With a band patched together from the remnants of Mott the Hoople, British Lions is all swagger and little substance; music performed as though it's very important and vital, but with little in the way of memorable tunes or attitude. That's the late-'70s hard rock mainstream for you, and it's easy to imagine these guys slogging it out in arenas as a support act, which in fact they did for Blue Öyster Cult and UFO…
In the late '70s, the British Lions recorded a second album, but could not get it released in either the U.S. or the U.K., and the band broke up. The LP did appear on Cherry Red in 1980; this reissue adds a bunch of demos, live cuts, and radio promo commercials…
2020 release by band British Lion led by Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris. The album was recorded, engineered and mixed at Barnyard Studios by Tony Newton and produced by Harris. 'The Burning' is a follow-up to British Lion's 2012's eponymous debut album, Steve's first ever musical venture outside of Iron Maiden which was pronounced both 'brilliant' and 'a big hearted ferocious triumph' by the music press.
In the wake of punk’s seismic and well recounted impact on the UK music scene, countless hitherto unavailable influences suddenly became available and de rigueur for the nation’s would-be pop stars. Enabled by a new kind of record shop that began to appear across the country in Rough Trade’s image, and encouraged by an absolute disregard for ‘the rules’, interested young people were quickly exposed to a broad spectrum of music from beyond the realm of three chord rock ‘n roll. Nowhere was the outcome more notable than on the dancefloors of the day.
Mott the Hoople were one of the great also-rans in the history of rock & roll. Though Mott scored a number of album rock hits in the early '70s, the band never quite broke through into the mainstream. Nevertheless, their nasty fusion of heavy metal, glam rock, and Bob Dylan's sneering hipster cynicism provided the groundwork for many British punk bands, most notably the Clash. At the center of Mott the Hoople was lead vocalist/pianist Ian Hunter, a late addition to the band who developed into its focal point as his songwriting grew. Hunter was able to subvert rock & roll conventions with his lyrics, and the band – led by guitarist Mick Ralphs – had a tough, muscular sound that kept the group firmly in hard rock territory, even when flirting with homosexual imagery and glammy makeup. However, their lack of success meant that they inevitably splintered apart in the '70s, with Ralphs forming Bad Company and Hunter launching a cult solo career.
Blues-based hard rock combo Box of Frogs reunited guitarist Chris Dreja, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, and drummer Jim McCarty, all three founding members of the famed Yardbirds. The trio re-teamed for the first time since the Yardbirds' mid-1968 dissolution to play a 1983 live date at the London Marquee, and the performance proved so successful that they soon founded Box of Frogs with vocalist John Fiddler, formerly of Medicine Head and British Lions. Fellow Yardbirds alum Jeff Beck guested on several tracks on the group's self-titled 1984 LP, with Jimmy Page appearing on the 1986 follow-up Strange Land. Box of Frogs disbanded soon after.
Joe Elliott's Down n Outz hit the stage at Sheffield Corporation in 2014. Paying homage to musical heroes, Mott the Hoople, Mott, British Lions and of course Ian Hunter.Featuring Rock n roll Queen, Marionette, One of the boys and others in this raw and stunning performance…
Hackensack - Up the Hardway, title track from their debut (and only official album for Polydor) album, released in 1974. Hackensack existed between 1968 and 1974 and released the abovementioned album and one single. They were formed by vocalist Nicky Moore, one of England's best frontmen. Their stage act was reminiscent of The Who and they built up a good reputation as a hard working and hard rocking blues/rock quartet. Their only album release is quite collectible today, and had a good mix of solid rockers as well as the odd tasteful blues track. Unfortunately its failure to do much led to the demise of the band in 1974. Moore subsequently joined Tiger, Samson and Mammoth, with drummer Simon Fox moving on to Be Bop Deluxe and guitarist Ray Smith (a.k.a. Ray Major ) moving on to The British Lions, an offshoot of Mott the Hoople.