Lone Star
General Info
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Location Cardiff, Wales, UK
Profile Views: 29696
Last Login: 11/20/2010
Member Since 1/31/2009
Record Label CBS, Beat Goes On, Windsong, Zoom Club
Type of Label Major
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Bio
........ ..Straddling the fence between progressive rock, pomp and muscular hard rock, the origins of Cardiff, Wales legends LONE STAR go back to the early 70's when the band began to take shape as IONA. An embryonic line-up featured drummer Steve Williams who would move on to QUEST in 1973 before linking up with fellow Welsh heavies BUDGIE in time for the 'Bandolier' album the following year. Conversely, IONA's nucleus of vocalist Kenny Driscoll and guitarist Tony Smith were joined by former QUEST bassist Ray Jones and Jim Mathews on drums in 1974 before the band took on the LONE STAR moniker in the spring of '75 and began rehearsing in earnest that summer when Driscoll and Smith assembled the players they had always envisioned... .. The duo would enlist the rhythm section of Pete Hurley on bass and Dixie Lee on drums as well as guitarist Paul 'Tonka' Chapman (a cousin of famed Welsh rocker Dave Edmunds). Prior to LONE STAR, Chapman had spent time in UNIVERSE and Irish trio SKID ROW, taking over for Gary Moore, KIMLA TAZ from December 1972 to May 1974, and, most notably, UFO, in a short-lived dual guitar configuration alongside Michael Schenker (documented on the 1992 'BBC Radio Live In Concert' CD which features four rare cuts of said constellation, recorded during the 'Phenomenon' tour on June 6, 1974; another three songs, as well as the previously released 'Doctor Doctor', from the same Golders Green Hippodrome, London show can be found on the 1999 'BBC Sessions/In Concert' release)... .. ...... .. Deciding that they needed a keyboard player to fill out their ambitious sound, LONE STAR went about auditioning various candidates. As fate would have it, Ken Driscoll found the man they had been looking for in far away Canada when he spotted one Rick Worsnop as he was demonstrating synthesizers in a music shop in Waterloo, Ontario. After a talk, Worsnop was offered the gig on the spot and within days found himself rehearsing with the rest of the band back in Wales. LONE STAR began to write and perfect an extensive repertoire and armed with Steve Wood as their manager got the attention of the A&R department at CBS Records who signed the group to a worldwide deal in January 1976. Setting up shop at Sweet Silence Studios in Cogenhagen, Denmark come June, the band's eponymous debut album was recorded under the guidance of producer Roy Thomas Baker (QUEEN, PILOT, MAN) and released in August 1976. It charted at No. 47 in the UK, helped along by a nationwide tour supporting US label mate, TED NUGENT. .. .. LONE STAR's profile would get a further boost with a BBC Radio One national broadcast, recorded at the Paris Theatre in London on September 23, 1976 while on tour as openers for MOTT THE HOOPLE. 1977 saw the exit of Driscoll whose replacement was John Sloman, a 20 year-old from Cardiff, formerly with TRAPPER. New vocalist in place, the group went about recording their sophomore effort at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey with up 'n coming producer Gary Lyons (FOREIGNER) who had mixed the 'Lone Star' album the previous year. Released in August '77, 'Firing On All Six' bettered its predecessor and reached No. 36 on the UK charts. That same month, the band would also undertake their most high profile gig yet with an appearance at the prestigious Reading Rock Festival on August 26 alongside URIAH HEEP, EDDIE & THE HOT RODS and headliners GOLDEN EARRING, among others, followed by a second BBC Radio One live session on September 29, recorded at Queen Mary College in East London while sharing a bill with PAT TRAVERS. .. .. Alas LONE STAR would be in a holding pattern for a period when Chapman was called upon by UFO to fill in for the absent Michael Schenker for part of their US tour with RUSH. Upon his return the band began to prepare and demo material for a proposed third album but already on shaky ground and beset by management problems LONE STAR splintered in late 1978, CBS having pulled the plug due to the rapidly changing musical climate. Bassist Pete Hurley and original vocalist Kenny Driscoll would launch a futile final attempt in 1979 to obtain a new recording contract but LONE STAR were put to rest for good in 1980 after a few more shows, including