Stingray (band)

Stingray
Origin	Johannesburg, South Africa
Genres	Hard Rock, AOR
Years active	1978–1981
Labels	Nitty Gritty
Past members	Dennis East (Vocals) Danny Anthill (Keyboards, Flute) Mike Pilot (Guitar) Shaun Wright (Drums, replaced by Wally Cullis in 1981) Eddie Boyle (Bass, replaced by Gerald "Jiggs" Downing in 1980) Allan Goldswain (Keyboards)

Stingray was a South African rock band active from 1978 to 1981. ^[1]

History

The band was founded in 1978 by Dennis East, Eddie Boyle and Mike Pilot, previous members of The Rising Sons. In 1979 they released their eponymous debut album. Their subsequent single release "Better the Devil You Know" ^[a] reached number four in the South African chart. ^[2] Their second album Operation Stingray was released in 1980. After drummer Shaun Wright lost a leg during a shark attack in the same year, he was replaced by Wally Cullis from Circus. ^[3] Although they were popular in their home nation, the group achieved only little success in other markets and disbanded in 1981. ^[4] Today, the technical and compositional quality of their songs is lauded. ^{[4] [5]}

Dennis East died at the age of 73 on September 12, 2022, three days after suffering a stroke.

Discography

Albums

• Stingray (1979), Nitty Gritty ^[1]
• Operation Stingray (1980), Nitty Gritty ^[1]
• Best of Stingray (1981), Nitty Gritty
• Forty Days Soundtrack – Various Artists (1980), EMI

Singles

• "Better the Devil You Know" (1979), Nitty Gritty
• "The Man in My Shoes" (1979), Nitty Gritty
• "Where Do We Go from Here" (1980), Nitty Gritty
• "No Dice" (1980), Nitty Gritty
• "Devotion" (1981), Nitty Gritty ^[3]

Notes

^a Not to be confused with the Kylie Minogue song of the same name

References

1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2391. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
2. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (S)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
3. "Stingray". Rock.co.za.
4. "Stingray – Stingray [1979]". Melodic-hardrock.com.
5. "Stingray | Biography & History". AllMusic .

External links

• Stingray at AllMusic
• Stingray discography at Discogs
• Stingray in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music