I'm partial to a good quality bootleg as much as the next bloke, dunno if youve checked out the links on the blog. but one of 'em is the marvelous HEAR ROCK CITY site...I scored all these over there, and to be fair the sound is pretty damn good, I had to give a couple of tracks a tweek...but all in all...bloody good ....much cudos to the guys over their for their unrelenting quest for bootleg gold....SO...
I must admit to being into Helloween BEFORE the Scorpions....I dunno how that happened, you can probably blame Utopia Records I guess
All I can remeber is that I ended up in the possesion of both releases of KEEPER OF THE SEVEN KEYS and that was me won over... Anyway, some Hella-History... Helloween were quite possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the 1980s. By taking the hard-riffing and minor-key melodies handed down from metal masters like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, then infusing them with the speed and energy introduced by the burgeoning thrash metal movement, Helloween crystallized the sonic ingredients of what is now known as power metal.
Sadly, just as they were on the verge of breaking to a wider audience -- even flirting with American success -- the band's meteoric rise was rudely interrupted by internal strife and a string of bad business decisions. These blunders kept them from ever regaining their original momentum, but Helloween took their hard-knock lessons in stride and continued to prosper in the international metal arena on their own terms. More importantly, they remained the benchmark by which most every power metal band is still measured.
Helloween were founded in 1984 in Hamburg, Northern Germany. The band is a pioneering force in the power metal subgenres and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, are considered masterpieces of the genre. Twelve musicians have been a part of the band's line-up in its history, which has consisted of singer Andi Deris, guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner, bass guitarist Markus Grosskopf, and drummer Daniel Löble since 2005.
in 1984 members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, and Powerfool. Its first line-up consisted of Weikath, Grosskopf, singer and guitarist Kai Hansen and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. After the release of a self-titled EP and a first album in 1985, it expanded into a quintet when singer Michael Kiske joined, with Hansen only acting as guitarist. Under this line-up, they released the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums (1987 and 1988), which established Helloween as a notable heavy metal band and led to the creation of the power metal subgenre. However, Hansen left the band quickly after the release of Pt. 2 and was replaced by Roland Grapow. He then created the band Gamma Ray.
Helloween were formed in Hamburg, Germany, by guitarists Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath, bassist Markus Grosskopf, and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. Originally named Second Hell and then Iron Fist before morphing into Helloween in 1982, they signed with Germany's own fledgling Noise International two years later. With Hansen also handling vocals and the bulk of songwriting duties, the quartet recorded its self-titled debut mini-album in early 1985.
The full-length Walls of Jericho and the Judas maxi-single followed the year after, and the media were soon buzzing over the band's thrash-fueled interpretation of classic heavy metal. Countless fans across Continental Europe were also fast converting to the band's cause, but Hansen remained dissatisfied with his singing ability, and felt Helloween needed a proper frontman in order to achieve their full potential. Enter teenage vocalist Michael Kiske, whose high-pitched delivery followed in the footsteps of previous heavy metal banshees like Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson.
The new chemistry proved as explosive on-stage as it did in the studio, and with their classic lineup now intact, Helloween were ready for the big time. Returning to the studio in early 1987, the band emerged in May with Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1, a landmark recording that remains arguably the single most influential power metal album to date. Its volatile combination of power and melody would inspire an entire generation of metal bands, and transformed Helloween into bona fide superstars all over Europe and the U.K., even making tentative inroads into America at the time.
The band toured relentlessly for the rest of the year and into 1988 (including a lengthy opening stint with Iron Maiden), but despite this manic work schedule, Helloween still found time to record the aptly titled Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2. Released in September 1988, the record was another blockbuster that crashed the U.K. Top 30, but its uneven songwriting (especially from longtime leader Kai Hansen) revealed the beginnings of a major band crisis.