gigs at Bournemouth Winter Gardens, Keele University, and Nottingham Boat Club. Another Driscoll fronted outfit, TOM THE LORD, involving one-time IONA bassist Ray Jones, guitarist Tich Gwilym (KIMLA TAZ), and drummer Rob Allen disintegrated in the formative stages despite interest from Epic Records... .. Driscoll would briefly turn up as the frontman for GARY MOORE (documented on the 'Live At The Marquee' album, recorded on November 5-6, 1980 and first issued in Japan in 1983), while Chapman rejoined UFO in December 1978 on a full-time basis after the erratic Schenker up and left once again, just as the band were about to release their now classic 'Strangers In The Night' double live set. The corresponding tour would culminate in a sold out 5-night stand at London’s Hammersmith Odeon before Chapman went on to record his first album with UFO. 'No Place To Run', produced by legendary BEATLES studio whiz, George Martin, was released in January of 1980... .. Chapman's guitar partner, Tony Smith, teamed up in SCREEN IDOLS with former THE RATS trio - drummer Mike 'Woody' Woodmansey (DAVID BOWIE, U-BOAT), bassist Geoff Appleby (HUNTER-RONSON BAND), and guitarist Keith 'Ched' Cheeseman - and vocalist Michelle Nieddu. The band's sole album, 'Premiere', recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with producer Dennis McKay (JUDAS PRIEST, TOMMY BOLIN), came in 1979. Following the departure of Nieddu and Cheeseman, Smith would take over lead vocals on the band's third and final single, 'Routine' b/w 'Power Supply', issued in 1980, before Idols called it a day. The guitarist would next turn up in Los Angeles,CA alongside fellow Brit Kal Swan who had opted for sunnier climates after the demise of his London-based band TYTAN in mid-1983. The two refugees would team up with drummer Mark Edwards (STEELER, THIRD STAGE ALERT) and bassist Alex Campbell to form LION although Smith and Campbell were long gone by the time the band released their Japan-only 'Powerlove' EP in 1986, their spots taken over by the former MANSFIELD duo, Jerry Best on bass and future DIO / WHITESNAKE axeman, Doug Aldrich... .. Elsewhere drummer Dixie Lee would supersede THE WHO bound Kenney Jones (SMALL FACES) in the newly formed WILD HORSES, led by Brian Robertson (THIN LIZZY) and Jimmy Bain (RAINBOW), taking part in the November / December '78 UK tour before being replaced by Clive Edwards (PAT TRAVERS, ELECTRIC SUN). In early 1979 Lee would re-team with Sloman, the first to leave LONE STAR in the spring of 1978, and the duo invited future session bass ace Pino Palladino (TRAPPER) to join their new venture. In light of the punk epidemic sweeping Britain, the trio left for Kitchener, Ontario, Canada at Lee's suggestion and recruited local guitarist Dave Cooper and keyboardist Gregg Dechert to complete PULSAR. The band wrote songs and played bars throughout the summer before Sloman returned to the UK for a visit in the fall of '79 where he learned of interest in his services from the URIAH HEEP camp who had just lost John Lawton... .. A couple of rehearsals later, Sloman was the new vocalist and Heep proceeded to enter the studio to work on the material for what became the controversial ‘Conquest' album. Issued in February 1980, it would contain a pair of re-worked PULSAR leftovers in 'No Return' and 'Won't Have To Wait Too Long' (with another track, 'Inside Out', appearing as 'My Joanna Needs Tuning' on the B-side of the 'Think It Over' 7"). Following Ken Hensley's acrimonious departure in September '80, Gregg Dechert too would join the Heep ranks as their new keyboard player. Sloman himself contributed keyboards, albeit in an uncredited role, to UFO's 1981 release, 'The Wild The Willing and The Innocent.'.. .. Sloman and Dechert would part ways with URIAH HEEP after only one tour, and the singer formed John Sloman's BADLANDS with former TRAPPER band mate John Munro on drums, bassist Neil Murray (WHITESNAKE), keyboardist Graeme Pleeth (pre-MIKE OLDFIELD), and guitarist John Sykes who had just left the TYGERS OF PAN TANG. The band showcased at the Marquee in London but were ultimately passed over by labels and broke up in May '82 when Sykes accepted Phil Lynott's offer to join THIN LIZZY. Sloman and Murray would link up and tour with GARY MOORE, from which came the 'Rockin' Every Night' live album, recorded January 24-25, 1983 at Shinjuku Kousei Nenkin Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Eventually Sloman would venture out on his own and began recording the first