Rock Candy
Rock 'n' Roll Doctor
I don't think I've seen very many references to the Glaswegian cult AOR heroes beyond a few posts here and there, so I thought I'd take the initiative and give them their own thread!
Formed by brothers Ian and David Stewart under the name "China White" in around 1979, the first recording line-up of the band consisted of Englishman Tony Liddle (Later of the Tygers of Pan Tang) on vocals, Ian Stewart on guitar, David Stewart on bass and Jim Drummond on the skins. This line-up only produced one album, 1986's S/T album, which was a classy head-on collision between Night Ranger and Def Leppard. Liddle was forced out shortly after the recording however, to be replaced by American vocalist Tony Brock.
This move paid dividends, with the Brock fronted line-up delivering two of the most picture-perfect AOR albums of the 80s, 1987's Native Sons (Probably the best album Journey never released) and 1989's more gritty followup, Walk in the Fire. Sadly this wasn't to last, with Brock leaving the band in 1989 to return to his native America. Several tracks in demo form were recorded with a new frontman, Charles Bowyer, but Strangeways officially remained on ice for several years, until they "reformed" in the early 90s, this time in the way of a power-trio fronted by Ian Stewart. Three more albums followed, each one in a more modern "spacey" vein, far removed from the melodic rawk of their 80s output.
The band officially disbanded after 2000's Gravitational Pull album, but 3/4 of the classic line-up was to return in 2010 (Minus David Stewart, who only rejoined the band earlier this year) for a well-received performance at England's Firefest Festival. An album followed, Perfect World, which was a quality melodic rock record retaining the charm of their earlier output, but not without a modern twist. A new album is currently in recording, so fingers crossed it's another gem!
So, can we get some love for these Scottish heroes going?
Formed by brothers Ian and David Stewart under the name "China White" in around 1979, the first recording line-up of the band consisted of Englishman Tony Liddle (Later of the Tygers of Pan Tang) on vocals, Ian Stewart on guitar, David Stewart on bass and Jim Drummond on the skins. This line-up only produced one album, 1986's S/T album, which was a classy head-on collision between Night Ranger and Def Leppard. Liddle was forced out shortly after the recording however, to be replaced by American vocalist Tony Brock.
This move paid dividends, with the Brock fronted line-up delivering two of the most picture-perfect AOR albums of the 80s, 1987's Native Sons (Probably the best album Journey never released) and 1989's more gritty followup, Walk in the Fire. Sadly this wasn't to last, with Brock leaving the band in 1989 to return to his native America. Several tracks in demo form were recorded with a new frontman, Charles Bowyer, but Strangeways officially remained on ice for several years, until they "reformed" in the early 90s, this time in the way of a power-trio fronted by Ian Stewart. Three more albums followed, each one in a more modern "spacey" vein, far removed from the melodic rawk of their 80s output.
The band officially disbanded after 2000's Gravitational Pull album, but 3/4 of the classic line-up was to return in 2010 (Minus David Stewart, who only rejoined the band earlier this year) for a well-received performance at England's Firefest Festival. An album followed, Perfect World, which was a quality melodic rock record retaining the charm of their earlier output, but not without a modern twist. A new album is currently in recording, so fingers crossed it's another gem!
So, can we get some love for these Scottish heroes going?
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