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BITE THE BULLET - LOOKING FOR PARADISE |
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Limited edition to 1000 CD copies only, all will be numbered 1-1000
£10.99 + Shipping Pre-Order Now |
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Release Date: 23 August 2024 Track list: Dirty Water Lyric Video:
Line up Bite The Bullet were originally formed in 1986 by singer songwriter Mick Benton and drummer Graham Cowling. They met in 1984 when they both joined West London rock band “Mother’s Ruin”. Thanks to the legendary Greg Lake, Benton managed to secure a solo deal with Atlantic Records and he asked Cowling to play drums. Its good to see that their collaboration is still strong to this very day. In 1986 “Bite the Bullet” were formed and the music played was in the style of Foreigner, Toto and Mr. Mister, an album was released in 1989 to some quiet success. The music was warmly received and the band earned themselves some radio airplay. Benton and Cowling always remained friends and they still played in pubs and clubs over the years which brings is up to 2019 when their debut was reissued on CD. It ignited a flame in the two men and brought the original recording back to the forefront again and old fans reappraised the album whilst new fans joined in. In January 2021 the year started with “Black and White” (ESM349) followed by “End of the Line” (ESM361) in 2022 in and more recently “Rocky Road” (ESM375) 2023. The band successfully combine their own unique sound with similarities to Mr Mister and Asia to produce a nice smooth rock pop sound. We are now in 2024 and the boys have been busy writing again, giving us “Looking for Paradise” which is a great slab of pop rock with a harder edge than usual, it’s a modern sound yet retains the feel of the classic 80’s period. There are 11 tracks to choose from and they all hit the mark, this classic band certainly know how to pen a tune, these are exciting times!
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BOB CATLEY - THE TOWER |
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Escape Music has the pleasure to announce the re-release of much loved vocalist Bob Catley (Magnum/Avantasia) “The Tower “ album on Vinyl and CD with new artwork by the legendary artist Rodney Matthews The Vinyl will be Double Vinyl Gatefold limited edition of 500 copies only, “Camouflage Green” and “Green Transparent” colour, all will be numbered 1-500, 180g Audiophile Vinyl, and 1000 CDs only all will be numbered 001 to 1000
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CD VERSION £10.99 + Shipping Pre-Order Now |
VINYL VERSION £26.99 + Shipping Pre-Order Now |
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Release Date: 20th September 2024 Vinyl: Side A Side B Side C Side D
CD: Bob Catley: Lead vocals and Backing
Vocals Recorded at Startrack Studios,
Manchester. Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947, Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young. He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college. Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks-bass & Brian Worrell-drums, Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition, they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan. Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970. Formed in 1972, Magnum throughout the next 16 years consisted mainly of Bob Catley on vocals and Tony Clarkin on guitar. Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably ‘Soldier of the Line’, ‘Sacred Hour’ and ‘The Spirit’. Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single ‘Just Like an Arrow’. This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor (Queen) produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990. Subsequently, Clarkin decided to maintain a tighter control, and after their initial mainstream success, the band lost their major label backing and returned to a more personal level of production. This finally found the band splitting and the formation of Hard Rain in 1995, which saw Clarkin pursue a more Pop orientated direction with a band that included Sue McCloskey on lead vocals. This new direction didn’t sit well with Catley, and after a headline performance at The Gods in the late 90s, a conversation with Bruce Mee of Now & Then Records saw Catley agree with a decision which eventually led to his debut solo album, ‘The Tower’. This release was completely written by Gary Hughes of Ten, with the writing completely decided to be in the vein of classic Magnum. The album itself was recorded by various members of Ten, including the amazing Vinny Burns (Dare) on guitar. On release, the many positive reviews concluded that the release of ‘The Tower’ had succeeded beyond its wildest imagination…..and Bob Catley’s solo career had been launched with amazing success!! With a lyrical intricacy and majestic pomp, songs like ‘Far Away, ‘Fear of the Dark, ‘Madrigal’ and ‘Deep Winter’ take you back to that glorious period of Magnum between ‘Chase The Dragon’ and ‘Wings Of Heaven’ whilst hard melodic rockers such as ‘Scream’, ‘Dreams’ and title track ‘The Tower’ show just what Magnum would have sounded like if they’d gone a little bit harder. Another absolutely brilliant album that totally deserves to be filed alongside those mid-period Magnum classics.
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