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Spider (British band)

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Not to be confused with Spiders (British band).

Spider
OriginLiverpool, England
GenresBoogie rock, hard rock
Years active1976–1986
LabelsRCA, A&M, Pye
Past membersDave "Sniffa" Bryce (guitar)
Colin Harkness (vocals)
Brian Burrows (bass
Rob E Burrows (drums)

Spider were a British band from Liverpool, England, that formed in 1976 and were part of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM).

The band, who were often compared to Status Quo, offered an upbeat sound, which was described as boogie rock.[1] Spider released three albums in the 10 years they were together, titled Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies (1982)[2] Rough Justice (1984)[3] and Raise the Banner (For Rock 'n' Roll) (1986)[4]

The band split in 1986.

Career

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Spider formed in 1976, consisted of four young men from Wallasey, including two brothers, none of whom had played in bands before.

After releasing "Children of the Street" on the Alien Record Label, Spider were playing, on average 20 dates a month, which included a support slot on the Uriah Heep 1980 Winter Tour.[5]

1982 proved to be the band's most lucrative year. It began in late 1981 when the band were contracted to record for BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show.[6] The producer, Tony Wilson, introduced them to Maggi Farren, who set up a recording deal with Creole Records as well as getting the band a support slot on the 1981 Slade Winter Tour.

Spider released the single "Talkin' 'bout Rock 'n' Roll" with Creole, which featured as part of BBC Radio 1's play list.[6] They then went into the studio to begin recording their first album Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies,[2] to be released on the Creole label also. However RCA, who had made a late bid for the band, and after negotiations, Spider signed a six-year recording contract with the record label.

1982 continued with Spider packing out the Marquee Club once a month. They supported Alice Cooper on the British leg of his Special Forces Tour. They played at the Reading Festival on Sunday 29 August 1982,[7] as well as securing a support slot on the mammoth Gillan Tour in coincidence with the release of their first album.

Dave Bryce, guitarist, currently plays with London rock band AWOL.

On 22 July 2022 it was announced on the bands Facebook page that Colin Harkness had died, at the age of 62.

Band members

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  • Colin Harkness - lead vocals, guitar died July 2022
  • Dave "Sniffa" Bryce - guitar, backing vocals
  • Brian Burrows - bass, backing vocals
  • Rob E. Burrows - drums

Discography

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Albums

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Year Album Name Format
1982 Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies 12" vinyl
1984 Rough Justice 12" vinyl
1986 Raise the Banner (For Rock 'n' Roll) 12" vinyl
2007 Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies CD
Rough Justice CD
2011 The Singles Collection CD box set
2012 The Complete Anthology CD box set

Singles

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  • 1977: "Back to the Wall"
  • 1980: "Children of the Street"
  • 1980: "College Luv"
  • 1981: "All the Time"
  • 1982: "Talkin' 'Bout Rock 'n' Roll"
  • 1982: "Rock 'n' Roll Forever Will Last"
  • 1982: "Amazing Grace Medley" (Free with Rock 'n' Roll Forever Will Last)
  • 1983: "Why D'Ya Lie to Me"
  • 1984: "Here we go Rock 'n' Roll"
  • 1984: "Breakaway"
  • 1986: "Gimme Gimme It All"

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 336. ISBN 0-85112-656-1.
  2. ^ a b "IronMaid's NWOBHM space: Spider - Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies (160kbps) - 1982". Nwobhmstuff.blogspot.com. 24 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  3. ^ "IronMaid's NWOBHM space: Spider - Rough Justice (192kbps) - 1984". Nwobhmstuff.blogspot.com. 24 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  4. ^ "IronMaid's NWOBHM space: Spider - Raise the Banner (320kbps) - 1986". Nwobhmstuff.blogspot.com. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Official Uriah Heep Homepage". Uriah Heep. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  6. ^ a b [1] Archived September 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Reading Rock Festival 1982". Ukrockfestivals.com. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
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