Blue Murder (band)
| Blue Murder | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Hard rock, glam metal[1] |
| Years active | 1988–1994 |
| Labels | Geffen |
| Associated acts | Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Tygers of Pan Tang, John Sloman's Badlands |
| Past members | Band members |
Blue Murder were an English hard rock band, founded by ex-Whitesnake, Tygers of Pan Tang and Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes.
Background
Blue Murder was formed by John Sykes in 1988. As he was partially responsible for the success of Whitesnake's multiplatinum-selling self-titled album, their label Geffen signed a record deal with Sykes following his dismissal from the band.
In the nascent stages of the band, drummer Cozy Powell - with whom Sykes had played in Whitesnake - was attached to the project. Ray Gillen, who had previously sung for Black Sabbath and later for Badlands - not the same band Badlands (née John Sloman's Badlands) that Sykes once played in - sang for an early version of Blue Murder, and reportedly the band recorded demos with him. Additionally, Tony Martin (who replaced Gillen in Black Sabbath), Derek St. Holmes and David Glen Eisley briefly worked with the band, but never in an official capacity.[2]
Upon comparing the original demos with Sykes' vocals to the demos with Ray Gillen, A&R executive John Kalodner encouraged Sykes to handle the vocal duties himself.
Blue Murder released two studio albums: Blue Murder in 1989 and Nothin' but Trouble in 1993. A live album, Screaming Blue Murder was released in Japan only in 1994, but has since been released elsewhere via iTunes.
The band was dropped by their label in the mid-90s, at which point Sykes (the only consistent member in the changing line-ups) recorded Out of My Tree in 1995 with Blue Murder members Marco Mendoza and Tommy O'Steen, effectively transforming Blue Murder into an "official" Sykes solo project.
On 13 March 2016 keyboardist Nik Green died from cancer.
Band members
- John Sykes - lead vocals, lead guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar (1988–1994)
- Tony Franklin - bass, fretless bass, keyboard, backing vocals (1988–1992)
- Carmine Appice - drums, percussion, timpani, gong, backing vocals (1988–1992)
- Marco Mendoza - bass, backing vocals (1992–1994)
- Tommy O'Steen - drums, percussion, backing vocals (1992–1994)
- Kelly Keeling - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1992–1993)
- Cozy Powell - drums, percussion (1988)
- Nik Green - keyboards, backing vocals (1988–1994; died 2016)
- Ray Gillen - lead vocals (1988)
- Tony Martin - lead vocals (1988)
Discography
- Blue Murder (1989)
- Nothin' but Trouble (1993)
- Screaming Blue Murder: Dedicated to Phil Lynott (1994)
See also
References
- ↑ Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade. Voyageur Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-76034-546-7.
- ↑ 2001 Interview with Troy Wells of ballbusterhardmusic.com
External links
- John Sykes' website
- Rock of Ages Article about Blue Murder album
- Discography Tony Franklin's website