of his 3 solo albums, 'Disappearances Can Be Deceptive', with old mates Munro, Dechert (a member of the Brian Howe fronted BAD COMPANY on 1986's 'Fame and Fortune') and Palladino on board. Issued in 1989 and produced in part by Todd Rundgren (MEAT LOAF, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD), it contained several songs originally demoed with the BADLANDS line-up... .. Having stayed behind in Canada where he'd joined STARCHILD after the demise of PULSAR, LONE STAR drummer Dixie Lee would cut demos with an early version of Ozzy Osbourne's BLIZZARD OF OZZ back in the UK before enlisting with Welsh metal upstarts PERSIAN RISK in late 1983, just as their guitarist, Phil Campbell, was about to join the MOTORHEAD ranks. Lee's stint with Risk remained brief and he was succeeded by Steve Hopgood (CHINATOWN, LIONHEART) in time for the band's 'Too Different' 12" EP. Similarly, Paul Chapman's time with UFO would come to an end after a further pair of albums, 'Mechanix' ('82) and 'Making Contact' ('83), when it was announced in May of 1983 that the band would take a break. It turned into a permanent goodbye for Chapman as the guitarist moved to the US to start his own band D.O.A., later re-named CIRCUS CIRCUS, before joining Pete Way in WAYSTED, recording 'The Good, the Bad, the Waysted' ('85) and 'Save Your Prayers' ('86) in the process... .. At the turn of the decade, the South Florida-based Chapman set out to form yet another band, GHOST, with fellow Welshman Carl Sentance (PERSIAN RISK, GEEZER BUTLER BAND) on vocals. Even though the group toured on the East Coast and attracted interest from Sony Music no record deal was ever signed. In 1993, Chapman was all but lined up as the guitarist for a reformed UFO; however, the gig eventually would go to Michael Schenker instead. A collection of GHOST demos would surface posthumously as PAUL CHAPMAN'S GHOST via Zoom Club in 2003. Chapman also released 'Anthology Volume One', a retrospective covering his career from LONE STAR to GHOST, on his own Paul Chapman Enterprises label. A solo instrumental version of the LONE STAR classic, 'The Bells of Berlin', would also appear as part of the December 2000 archive WAYSTED collection, 'Your Prayers Are Saved.'.. .. John Sloman would be heard from again in 1990 with the short-lived SOULS UNKNOWN, featuring guitarist Steve 'Boltz' Bolton (fresh off the 25th Anniversary tour with THE WHO) and former TRAPPER mates John Munro and Pino Palladino (DAVID GILMOUR, DON HENLEY) on drums and bass, respectively. LONE STAR bassist Pete Hurley, sighted playing with Welsh roots rockers THE RED HOT POKERS all through the 90's, would be part of another Sloman project, BEAT POETS, in 1999. Neither outfit managed to put out an album. Hurley released 'Dancin' Mood' with the Pokers in 2001, the group also being credited with backing both rock'n'roll pioneer JERRY LEE LEWIS and his sister, LINDA GAIL LEWIS, live and in the studio on different occasions. Recording the 'You Win Again' album in 2000 with Linda and Northern Irish icon, VAN MORRISON, would lead to TRHP becoming Morrison's new live band, with Hurley also contributing bass to Van's 2002's 'Down the Road' album... .. On the LONE STAR front, the band's long out-of-print legacy would finally be re-issued on CD when indie label Beat Goes On released 'Lone Star' / 'Firing On All Six' as a 2-for-1 in April of 1993 (a second BGO re-issue with altered artwork came in 2004). It was followed by Windsong's 'BBC1 Live In Concert' CD in May '94 which saw both the September 23, 1976 Paris Theatre and September 29, 1977 Queen Mary College 'In Concert' sessions packaged on disc. Lastly, UK label Zoom Club would issue 'Riding High', promoted as the third LONE STAR album, in May of 2000. These recordings came from the private archives of Paul Chapman who had recorded the group's rehearsals at the time. Considered a bootleg by some, it was never endorsed by any of the other band members and has apparently destroyed any possibility of a future LONE STAR reunion... .. In the spring of 2003, it was announced that old UFO mates Chapman and Way had reformed WAYSTED with original vocalist Fin also back in the fold. However, by the time the band unveiled their comeback album, 'Back From The Dead', in late 2004, Chapman had resigned from the band in protest to having parts of his guitar tracks recorded over by the newly recruited Chris George. In May of 2006, the guitarist and former WAYSTED drummer Johnny 'Dee' DiTeodora (BRITNY FOX, DORO) leaked word