Helloween's OUTSTANDING performance at that year's Donington Monsters of Rock Festival proved to be their crowning glory, but for Hansen, his dream come true also represented the culmination of his ambitions for the group. Shockingly, the guitarist soon announced his departure from the band he had helmed to the top, claiming that Helloween were now too big a beast for him to control. (He would soon make a fresh start with a new outfit called Gamma Ray, which, to no one's surprise, sounded remarkably like Helloween.) But the remaining members of Helloween weren't about to let their shot at stardom slip away, and after drafting former Rampage guitarist Roland Grapow, they got right back to work with a sold-out tour of the U.K. Impressed by the band's momentum, giant EMI stepped in and offered to sign Helloween away from the ever troubled Noise Records, but in doing so, wound up igniting a legal dispute that would sideline the group for nearly two years. Several live albums (Live in the U.K. for Europe, Keepers Live for Japan, and I Want Out: Live for the U.S.) were released to distract the fans during this hiatus, and the band obtained added support from the mighty Sanctuary management team (Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P., etc.) to boot.
Confident that they'd accumulated little, if any rust from their extended layoff, Helloween finally returned to action with the oddly titled Pink Bubbles Go Ape in 1991. But no amount of EMI or Sanctuary muscle could compensate for the scattered, unfocused songwriting that dominated the album. Furthermore, the band's quirky attempts at humor had grown so forced that fans weren't sure what to make of furious metal anthems with names like the title track and "Heavy Metal Hamsters." The record bombed in no uncertain terms, as did its even more schizophrenic follow-up, Chameleon. Recorded in 1993 by an obviously shell-shocked band, its poor showing only exacerbated growing internal dissension, which culminated with the ousting of both Kiske (off to launch a solo career) and Schwichtenberg due to drug-related physical and mental health issues.
Fair-weather friends EMI and Sanctuary also decided to cut their losses at this time, leaving the shattered remnants of Helloween to fend for themselves. Attempting to regroup as fast as possible, Helloween brought in new singer Andi Deris and drummer Uli Kusch to record 1994's Master of the Rings, a small but determined step in the right direction. Then tragedy struck, when former drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg -- a diagnosed manic depressive whose worsening condition had been partly to blame for his dismissal -- took his own life, throwing himself in front of a train near his native Hamburg.
Shaken to the core but as driven as ever, Helloween dedicated 1996's The Time of the Oath to their fallen friend, and, coincidentally, the album turned out to be the strongest since their glory years, doing much to resurrect their career. The ensuing tour spawned the double-disc set High Live and confirmed the band's return to form as major players in the international metal arena (in Europe and Japan, they were arguably bigger than ever). Helloween continued to prosper with 1998's Better Than Raw, 1999's celebratory Metal Jukebox covers album, and 2000's The Dark Ride, and not even the departure of longtime members Grapow and Kusch could slow them for long. Now regarded as elder statesmen of Euro-metal, Helloween celebrated their achievements with 2002's Treasure Chest greatest-hits set.
This was followed by 2003's Rabbit Don't Come Easy, which introduced new guitarist Sascha Gerstner and featured Motörhead's Mikkey Dee guesting on drums until a permanent replacement could be found in Stefan Schwarzmann (ex-U.D.O., Running Wild, and many more). Schwarzmann left the group in 2005 and was replaced by Rawhead Rex drummer Dani Löble, who appeared on that year’s critically acclaimed Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy. Gambling with the Devil arrived in 2007, and was followed by 7 Sinners in 2010. Their 14th album, Straight Out of Hell, arrived on The End Records in early 2013.
Helloweenie's
Michael Weikath – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1984–present)
Markus Grosskopf – bass, backing vocals (1984–present)
Andi Deris – lead vocals (1993–present)
Sascha Gerstner – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2002–present)
Daniel Löble – drums (2005–present)
Additional musicians
Jörn Ellerbrock – keyboards (1988-2003)
Matthias Ulmer – keyboards (2007–2010)
Eddy Wrapiprou – keyboards (2010-present)
Ex-Helloweeners
Kai Hansen – lead & rhythm guitar (1984–1989),
lead vocals (1984–1986), backing vocals (1986–1989)
Ingo Schwichtenberg – drums (1984–1993; died 1995)
Michael Kiske – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, tambourine (1986–1993)
Roland Grapow – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1989–2001)
Now you may have noticed, from prior blogaroos, that I have much love in my heart for both Thorpey and the Rosey Tatts...and these two dvds have pride and place on the shelf...
