British singer/musician who was the lead vocalist and songwriter for the bands Wildlife, FM, The Ladder, Shadowman, and his own group, Overland. [1] Most recently he has collaborated with Fates Warning guitarist, Jim Matheos, in Kings of Mercia.

Contents

History

Overland's nearly 30-year career began in his home region of East Anglia, where he and his brother Chris formed the band Wildlife in 1980. The group were scouted by Adam Faith and soon signed to Chrysalis Records, [2] who released the band's debut album, Burning, in 1980. [3] The band moved labels to the Led Zeppelin owned Swan Song Records for their 1983 self-titled follow up album, [4] which featured Simon Kirke on drums. [2] The band were also managed for a short period by Peter Grant. The demise of Swan Song in 1983 meant that the Wildlife album was under-promoted, with an American release for the album being cancelled. Around this time, the band also recorded a song called "Shot in the Dark" that was never featured on an album. However, this tune later served as the prototype for Ozzy Osbourne's song of the same name. [5] Wildlife's version was never officially released, and the band split up soon after.

Overland next formed the AOR band FM, with former Wildlife members Pete Jupp and Chris Overland. [6] FM's first album, issued in 1986 on Portrait Records, was named Indiscreet . [6] The band's next album, Tough It Out , was released in 1989 with serious financial backing from Epic Records, which was Portrait's parent company. [6] For this album, the band brought in songwriter Desmond Child, known for his work on Bon Jovi's album, Slippery When Wet . [7] This 1986 to 1989 period saw the band at their commercial peak, scoring minor UK Chart hits with "Frozen Heart", "Bad Luck", and the non-album release, "Let Love Be The Leader". [8] The band toured as headline artists, as well as undertaking support slots with Bon Jovi, Tina Turner and Meat Loaf. [2]

The band was then dropped by Epic Records and signed to Music for Nations for their third album, Takin' It to the Streets . [6] The album displayed a shift towards a more straightforward rock approach and also included a cover of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", which was released as a single. This was the first album to feature ex-Visage and ASAP guitarist Andy Barnett, Chris Overland having left the band after the Tough It Out tour. [9] FM's fourth album, Aphrodisiac, followed in 1992 and is often considered to be the band's best. [6] The band then signed to the Raw Power label to record Dead Man's Shoes , which featured new keyboard player, Jem Davis. In March 1996, Steve Overland and Pete Jupp decided to disband FM, forming the band So! with Wishbone Ash bass player, Bob Skeat, soon after. [6] So!'s debut album, Brass Monkey, had two very limited releases, with copies of either release being difficult to come by.

Overland has recorded prolifically throughout the 2000s (decade), with the bands The Ladder, Shadowman, and latterly, with his solo albums, Break Away and Diamond Dealer. [10]

In 2007, FM reformed for a one-off gig at Nottingham's Rock City, headlining Firefest IV. [11] This 'one-off' reunion led to a more permanent incarnation with Jim Kirkpatrick replacing Andy Barnett on lead guitar. Overland and Kirkpatrick had been a songwriting team independently of the band prior to Jim joining FM. FM have since toured extensively in the UK and throughout Europe, both as headliners and also touring with Thin Lizzy, Journey, Foreigner and Europe. [12] Five more albums have been released Metropolis (2010), Rockville (2013), Rockville II (2013), Heroes and Villains (2015) and Atomic Generation (2018).

Overland has also appeared in the Broadway show Dreamtime, which had a successful run at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

In November 2023 it was announced that Overland (the band) would perform at Firefest Festival (10 Years After) to be held in the UK at Manchester Academy on 11-13 October 2024. [13] The band preceded headline act Hurricane on the Saturday night. [14]

Discography

with Wildlife

with FM

with So!

with The Ladder

with Shadowman

with Overland

with Ozone

with Groundbreaker

with Lonerider

with Kings of Mercia

with The Staks Band

Guest appearances


Title

ReleaseOther artist(s)Album
"Fall Free"1996 Alan Parsons On Air
"Revealing Science of God"2001Wonderous (A Tribute to Yes)
"Owner of a Lonely Heart"
"Always Yours"2017Lee AbrahamColours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Found Glory</span> American rock band

New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik, Ian Grushka, Chad Gilbert, and Cyrus Bolooki (drums). Longtime rhythm guitarist and lyricist Steve Klein left the band in late 2013. During their lengthy recording career, the band have released twelve studio albums, one live album, two EPs, and four cover albums.

Touch is an American rock band from New York City formed in 1978. The band consists of Mark Mangold, Glen Kithcart (drums), Craig Brooks (guitars), and Doug Howard. Mangold, Kithcart, and Brooks had previously been in the band American Tears and had released three albums under Columbia Records.

Tyketto is an American hard rock band, based in New York City, New York, United States. The group was put together in 1987 by the former Waysted vocalist Danny Vaughn, with Brooke St. James (guitar), Jimi Kennedy (bass), and Michael Clayton (drums).

Coney Hatch is a Canadian hard rock band who released three albums in the 1980s and released their album Four in 2013 and a live double album on vinyl, Postcard From Germany in 2023. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the band consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Carl Dixon, vocalist and bassist Andy Curran, guitarist Steve Shelski and drummer Dave 'Thumper' Ketchum. The band was known for its loud live shows. In 2023, the band played Sweden Rock Festival to positive reviews. The band tours on a limited basis with three original members. Sean Kelly joined the lineup in 2014 replacing Steve Shelski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FM (British band)</span> British rock band

FM are a British rock band. They have released fourteen studio albums to date. Three of those, Indiscreet, Tough It Out and 2015's Heroes and Villains reached the UK Albums Chart, whilst five of the band's singles made inroads into the UK Singles Chart.