about a project to re-record various Chapman era UFO classics, with vocalist Robin McAuley (GRAND PRIX, MSG) cutting several tracks in Palm Beach, Florida. However, in July '06 Chapman would join GATOR COUNTY, featuring former MOLLY HATCHET members Jimmy Farrar, Steve Holland, Bruce Crump, and Riff West, a band he is still a member of today. The group issued, 'Gator County Live', a collection of Hatchet classics, in 2008... .. Resurfacing after a lenghty absence, John Sloman joined long running NWOBHM veterans PRAYING MANTIS on their 'Nowhere To Hide' CD in 2003 and that same year also put out his second solo album, 'Dark Matter' (TOTO guitarist Steve Lukather would cover the song 'Jammin' with Jesus' for his 2008 release, 'Ever Changing Times'). It was followed in 2006 by '13 Storeys', with the multi-talented Sloman playing everything from cello to harpsichord. He was also brought in as a session vocalist to perform QUEEN's 'Princes of the Universe' and 'Who Wants to Live Forever' for 'Highlander: The Source', the fifth installment of the 'Highlander' film series, released in 2007. In mid '07 Sloman returned to the stage opening for WISHBONE ASH in the UK with an acoustic set before pairing up with MOSTLY AUTUMN for shows in Holland... .. Original LONE STAR vocalist Kenny Driscoll too is still active, fronting his namesake KENNY DRISCOLL BAND, one of the best known rock cover bands in South Wales. The group's line-up features another Welsh rock legend in bassist Burke Shelley of BUDGIE fame. As well, Guitarist Tony Smith can now be found in WATERLOO ROAD who are doing the live circuit around Wales... .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .... .. .. ........ .. .. ...... .. .. ..MyGen.. ..Profile Generator.. .. .. -
Members
....Lone Star.. BBC1 Live In Concert (Set 1).... - Kenny Driscoll - vocals .. - Paul Chapman - guitar.. - Rick Worsnop - keyboards.. - Tony Smith - guitar.. - Pete Hurley - bass.. - Dixie Lee - drums.. .. ..Firing On All Six.. BBC1 Live In Concert (Set 2).. Riding High..*.. - John Sloman - vocals.. - Paul Chapman - guitar.. - Rick Worsnop - keys, bass*.. - Tony Smith - guitar.. - Pete Hurley - bass.. - Dixie Lee - drums.. .. .. -
Influences
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Sounds Like
.. .... ..Lone Star.... CBS/Epic EPC 81545 (1976) UK.. CBS/Columbia PC 34475 (1976) US.. 1. A Million Stars.. 2. She Said She Said.. 3. Spaceships.. 4. A New Day.. 5. Lonely Soldier.. 6. Flying In The Reel.. 7. Illusions.. .. .. .... ..Firing On All Six.... CBS/Epic EPC 82213 (1977) UK.. CBS/Columbia PC 34937 (1977) US.. 1. The Bells Of Berlin.. 2. The Ballad Of Crafty Jack.. 3. Time Lays Down.. 4. Hypnotic Mover.. 5. Lovely Lubina.. 6. Seasons In Your Eyes.. 7. Rivers Overflowing.. 8. All Of Us To All Of You.. .. .. .... ..Lone Star.... Epic/Sony Music ESCA 5541 (1992) Japan.. Rewind/Epic/Sony Music 484422-2 (1996) UK.. Columbia/Sony Music 484422-2 (1996) US.. .. .. .... .. ..Lone Star/Firing On All Six.... Beat Goes On BGOCD183 (1993) ..above.... Beat Goes On BGOCD618 (2004) ..below.... .. .... .. US:.. ..Buy from Amazon.com.... ..Buy from CD Universe.... ..Buy from Oldies.com.... ..Buy from Alibris.com.... ..Buy from Silver Platters.... UK:.. ..Buy from Amazon.co.uk.... ..Buy from Beat Goes On.... ..Buy from HMV.com.... ..Buy from What Records.... ..Buy from Townsend Records.... .. .. .... ..BBC1 Live In Concert.... Windsong WINCD059 (1994).. ..Set 1 - recorded 23/9/1976.... 1. A Million Stars.. 2. Lonely Soldier.. 3. Hypnotic Mover.. 4. She Said She Said.. ..Set 2 - recorded 29/9/1977.... 5. She Said She Said.. 6. Crafty Jack.. 7. Bells Of Berlin.. 8. Flying In The Reel.. .. .. .... ..Riding High.... Zoom Club ZRCD25 (2000).. 1. Skytrain.. 2. The Writings On The Wall.. 3. One For The Money.. 4. Miss Demeaner.. 5. The Fool's Gold.. 6. Riding High.. 7. Can I Live The Night.. 8. Travelling Man.. 9. Painted Face.. 10. Longer In The Night.... .. .. ....Singles:.... .... Hey Baby/Turn It Up b/w.. A New Day/A Million Stars 7".. ..promo-only split EP w/ Ted Nugent.... EPC 9195 (1976) CBS Holland .. .. .... She Said She Said/Illusions 7".. CBS 4751 (1976) .. .. .... Hypnotic Mover/All Of Us To All Of You 7".. CBS 5520 (1977).. Seasons In Your Eyes/Lovely Lubina 7".. CBS 5707 (1977).. .. .. ....Compilations:.... .... ..Melody Maker Front Runners Vol. II.... CBS SPR108 (1976) UK.. - A Million Stars [A1].. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... ..All Of Us To All Of You [live, 1977].... .. .. .... .. .. .. ..
