Demon (band)
Encyclopedia
Demon are an English
rock
/metal
group
, formed in 1979 by vocalist
Dave Hill and guitarist
Mal Spooner, both hailing from Leek
, Staffordshire
. They drew their initial audience from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
movement in 1980.
The original line-up was completed by Les Hunt (Lead guitar
), Chris Ellis (bass guitar
) and John Wright (drum
s). The band were signed by Mike Stone's Clay Records
in 1980 and licensed to Carrere Records to join their stable of metal
bands. Their debut album
, Night of the Demon, was released in 1981.
After their 1982 follow-up album, The Unexpected Guest, the band experimented beyond the NWOBHM sound and moved the band in a more melodic direction whilst still retaining the more traditional heavy metal black magic lyrical style.
In 1983 Demon took a change in direction. The Plague marked a swing towards a more progressive sound. Lyrically the band also changed direction, switching to a more overtly political style that was to characterise their albums for the rest of their career. The following album, the Pink Floyd
influenced British Standard Approved (1984), released on the small independent Clay label, was not a huge commercial success, and with the death of Mal Spooner later that year, it appeared that the band would soon fold.
However Heart of Our Time (1985) showed that the remaining members of the band were determined to continue, and it was the start of a new songwriting partnership between Hill and Watts. Although the album is regarded as the weakest of the bands releases, it paved the way for the critically acclaimed Breakout (1987) and its follow-up Taking the World by Storm (1988).
The band continued releasing material throughout the 1990s, and despite several line-up changes continue to record and tour whilst maintaining a loyal and hardcore cult following throughout Europe.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
/metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, formed in 1979 by vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Dave Hill and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Mal Spooner, both hailing from Leek
Leek, Staffordshire
Leek is a market town in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.It is the administrative centre for the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. They drew their initial audience from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
movement in 1980.
The original line-up was completed by Les Hunt (Lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
), Chris Ellis (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and John Wright (drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s). The band were signed by Mike Stone's Clay Records
Clay Records
Clay Records was an independent record label founded by Mike Stone in 1980 out of a record shop in the English city of Stoke-on-Trent.-History:...
in 1980 and licensed to Carrere Records to join their stable of metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
bands. Their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Night of the Demon, was released in 1981.
After their 1982 follow-up album, The Unexpected Guest, the band experimented beyond the NWOBHM sound and moved the band in a more melodic direction whilst still retaining the more traditional heavy metal black magic lyrical style.
In 1983 Demon took a change in direction. The Plague marked a swing towards a more progressive sound. Lyrically the band also changed direction, switching to a more overtly political style that was to characterise their albums for the rest of their career. The following album, the Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
influenced British Standard Approved (1984), released on the small independent Clay label, was not a huge commercial success, and with the death of Mal Spooner later that year, it appeared that the band would soon fold.
However Heart of Our Time (1985) showed that the remaining members of the band were determined to continue, and it was the start of a new songwriting partnership between Hill and Watts. Although the album is regarded as the weakest of the bands releases, it paved the way for the critically acclaimed Breakout (1987) and its follow-up Taking the World by Storm (1988).
The band continued releasing material throughout the 1990s, and despite several line-up changes continue to record and tour whilst maintaining a loyal and hardcore cult following throughout Europe.
Studio albums / EPs
- Night of the Demon (1981)
- The Unexpected Guest (1982) - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
Number 47 - The Plague (1983) - UK Number 73
- Wonderland (EP) (1984)
- British Standard Approved (1985)
- Heart of Our Time (1985)
- Demon (EP) (1986)
- Breakout (1987)
- Taking the World by Storm (1989)
- Hold on to the Dream (1991)
- Blow-out (1992)
- Spaced out Monkey (2001)
- Better the Devil You Know (2005)
Live albums / compilations
- One Helluva Night (live) (1990)
- Anthology (compilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
) (1991) - The Best of Demon: Volume One (compilation) (1999)
- Time Has Come - The Best of Demon (compilation) (2006)
DVDs
Hill/Stone Productions- The Unexpected Guest Tour - Live at Tiffany's 1982 (2009)
- Up Close and Personal - Live in Germany at The Keep It True Festival warm up show 2006 (2009)