AND....I actually went to the gig, with a couple of mates...and what a rockin night it was...the late great Chrissy Amphlett and the Divynls were there as well, but I dont own that dvd (and I cant say they grabbed hold of me anyway)
Recorded in 1993 in Queensland's notorious Boggo Road prison, this scorching live show, sees the legend that is Billy Thorpe return to Australia for the first time in 20 years and deliver rock n' roll, at Aztecian volume levels, through a virtual replay of their legendary Sunbury set from 1972...
Thorpey reached out and got Paul Wheeler, Gil "Rats" Mathews and Warrten "Pig" Morgan back together to tear down the infamous lock up called Boggo Rd.
The band are in full flight as they roll out all their big hits, including: Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy , Mamma, Be Bop A Lula, Rock Me Baby, C.C. Rider, Rock 'n' Roll City, World Turning, Ooh Poo Pa Doo and many more.
And then came the Tatts
Rose Tattoo, the bad boys of Australian rock since the late 70s when they ignited Australian audiences with the hits 'Bad Boy For Love' and 'Rock'n'Roll Outlaw'. After the release of their third album, 'Scarred For Life', and the chart-topping anthem 'We Can't Be Beaten', Rose Tattoo became one of the biggest, and most infamous, hard rock bands in the country.
Performing here in front of a huge crowd at Boggo Road Jail (the original line-up of Angry Anderson, Peter Wells, Geordie Leech and Mick Cocks reunited to celebrate the closing of the jail
Angry Anderson and the band deliver a thumping set of Tatt classics , rolling out all their big hits - including 'Assault & Battery', 'Tramp', 'Out of This Place' - and a rousing rendition of the Rolling Stones classic 'Street Fighting Man'....AND then Angry calls on Thorpey plug back in and blast his way through "Going down" with the tatts.
Much beer was imbied, many years of hearing was sacrificed BUT what a top night I'm so glad some clever bugger had the foresight to film it and release it.
As I may have mentioned in the past, I occasionally find a great band that deserves to be at the top of the charts forever BUT ends up only selling their stuff on their website instead, not that there's anything wrong with that..
One such band I've found while trolling through YouTube one day, you may have heard of them, is Heaven & Earth...sound wise, sorta like a cross between Deep Purple and Bad Company, with a hint of Whitesnake rock'n'roll rhythmn & blues ....basically, a truly epic sounding band...
Stuart Smith is the vision behind the group and over the years has assembled some truly outstanding muso's to have a play with...They have put out a couple of albums with the most recent in 2013 called DIG...so get amongst it...go buy the thing I insist, I did. Here is some history about Heaven & Earth...and we aint talking Theology and astronomy
Designed and directed by British-born, Los Angeles-based blues-rock guitar virtuoso Stuart Smith, Heaven & Earth specialize in melodic, classic hard rock in the vein of Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Bad Company. Named after Smith's 1999 solo outing of the same moniker, the band has undergone lineup changes since debuting in 2001 with Windows to the World (past members include Joe Lynn Turner [Rainbow], Carmine Appice [Vanilla Fudge], Richie Sambora [Bon Jovi], Glenn Hughes [Deep Purple], Kelly Hansen [Foreigner], and Kelly Keeling [King Kobra]).
Smith was joined by vocalist Joe Retta, bass player Chuck Wright, drummer Richie Onori, and keyboard player Arlan Schierbaum (along with special guests David Paich [Toto], Howard Leese [Heart], and the aforementioned Sambora) for 2013's Dave Jenkins-produced Dig.
1970s During the 1970s, after playing in numerous local rock bands, Smith formed his own group Sidewinder. They toured extensively throughout England and Europe and after the band dissolved towards the end of the 1970s he relocated to London and played with various other groups
1980s In 1983 after becoming disillusioned with the British rock music scene and at the suggestion of Ritchie Blackmore, Smith packed up his guitars and moved to Long Island, New York where he formed a band called Mirage. The band played around New York and Long Island till 1986 when he moved to Los Angeles.