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4 Songs | Jan 31, 2009
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Bio:
Straddling the fence between progressive rock, pomp and muscular hard rock, the origins of Cardiff, Wales legends LONE STAR go back to the early 70's when the band began to take shape as IONA. An embryonic line-up featured drummer Steve Williams who would move on to QUEST in 1973 before linking up with fellow Welsh heavies BUDGIE in time for the 'Bandolier' album the following year. Conversely, IONA's nucleus of vocalist Kenny Driscoll and guitarist Tony Smith were joined by former QUEST bassist Ray Jones and Jim Mathews on drums in 1974 before the band took on the LONE STAR moniker in the spring of '75 and began rehearsing in earnest that summer when Driscoll and Smith assembled the players they had always envisioned.
The duo would enlist the rhythm section of Pete Hurley on bass and Dixie Lee on drums as well as guitarist Paul 'Tonka' Chapman (a cousin of famed Welsh rocker Dave Edmunds). Prior to LONE STAR, Chapman had spent time in UNIVERSE and Irish trio SKID ROW, taking over for Gary Moore, KIMLA TAZ from December 1972 to May 1974, and, most notably, UFO, in a short-lived dual guitar configuration alongside Michael Schenker (documented on the 1992 'BBC Radio Live In Concert' CD which features four rare cuts of said constellation, recorded during the 'Phenomenon' tour on June 6, 1974; another three songs, as well as the previously released 'Doctor Doctor', from the same Golders Green Hippodrome, London show can be found on the 1999 'BBC Sessions/In Concert' release).
Deciding that they needed a keyboard player to fill out their ambitious sound, LONE STAR went about auditioning various candidates. As fate would have it, Ken Driscoll found the man they had been looking for in far away Canada when he spotted one Rick Worsnop as he was demonstrating synthesizers in a music shop in Waterloo, Ontario. After a talk, Worsnop was offered the gig on the spot and within days found himself rehearsing with the rest of the band back in Wales. LONE STAR began to write and perfect an extensive repertoire and armed with Steve Wood as their manager got the attention of the A&R department at CBS Records who signed the group to a worldwide deal in January 1976. Setting up shop at Sweet Silence Studios in Cogenhagen, Denmark come June, the band's eponymous debut album was recorded under the guidance of producer Roy Thomas Baker (QUEEN, PILOT, MAN) and released in August 1976. It charted at No. 47 in the UK, helped along by a nationwide tour supporting US label mate, TED NUGENT.
LONE STAR's profile would get a further boost with a BBC Radio One national broadcast, recorded at the Paris Theatre in London on September 23, 1976 while on tour as openers for MOTT THE HOOPLE. 1977 saw the exit of Driscoll whose replacement was John Sloman, a 20 year-old from Cardiff, formerly with TRAPPER. New vocalist in place, the group went about recording their sophomore effort at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey with up 'n coming producer Gary Lyons (FOREIGNER) who had mixed the 'Lone Star' album the previous year. Released in August '77, 'Firing On All Six' bettered its predecessor and reached No. 36 on the UK charts. That same month, the band would also undertake their most high profile gig yet with an appearance at the prestigious Reading Rock Festival on August 26 alongside URIAH HEEP, EDDIE & THE HOT RODS and headliners GOLDEN EARRING, among others, followed by a second BBC Radio One live session on September 29, recorded at Queen Mary College in East London while sharing a bill with PAT TRAVERS.
Alas LONE STAR would be in a holding pattern for a period when Chapman was called upon by UFO to fill in for the absent Michael Schenker for part of their US tour with RUSH. Upon his return the band began to prepare and demo material for a proposed third album but already on shaky ground and beset by management problems LONE STAR splintered in late 1978, CBS having pulled the plug due to the rapidly changing musical climate. Bassist Pete Hurley and original vocalist Kenny Driscoll would launch a futile final attempt in 1979 to obtain a new recording contract but LONE STAR were put to rest for good in 1980 after a few more shows, including gigs at Bournemouth Winter Gardens, Keele University, and Nottingham Boat Club. Another Driscoll fronted outfit, TOM THE LORD, involving one-time IONA bassist Ray Jones, guitarist Tich Gwilym (KIMLA TAZ), and drummer Rob Allen disintegrated in the formative stages despite interest from Epic Records.
Driscoll would briefly turn up as the frontman for GARY MOORE (documented on the 'Live At The Marquee' album, recorded on November 5-6, 1980 and first issued in Japan in 1983), while Chapman rejoined UFO in December 1978 on a full-time basis after the erratic Schenker up and left once again, just as the band were about to release their now classic 'Strangers In The Night' double live set. The corresponding tour would culminate in a sold out 5-night stand at London’s Hammersmith Odeon before Chapman went on to record his first album with UFO. 'No Place To Run', produced by legendary BEATLES studio whiz, George Martin, was released in January of 1980.
