Demon

BIOGRAPHY

[Dashboard] [Referred Artists] [Search Options]

Demon (1979-1992, 1996-1998, 2001-present): a NWOBHM band from Leek, Staffordshire, UK.

he project Demon was founded by Dave Hill (vocals) and Mal Spooner (guitar), who in turn enlisted Les Hunt(guitar), Chris Ellis(bass) and John Wright(drums) to join the burgeoning NWOBHM movement. After the indie released Liar single in 1980, they managed to get a deal with French 'Carrere' label to follow it up with their debut album, Night of the Demon (1981), to then follow that in turn with a rather low-rent effort the following year titled The Unexpected Guest.

Their albums had apparently improved somewhat afterward, for the futuristic concept album, The Plague followed in 1983, featuring less cheap satanic offerings for a more intelligent melodic hard rock style. After the album release, Hunt and Ellis would leave the band to be replaced universally by Steven Watts. But tragically after the recording of the follow-up album, British Standard Approved (1985), founding member Spooner would die.

Read All... ⏬

Choosing to continue on, Hill would hire a whole new line-up of Steven Brookes (ex-Discharge; guitar), John Watterhouse (guitar) and Scott Crawford (drums) to release a string of albums on the 'Clay' label titled Heart of our Time (1985), Breakout (1987) and Taking the World by Storm (1989) with Nick Bushell (ex-Discharge) added on bass. The change of the decade saw them sign to the 'Sonic' label and replace Bushnell with Andy Dale to release the One Hulluva Night (live in Germany) album in 1990. The album was appropriate in its location for Germany was still a stronghold for the style flogged by Demon, a market that was rapidly drying up elsewhere. And, indeed, that shrinking market finally caught up with them for after 1991's Hold on to the Dream, the replacement of Watts and Dale with Mike Thomas, and Paul Rosscrow replacing Crawford to release the "best of..." compilation, The Anthology (1991), and Blow-Out in 1992 they finally gave it up. The Best of Demon "best of..." would follow posthumously in 1999.

Hill reunited the band with new members in 2001, and released a new album called Spaced out Monkey (2001); Better the Devil You Know (2005), Unbroken (2012) and Cemetery Junction (2016) would follow.

Read Less... ⏫

[Article/Top] [Referred Artists] [Search Options]