From folk rockers Lindisfarne to new wave of British heavy metallers Rock Goddess to glam punksters Towers of London here are six bands that have reformed in the past few years that we unashamedly welcome back.
1. Atomic Rooster
Originally active: 1969–1975, 1980–1983
Reformed: 2016
Until catching them at Butlins Rock and Blues weekend at Skegness in 2018, Atomic Rooster were, for me, one of those bands that I’d always been aware of but was never really that familiar with. Other than knowing they were formed by the late Vincent Crane (the guy who did the unmistakable keyboard pounding in Arthur Brown’s ‘Fire’) before that weekend I could have told you very little about Atomic Rooster. But they were absolutely, out-of-this world, stupendously, brilliantly, amazing. Vincent Crane and the rest of the earliest line-up are sadly no longer with us. But the revived band contains both Pete French on vocals and Steve Bolton on guitar who were both in the band in the early 70s and they have been given the blessing of Crane’s widow to reform under the Atomic Rooster banner. They have the songs, the set-list, the charisma and the sound. Really, this band should have been far, far bigger than they were back in the day. Similarly, the modern-day version should be far, far better known than they are today. Absolutely majestic classic rock that stands proudly against any of the rock giants.
https://www.atomicroostermusic.com/
2. Lindisfarne
Originally active: 1968-2004
Reformed: 2013
The band had been on hiatus for around a decade but the Lindisfarne name was resurrected in 2013 when founder member, Ray Jackson, began touring with a number of other former members from various eras of the band. There was clearly a huge amount of affection out there for the Tyneside folk-rockers but after a couple of years Jackson stepped back and retired. That was not the end of the reunion, however, as in stepped another founder member with Rod Clements taking Jackson’s place. He’s joined by Dave Hull-Denholm, son-in-law of original front-man the late Alan Hull, on vocals/guitar; Charlie Harcourt, who originally played with the band in the mid 70s, on guitar; Steve Daggett, who toured with the band in the 80s, on keyboards; Ian Thompson who, like Hull-Denholm, has been around since the 90s, on bass; and, finally, former Roxy Music drummer, Paul Thompson, on drums. Denholm-Hull’s voice is surprisingly reminiscent of Alan Hull’s distinctive vocals and he does the band’s legacy, and his late father-in-law proud.
3. Geordie
Originally active: 1971–80, 1982–85
Reformed: 2019
Playing only their second gig in 35 years (the first being at Skegness Butlins the week before) the newly-revived Geordie were one of the biggest surprises of the 2019 Giants of Rock weekend at Minehead Butlins. The band had a handful of hits in the mid-70s but are now best-known as the band that launched Brian Johnson’s career prior to him being tracked down by AC/DC in 1980. Original members Tom Hill (bass) and Brian Gibson (drums) are joined by Steve Dawson (guitar) and Mark Wright (vocals). Powerful, foghorn very Johnson-esque vocals from Wright with a very well-rehearsed band behind him served to breathe new life into some long-neglected songs. It was great to hear the likes of ‘Can You Do It’, ‘Don’t Do That’ and ‘All Because of You’ getting a live airing after all these years. I’ve seen numerous band revivals at weekends like this, sometimes on some really rather tenuous ground. I therefore approached this with a mixture of curiosity and cynicism but they massively, massively exceeded expectations.
https://www.facebook.com/GeordieFanpage/
4. Satan’s Empire
Originally active: 1981
Reformed: 2016
Satan’s Empire had a breakthrough of sorts in 1981 when their excellent single ‘Soldiers Of War’ appeared on a Neat Records compilation. The band relocated to London, rejigged their lineup slightly and promptly disappeared from view. Thirty-odd years later, the band have now reformed for another shot with the original ‘London’ line up of the band, which includes Paul Lewis (Guitar), Alex McRitchie (Guitar), Wayne Hudson (Bass), Derek Lyons (Vocals) along with drummer Garry ‘Magpie’ Bowler. Live, performance oozes class, stage presence and memorable songs – classic hard n heavy NWOBHM. What’s more they have even succeeded in doing what they never managed first time around – and have released an album. ‘Rising’ contains some great new heavy metal songs, and importantly, a re-recording of the aforementioned ‘Soldiers of War’. The album came out in 2018 to very favourable reviews and it’s good to see the band get a second bite of the cherry. If you loved the new wave of British heavy metal and the much-needed shot in the arm it gave to the rock scene back in the day – you’ll love Satan’s Empire’s ‘Rising’.
https://www.facebook.com/SatansEmpireOfficial/
5. Rock Goddess
Originally active: 1977–1987
Reformed: 2013
It’s great to see a good number of bands from the late 70s/early 80s NWOBHM era recording and touring once again, even ones that have not been active for a good number of years. The original line-up of Rock Goddess (Jody Turner guitar/vocals, Julie Turner – drums and Tracey Lamb – bass) reformed in 2013 and, over thirty years after they recorded their last album, released a great new EP ‘It’s More Than Rock and Roll’ in 2017 – with a brand new album due out in 2019. Lamb was replaced by new bass Jenny Lane in 2018 but you still have two-thirds of the original, classic line-up. And three decades on they still put on a great live show with bags of energy and some irresistible rock ‘n’ roll tunes. Old crowd favourites like ‘Satisfied Then Crucified’, ‘Heavy Metal Rock ‘n’ Roll’ combining with new songs like ‘It’s More Than Rock and Roll’ and ‘We’re All Metal’. In what was a very male-dominated world, Rock Goddess were a band that showed real promise when they started out and sadly, they disappeared far, far too soon. Three decades on it is great to see them back – even if all-women metal bands appear to be almost as rare today as when Rock Goddess cut their first single.
https://www.facebook.com/Rockgoddessrocks/
6. Towers of London
Originally active: 2004-09
Reformed: 2015
A decade or so ago glam punk outfit the Towers Of London were steadily building up a reputation. Tours supporting the likes of the Pogues and the New York Dolls. Festival slots at Reading and Leeds and Download. But then came lead singer Donny Tourette’s appearance on Celebrity Big Brother. Pissed, brattish and annoying, the Sex Pistols with Bill Grundy this was not. It was more like a bad episode of Grange Hill. An equally ill-chosen appearance on Never Mind The Buzzcocks only made things worse and though the band soldiered on for another couple of years it was pretty much all over. Fast forward a decade, however and they are back. “I’ve been following these guys for a while – they’ve now grown up, sorted their shit out but importantly they still retain their bite.” says former Oasis manager and Creation Records boss, Alan McGee. Yes – the band have, indeed, got their shit together. 2018 single ‘Send In The Roses’ is a superb slice of anthemic, catchy glam-punk meets indie disco. Their new material is sounding great live and, of course, there’s a few songs from their early days, too – raucous punky work-outs like ‘Air Guitar’ and ‘Fuck It Up’ and campy New York Dolls-esque ditties like ‘How Rude She Was’. The world needs a few more bands like this and it’s good to see them back in business.
https://www.facebook.com/towersoflondonband/
Related:
A renaissance in classic heavy metal: six bands to watch out for
The new wave of classic rock: six more bands to watch out for
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