Chapman's guitar partner, Tony Smith, teamed up in SCREEN IDOLS with former THE RATS trio - drummer Mike 'Woody' Woodmansey (DAVID BOWIE, U-BOAT), bassist Geoff Appleby (HUNTER-RONSON BAND), and guitarist Keith 'Ched' Cheeseman - and vocalist Michelle Nieddu. The band's sole album, 'Premiere', recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with producer Dennis McKay (JUDAS PRIEST, TOMMY BOLIN), came in 1979. Following the departure of Nieddu and Cheeseman, Smith would take over lead vocals on the band's third and final single, 'Routine' b/w 'Power Supply', issued in 1980, before Idols called it a day. The guitarist would next turn up in Los Angeles,CA alongside fellow Brit Kal Swan who had opted for sunnier climates after the demise of his London-based band TYTAN in mid-1983. The two refugees would team up with drummer Mark Edwards (STEELER, THIRD STAGE ALERT) and bassist Alex Campbell to form LION although Smith and Campbell were long gone by the time the band released their Japan-only 'Powerlove' EP in 1986, their spots taken over by the former MANSFIELD duo, Jerry Best on bass and future DIO / WHITESNAKE axeman, Doug Aldrich.
Elsewhere drummer Dixie Lee would supersede THE WHO bound Kenney Jones (SMALL FACES) in the newly formed WILD HORSES, led by Brian Robertson (THIN LIZZY) and Jimmy Bain (RAINBOW), taking part in the November / December '78 UK tour before being replaced by Clive Edwards (PAT TRAVERS, ELECTRIC SUN). In early 1979 Lee would re-team with Sloman, the first to leave LONE STAR in the spring of 1978, and the duo invited future session bass ace Pino Palladino (TRAPPER) to join their new venture. In light of the punk epidemic sweeping Britain, the trio left for Kitchener, Ontario, Canada at Lee's suggestion and recruited local guitarist Dave Cooper and keyboardist Gregg Dechert to complete PULSAR. The band wrote songs and played bars throughout the summer before Sloman returned to the UK for a visit in the fall of '79 where he learned of interest in his services from the URIAH HEEP camp who had just lost John Lawton.
A couple of rehearsals later, Sloman was the new vocalist and Heep proceeded to enter the studio to work on the material for what became the controversial ‘Conquest' album. Issued in February 1980, it would contain a pair of re-worked PULSAR leftovers in 'No Return' and 'Won't Have To Wait Too Long' (with another track, 'Inside Out', appearing as 'My Joanna Needs Tuning' on the B-side of the 'Think It Over' 7"). Following Ken Hensley's acrimonious departure in September '80, Gregg Dechert too would join the Heep ranks as their new keyboard player. Sloman himself contributed keyboards, albeit in an uncredited role, to UFO's 1981 release, 'The Wild The Willing and The Innocent.'
Sloman and Dechert would part ways with URIAH HEEP after only one tour, and the singer formed John Sloman's BADLANDS with former TRAPPER band mate John Munro on drums, bassist Neil Murray (WHITESNAKE), keyboardist Graeme Pleeth (pre-MIKE OLDFIELD), and guitarist John Sykes who had just left the TYGERS OF PAN TANG. The band showcased at the Marquee in London but were ultimately passed over by labels and broke up in May '82 when Sykes accepted Phil Lynott's offer to join THIN LIZZY. Sloman and Murray would link up and tour with GARY MOORE, from which came the 'Rockin' Every Night' live album, recorded January 24-25, 1983 at Shinjuku Kousei Nenkin Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Eventually Sloman would venture out on his own and began recording the first of his 3 solo albums, 'Disappearances Can Be Deceptive', with old mates Munro, Dechert (a member of the Brian Howe fronted BAD COMPANY on 1986's 'Fame and Fortune') and Palladino on board. Issued in 1989 and produced in part by Todd Rundgren (MEAT LOAF, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD), it contained several songs originally demoed with the BADLANDS line-up.
Having stayed behind in Canada where he'd joined STARCHILD after the demise of PULSAR, LONE STAR drummer Dixie Lee would cut demos with an early version of Ozzy Osbourne's BLIZZARD OF OZZ back in the UK before enlisting with Welsh metal upstarts PERSIAN RISK in late 1983, just as their guitarist, Phil Campbell, was about to join the MOTORHEAD ranks. Lee's stint with Risk remained brief and he was succeeded by Steve Hopgood (CHINATOWN, LIONHEART) in time for the band's 'Too Different' 12" EP. Similarly, Paul Chapman's time with UFO would come to an end after a further pair of albums, 'Mechanix' ('82) and 'Making Contact' ('83), when it was announced in May of 1983 that the band would take a break. It turned into a permanent goodbye for Chapman as the guitarist moved to the US to start his own band D.O.A., later re-named CIRCUS CIRCUS, before joining Pete Way in WAYSTED, recording 'The Good, the Bad, the Waysted' ('85) and 'Save Your Prayers' ('86) in the process.