1990s In 1994 Smith, along with long time drummer Richie Onori, formed the Aliens of Extraordinary Ability with Keith Emerson. Other members of this band were bassist Marvin Sperlng and vocalist Robbie Wykoff who is currently the singer for Pink Floyd bassist, Roger Waters touring band. The Aliens of Extraordinary Ability were offered a record deal by Korean electronics giant Samsung but could not take them up on the offer as Emerson was contracted to tour with ELP. Smith was offered the deal from Samsung for a solo record. Having no permanent band at the time Smith recruited the help of Richie Sambora, Joe Lynn Turner, Glenn Hughes, Camine Appice, Howard Leese, and Kelly Hansen along with many others to record the critically acclaimed Stuart Smith's Heaven & Earth.
This CD was produced by Pat Regan and Howard Leese and was released by Frontiers Records in Europe and Pony Canyon in Japan after Samsung's record division closed due to the Asian economy collapse in 1998. During this period Smith and Joe Lynn Turner were approached by Taylor Guitars to contribute a track for their Sounds of Wood & Steel album. The acoustic instrumental track "Alma de Alma" written by Smith & Turner continues to be played on radio stations to this day.
Smith was offered the deal from Samsung for a solo record. Having no permanent band at the time Smith recruited the help of Richie Sambora, Joe Lynn Turner, Glenn Hughes, Camine Appice, Howard Leese, and Kelly Hansen along with many others to record the critically acclaimed Stuart Smith's Heaven & Earth.
This CD was produced by Pat Regan and Howard Leese and was released by Frontiers Records in Europe and Pony Canyon in Japan after Samsung's record division closed due to the Asian economy collapse in 1998. During this period Smith and Joe Lynn Turner were approached by Taylor Guitars to contribute a track for their Sounds of Wood & Steel album. The acoustic instrumental track "Alma de Alma" written by Smith & Turner continues to be played on radio stations to this day.
2000s Following this release of Heaven & Earth, Smith recorded and released a second Heaven & Earth album entitled Windows to the World which featured Kelly Keeling on vocals. Other musicians on this album were Chuck Wright, Marvin Sperling, Tony Franklin on bass, Richie Onori on drums and Arlan Schierbaum on keyboards. Windows to the World was also produced by Howard Leese and was released in 2001 on Frontiers Records in Europe and JVC in Japan. In 2004 Smith along with drummer Richie Onori opened up their own label, Black Star Records and re-released the first Heaven & Earth album along with an EP entitled "A Taste of Heaven"
The EP featured four new songs with vocalist Paul Shortino and four songs from the first album. This line up turned out to be short lived and Heaven & Earth continued on with singer Kelly Hansen and started to achieve moderate success till Hansen joined Foreigner in 2005.
In 2008, after failing to find a suitable replacement for Hansen, Smith received a phone call from former band mate Steve Priest asking if he wanted to try putting Sweet back together again. They recruited vocalist Joe Retta, former Crows keyboard player Stevie Stewart and drummer Richie Onori and on 5 June 2008 appeared on the Mark & Brian Radio Show playing a few of the Sweet classic hits to great response. The next day they followed up with their first show at a small club called "Nicholby's" in Ventura and played their first official show at The Whiskey on Sunset Blvd. on 12 June. This incarnation of Sweet took off and the band toured extensively headlining and co-headlining festivals throughout the remainder of the year. A performance at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, California on August 30 was recorded by the Westwood One Mobile for radio broadcast purposes. Towards the end of the year the band released the performance as a live CD entitled, Sweet. Live in America. The album was later released by the Varese Saraband label including a bonus track cover version of The Beatles; "I Saw Her Standing There"
2010–present In late 2011, Smith teamed up with executive producer Bruce Quarto to produce a new Heaven & Earth album. The album entitled "Dig" was completed in January, 2013 and features Smith on guitars, Joe Retta on vocals, Richie Onori on drums, Chuck Wright on bass and Arlan Schierbaum on keyboards with guest appearances by Howard Leese, David Paich (Toto) and Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi). The album, produced by Dave Jenkins, was released on April 23rd, 2013.....and I can hardly wait for yet more truly brilliant tunes from the guys
