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STALLION

Crossover Prog • United Kingdom


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Stallion biography
STALLION was always the band that liked to break the rules and challenge the norm. Reacting to what they saw as the bland state of local music, drummer Steve DEMETRI, guitarist Tony BRIDGER and singer Tich TURNER formed STALLION in 1972, aiming from the outset to put original compositions at the top of their agenda, performed with a professional and theatrical stage show that was very much in keeping with the progressive musical times. Steve had been influenced by early GENESIS, KING CRIMSON, BILLY COBHAM and FRANK ZAPPA, whilst Tony had developed a guitar style influenced by his love of contemporary rock guitarists, including RORY GALLAGHER and JIMI HENDRIX. Tich, meanwhile, had come from a background of American R&B, listening to everything from MARVIN GAYE to LITTLE FEAT. This first line-up was completed by Steve KINCH on bass, who went on to tour with HAZEL O'CONNOR before joining MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND. Steve was later replaced on bass by Roger CAREY in 1974.

From day one they produced a cohesive and original sound. The set showcased Tich's compositions with powerful dynamic arrangements, leading audiences on extended musical journeys. Steve Demetri's penchant for PETER GABRIEL-like theatrics inspired Tich to develop a stage persona whereby instrumental sections could be acted out visually. Tich would sometimes wear a full skeleton suit and face paint (surprisingly effective under UV light) and these manic performances were in a similar spirit to ARTHUR BROWN. Audiences were immediately sucked in to the band's world of light hearted musical horror.

The idea of bringing keyboards into the line up, particularly a Mellotron, had already been mooted when, in 1974, STALLION entered the Melody Maker rock contest. Phil THORNTON was in the audience; he joined the band the same day, by the simple expedient of marching into their dressing room after the gig and announcing himself as their new ''whatever you need'' and declaring ''by the way I've got some ideas'' Despite having no experience with organ or piano, Phil did possess a Korg 700 synth, soon to be augmented by a customised Elka Rhapsody string synth, which when played through a guitar amp, made an incredibly thick wall of sound. This seminal Elka sound was to become influential in shaping the future direction of Stallion's music.

The timing couldn't have been better. The band had already booked their first studio session and, within days, the new five piece STALLION set about re...
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STALLION discography


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STALLION top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.09 | 13 ratings
The Hard Life
2007

STALLION Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

STALLION Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

STALLION Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

STALLION Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

5.00 | 1 ratings
Backward Christian Soldiers
2013
4.00 | 1 ratings
Fresh out of Borstal
2013

STALLION Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 The Hard Life by STALLION album cover Studio Album, 2007
4.09 | 13 ratings

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The Hard Life
Stallion Crossover Prog

Review by aprusso

4 stars Stallion ? The hard life (4,5) You wanted to know where did the 'New Wave of British progressive Rock' came from, resurrecting a genre and a vibe that seemed to be lost forever after the musical demise of most of its fathers (Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, etc.) at the end of the seventies? There are prog bands that indeed occupied an awkward niche in that brief lapse of time between, say, the publication of Duke in 1979 and Pallas and Marillion's first albums in the early eighties: like The Enid, Saga, the German Anyone's Daughter; however if we interrogate what bands, or what moods, did IQ, Pendragon, Twelfth Night etc. draw their unique style from, it is an unsolved question ? there were hints of 'simplification' of the classic Genesis and Pink Floyd soundscapes, the theatrics went together with a punkish attitude that was so prominent in the British society around that time, new wave also had kicked in just like reggae and metal. But, in spite of the denigratory accusations of being Genesis copycats the press came up with - I distinctively remember an Italian magazine accusing 1983's IQ to 'imitate' Van der Graaf Generator (????? WTF?), the true prog fan knows that there was something different in those new bands. Those musicians must have attended hundreds of pub gigs in a watershed period in which sounds and styles were mixing up ? not exactly Yes' arena concerts. I bet some of them must have heard Stallion. This totally obscure band, unearthed by xxxx in a CD album/compilation putting together all their recorded outputs around 1976, is, if there must be one, THE dead ringer between prog in the seventies and prog in the eighties. Their in-your-face attitude, their simplified but energetic song structure, their luscious but low-cost keyboards riff arrangements, their occasional glam rock verse and chorus, stand up to releases of the infant new prog movement like Arrive Alive by Pallas, The Ember by Haze, the first Marillion demos, or obscure and mostly unreleased acts like Dagaband, Gothique, and Tamarisk. Themes like the opener If Life Were Death, The Hard Life, Open Door, the live renditions of Cobra and Skinny Kid, which scream neo-prog / The Who, set the standards for what's to come Not masterpieces by any chance; rather, collector's jewels, which satisfy my eternal quest for unexplored music. If you are one of those who, having missed the golden age of prog, would still have wanted to be around England and Scotland around 1982 (I had my short chance, at 15, attending gigs at Cambridge's The Outer Limits during a summer language school) you may want to listen to this band.
Thanks to kev rowland for the artist addition.

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