At the turn of the decade, the South Florida-based Chapman set out to form yet another band, GHOST, with fellow Welshman Carl Sentance (PERSIAN RISK, GEEZER BUTLER BAND) on vocals. Even though the group toured on the East Coast and attracted interest from Sony Music no record deal was ever signed. In 1993, Chapman was all but lined up as the guitarist for a reformed UFO; however, the gig eventually would go to Michael Schenker instead. A collection of GHOST demos would surface posthumously as PAUL CHAPMAN'S GHOST via Zoom Club in 2003. Chapman also released 'Anthology Volume One', a retrospective covering his career from LONE STAR to GHOST, on his own Paul Chapman Enterprises label. A solo instrumental version of the LONE STAR classic, 'The Bells of Berlin', would also appear as part of the December 2000 archive WAYSTED collection, 'Your Prayers Are Saved.'
John Sloman would be heard from again in 1990 with the short-lived SOULS UNKNOWN, featuring guitarist Steve 'Boltz' Bolton (fresh off the 25th Anniversary tour with THE WHO) and former TRAPPER mates John Munro and Pino Palladino (DAVID GILMOUR, DON HENLEY) on drums and bass, respectively. LONE STAR bassist Pete Hurley, sighted playing with Welsh roots rockers THE RED HOT POKERS all through the 90's, would be part of another Sloman project, BEAT POETS, in 1999. Neither outfit managed to put out an album. Hurley released 'Dancin' Mood' with the Pokers in 2001, the group also being credited with backing both rock'n'roll pioneer JERRY LEE LEWIS and his sister, LINDA GAIL LEWIS, live and in the studio on different occasions. Recording the 'You Win Again' album in 2000 with Linda and Northern Irish icon, VAN MORRISON, would lead to TRHP becoming Morrison's new live band, with Hurley also contributing bass to Van's 2002's 'Down the Road' album.
On the LONE STAR front, the band's long out-of-print legacy would finally be re-issued on CD when indie label Beat Goes On released 'Lone Star' / 'Firing On All Six' as a 2-for-1 in April of 1993 (a second BGO re-issue with altered artwork came in 2004). It was followed by Windsong's 'BBC1 Live In Concert' CD in May '94 which saw both the September 23, 1976 Paris Theatre and September 29, 1977 Queen Mary College 'In Concert' sessions packaged on disc. Lastly, UK label Zoom Club would issue 'Riding High', promoted as the third LONE STAR album, in May of 2000. These recordings came from the private archives of Paul Chapman who had recorded the group's rehearsals at the time. Considered a bootleg by some, it was never endorsed by any of the other band members and has apparently destroyed any possibility of a future LONE STAR reunion.
In the spring of 2003, it was announced that old UFO mates Chapman and Way had reformed WAYSTED with original vocalist Fin also back in the fold. However, by the time the band unveiled their comeback album, 'Back From The Dead', in late 2004, Chapman had resigned from the band in protest to having parts of his guitar tracks recorded over by the newly recruited Chris George. In May of 2006, the guitarist and former WAYSTED drummer Johnny 'Dee' DiTeodora (BRITNY FOX, DORO) leaked word about a project to re-record various Chapman era UFO classics, with vocalist Robin McAuley (GRAND PRIX, MSG) cutting several tracks in Palm Beach, Florida. However, in July '06 Chapman would join GATOR COUNTY, featuring former MOLLY HATCHET members Jimmy Farrar, Steve Holland, Bruce Crump, and Riff West, a band he is still a member of today. The group issued, 'Gator County Live', a collection of Hatchet classics, in 2008.
Resurfacing after a lenghty absence, John Sloman joined long running NWOBHM veterans PRAYING MANTIS on their 'Nowhere To Hide' CD in 2003 and that same year also put out his second solo album, 'Dark Matter' (TOTO guitarist Steve Lukather would cover the song 'Jammin' with Jesus' for his 2008 release, 'Ever Changing Times'). It was followed in 2006 by '13 Storeys', with the multi-talented Sloman playing everything from cello to harpsichord. He was also brought in as a session vocalist to perform QUEEN's 'Princes of the Universe' and 'Who Wants to Live Forever' for 'Highlander: The Source', the fifth installment of the 'Highlander' film series, released in 2007. In mid '07 Sloman returned to the stage opening for WISHBONE ASH in the UK with an acoustic set before pairing up with MOSTLY AUTUMN for shows in Holland.