Romeo's Daughter are a British AOR, contemporary and mainstream rock band. Formed in 1985, the band's self-titled debut album was co-produced by Mutt Lange and John Parr. Romeo's Daughter disbanded shortly after releasing their second studio album, Delectable, in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Timmons</span> American guitarist (born 1963)

Andy Timmons is an American guitarist who has played in the bands Taylor Bay Band, Danger Danger, Pawn Kings, and Andy Timmons Band (ATB). He has also released several solo albums and has worked as a session guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry James (drummer)</span> Musical artist

Gary Harry James, popularly known as 'Harry' James, is an English drummer best known for his work with hard rock bands Thunder and Magnum.

Lionheart is a British hard rock band formed in late 1980, originally featuring singer Jess Cox, guitarist Dennis Stratton, guitarist/keyboardist Steve Mann, and bassist/vocalist Rocky Newton, and drummer Frank Noon. The band split up in 1986 but reformed in 2016 with a line-up featuring Stratton, Mann, Newton, plus vocalist Lee Small and Clive Edwards on drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stranger in a Strange Land (Iron Maiden song)</span> 1986 single by Iron Maiden

"Stranger in a Strange Land" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released as the second single from their sixth studio album, Somewhere in Time (1986). The song is unrelated to Robert A. Heinlein's novel by the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shot in the Dark (Ozzy Osbourne song)</span> 1986 single by Ozzy Osbourne

"Shot in the Dark" is a song recorded and performed by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It is the ninth and final track on his 1986 album The Ultimate Sin. A top-ten hit on mainstream rock radio, the song also became his first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 68. The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan, and was played in power rotation on MTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ten (band)</span> English hard rock band

Ten are an English melodic hard rock band which were formed in 1995. The band has released 16 studio albums, 6 compilation albums, 5 EPs, a double live album, 10 music videos and 4 lyric videos, with the latest one being "The Tidal Wave", from their 2023 studio album Something Wicked This Way Comes. The band charted at number 30 in the United Kingdom in 2012 with Heresy and Creed, but AllMusic describes their 1999 album Spellbound as their most successful.

Boulevard is a Canadian band formed in 1983 in Calgary by Mark Holden (saxophone/vocals). After releasing two studio albums, they disbanded in 1991. They reunited 23 years later, in 2014, and played at Firefest in Nottingham, England. They released their third studio album in September 2017.

<i>Future Miracles</i> Album by The Ladder

Future Miracles is the debut album by the British group The Ladder. All of the songs on the album were former FM songs that were never recorded by that band.

<i>Indiscreet</i> (FM album) 1986 studio album by FM

Indiscreet is the debut album from British hard rock band FM. Indiscreet was originally released in 1986 on the Portrait Records label, a sister label of Epic Records. The song "Frozen Heart" became a moderately successful single. The song "That Girl" was covered by Iron Maiden as a B-side to their single "Stranger in a Strange Land" following its inclusion in a live set by The Entire Population of Hackney. Written by Merv Goldsworthy, Pete Jupp and Andy Barnett in an early FM line-up, it was one of the demo songs which secured FM their record contract with Portrait/Epic in 1984. By the time Indiscreet was released FM had re-written parts of their song, while Iron Maiden's release three weeks later covered the original arrangement.

<i>Tough It Out</i> 1989 studio album by FM

Tough it Out is the second studio album by the British hard rock band FM, released in 1989 on the Epic Records label, the follow-up album to the band's first album, Indiscreet (1986).

<i>Takin It to the Streets</i> (FM album) 1991 studio album by FM

Takin' It to the Streets is the third studio album released by British hard rock band FM. Takin' It to the Streets was released in 1991 on the Music for Nations record label.

<i>Dead Mans Shoes</i> (FM album) 1995 studio album by FM

Dead Man's Shoes is a studio recorded album released by British AOR/hard rock band FM. Dead Man's Shoes was released in 1995 on the Raw Power record label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Entire Population of Hackney</span> English supergroup band

The Entire Population of Hackney is the name used for a supergroup project featuring members of Iron Maiden, FM and Urchin that played two concerts in December 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.

Stormzone are a heavy metal band from Northern Ireland formed in 2004. The band's current line-up consists of vocalist John "Harv" Harbinson, bassist Graham McNulty, guitarists Steve Moore and Dave Shields, and drummer Davy Bates.

References

  1. ↑ "Overland – Break Away review". rockreport.be. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 "There's a slice of fun for everyone!!!". The Voice of So!. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  3. ↑ "Steve Overland Biography". overland-shadowman.com. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  4. ↑ "Wildlife – Wildlife review". AllMusic . Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  5. ↑ Hextall, Adrian (2015). "Interview with FM Vocalist, Steve Overland." (14 March 2015) @Myglobalmind Online Magazine. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "FM Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  7. ↑ "Tough It Out review". AllMusic . Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  8. ↑ Brown, Tony. (2000). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. ISBN   0-7119-7670-8.
  9. ↑ "About FM". FM. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "Overland – Diamond Dealer review". melodicrock.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  11. ↑ "FM – Back in the Saddle". Room Thirteen. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  12. ↑ "FM Gigography". FM. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  13. ↑ "Fireworks Magazine - FaceAche" . Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  14. ↑ "Firefest Festival". FireFest-Festival. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.