Original LONE STAR vocalist Kenny Driscoll too is still active, fronting his namesake KENNY DRISCOLL BAND, one of the best known rock cover bands in South Wales. The group's line-up features another Welsh rock legend in bassist Burke Shelley of BUDGIE fame. As well, Guitarist Tony Smith can now be found in WATERLOO ROAD who are doing the live circuit around Wales.
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Member Since:
January 31, 2009Members:
Lone StarBBC1 Live In Concert (Set 1)
- Kenny Driscoll - vocals
- Paul Chapman - guitar
- Rick Worsnop - keyboards
- Tony Smith - guitar
- Pete Hurley - bass
- Dixie Lee - drums
Firing On All Six
BBC1 Live In Concert (Set 2)
Riding High*
- John Sloman - vocals
- Paul Chapman - guitar
- Rick Worsnop - keys, bass*
- Tony Smith - guitar
- Pete Hurley - bass
- Dixie Lee - drums
Sounds Like:
Lone Star
CBS/Epic EPC 81545 (1976) UK
CBS/Columbia PC 34475 (1976) US
1. A Million Stars
2. She Said She Said
3. Spaceships
4. A New Day
5. Lonely Soldier
6. Flying In The Reel
7. Illusions
Firing On All Six
CBS/Epic EPC 82213 (1977) UK
CBS/Columbia PC 34937 (1977) US
1. The Bells Of Berlin
2. The Ballad Of Crafty Jack
3. Time Lays Down
4. Hypnotic Mover
5. Lovely Lubina
6. Seasons In Your Eyes
7. Rivers Overflowing
8. All Of Us To All Of You
Lone Star
Epic/Sony Music ESCA 5541 (1992) Japan
Rewind/Epic/Sony Music 484422-2 (1996) UK
Columbia/Sony Music 484422-2 (1996) US
Lone Star/Firing On All Six
Beat Goes On BGOCD183 (1993) above
Beat Goes On BGOCD618 (2004) below
US:
Buy from Amazon.com
Buy from CD Universe
Buy from Oldies.com
Buy from Alibris.com
Buy from Silver Platters
UK:
Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Buy from Beat Goes On
Buy from HMV.com
Buy from What Records
Buy from Townsend Records
BBC1 Live In Concert
Windsong WINCD059 (1994)
Set 1 - recorded 23/9/1976
1. A Million Stars
2. Lonely Soldier
3. Hypnotic Mover
4. She Said She Said
Set 2 - recorded 29/9/1977
5. She Said She Said
6. Crafty Jack
7. Bells Of Berlin
8. Flying In The Reel
Riding High
Zoom Club ZRCD25 (2000)
1. Skytrain
2. The Writings On The Wall
3. One For The Money
4. Miss Demeaner
5. The Fool's Gold
6. Riding High
7. Can I Live The Night
8. Travelling Man
9. Painted Face
10. Longer In The Night
Singles:
Hey Baby/Turn It Up b/w
A New Day/A Million Stars 7"
promo-only split EP w/ Ted Nugent
EPC 9195 (1976) CBS Holland
She Said She Said/Illusions 7"
CBS 4751 (1976)
Hypnotic Mover/All Of Us To All Of You 7"
CBS 5520 (1977)
Seasons In Your Eyes/Lovely Lubina 7"
CBS 5707 (1977)
Compilations:
Melody Maker Front Runners Vol. II
CBS SPR108 (1976) UK
- A Million Stars [A1]
All Of Us To All Of You [live, 1977]
Famous Sons 1 year ago
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Frances W. Patrick 2 years ago
Irma P. Lewis
2 years ago
Dorsey Hatchcock 2 years ago
Naida Klinglesmith 2 years ago
Kathleen Evans 
2 years ago
CAndy PArnes 2 years ago
ROBIN TRIP 2 years ago
10 of 40MoreThe One & Only 'Loan Star'...... Possibly one of the greatest bands ever to come out of Wales in the 70's....... We remember !
As a band they never got it right on the nail but gave us all something,which has lasted all these years......
Respect to you 'Lone Star'....... to the kids of today we say check them out...... you will not be disappointed...... or tell your Mum & Dad that they are on my---------------sp------------a----------ce
Diolch / Thanks...
for the add!
Quite possibly one of the greatest bands ever!
Hey!i love you music
Hi.
love love love you!~
how you doing well i hope have a good day peace
Tome wanna make himself be Garfield one day.
Thanks for the add. Great music.
Thanks for the friendship! Robin Trip ~
Song "Fade to Grey" #1 for Montreal, QC
Charting at #9 overall in Canada !
Robin Trip: Rock, Alternative, Classic Rock, Psychedelic & Retro, Grunge
http://www.reverbnation.com/robintrip