The Night Of The Demon:
Dave Hill - Mal Spooner - John Wright - Clive
Cook - Paul Riley
DEMON were formed in 1980 by
vocalist Dave Hill and guitarist Mal
Spooner. They released their debut
single "Liar"/"Wild Woman" (CLAY4)
through Mike Stone's, Stoke-On-Trent
based, CLAY Records. This 7" single came on
glorious blood-red vinyl! In January 1981 DEMON
went into the studio to record their classic debut
album "Night Of The Demon". Clay Records signed a
licensing deal with Carrere Records for the release of
this LP. The next single "Ride The Wind" (CAR185)
was taken from the album, however the B-Side
contained the previously unreleased track 'On The
Road'.
Also in 1981 the band recorded a session for the
Friday Rock Show, at the BBC studios in Maida Vale.
The session was produced bu Tony Wilson and the
tracks recorded were: Full Moon/Night Of The
Demon, One Helluva Night, Father Of Time and
Decisions. The session was introduced by Tommy
Vance on his Radio One Rock Show. "One Helluva
Night"/"Into The Nightmare" (CAR226) was the
second single to be taken from the album, Carrere
issued a limited number of this single as a 7" picture
disc. It was during this period that guitarist Clive
Cook and bass player Paul Riley left the band; they
were replaced by Les Hunt and Chris Ellis
respectively.
Expect The Unexpected:
Dave Hill - Mal Spooner - John Wright - Chris
Ellis - Les Hunt
Early in 1982 the new-look band
recorded their second LP "The
Unexpected Guest" at Bray Studios
(the studio responible for producing
several of the classic Hammer Horror
films, including Dracula). The castle style building
proved the perfect atmosphere for the group. Like the
first album, this LP is regarded as one of the finest
(and most powerful) albums to emerge from the
NWOBHM period. Strong production from Pete
Hinton (known for his work with Saxon) and the
addition of Andy Richards' keyboards another
dimension to the band's already powerful sound. In
July 1982 a single, "Have We Been Here
Before?"/"Victim Of Fortune" (CAR249), was released
- both tracks being lifted from the LP. The band hit
the road with a series of gigs to promote the new
album and single.
Beware Of The Plague:
Dave Hill - Mal Spooner - John Wright - Chris
Ellis
Les Hunt - Andy Richards
These early gigs were an elaborate affair involving
the use of intricate "DEMON" make-up, masks,
costumes and even a grave complete with blowing
leaves! In a very theatrical show Dave transformed
into the characters from the first two albums - horned
Demon, madman and even Father Of Time! These
shows were a truly amazing spectacle - and had
Carrere put some money into the band, to allow them
to take their show out to a larger audience with a
proper tour, then surely the band would have
secured themselves a huge following. As it was,
Carrere in their wisdom would not put any money
behind the band and instead insisted that the band
produce "marketable singles". DEMON would not be
compromised and so split with Carrere Records.
However, these early shows established the band as
fine musicians able to produce the goods both in the
recording studio and on stage. Not surprisingly the
band had developed something of a cult following!
The band stayed with CLAY Records,
the label set-up by their manager Mike
Stone, but secured a US deal with
Atlantic for the release of the next LP
"The Plague". Released in 1983, this
album marked a change of direction for the band;
ditching their demonic stance in favour of keen social
observation.
DAVE HILL: "I think we did the devil stuff proud, but
this band always had more to offer than that."
The album sold well reaching number two in the
Heavy Metal charts, and entering the UK Top 50. It
was the last album to feature Andy Richards. The title
track together with 'The Only Sane Man' was
released as a double A-sided single (CLAY 25).
Following this, DEMON went through a period of
change; contractual problems with 'Atlantic' meant the
band were unable to tour for almost two years, and
the departure of Les Hunt and Chris Ellis came. Chris
going on to present the Rock Show on BBC Radio
Stoke, and Les joining the "Climax Blues Band".
Behind It All There's So Much More:
Dave Hill - Mal Spooner - John Wright - Steve
Watts
John Waterhouse - Gavin Sutherland
It was not until December 1984 that the
band emerged with a new single,
"Wonderland", backed with a remix of
'Blackheath' on the 7" whilst the 12"
also had the remixed version of
"Nowhere To Run" (CLAY41). This release marked
the debut of Steve Watts (taking over on keyboards),
John Waterhouse (guitar) and Gavin Sutherland
(guesting on bass). The fourth LP "British Standard
Approved", released in April '85, featured the same
line-up. Seven days after the LP was completed
disaster struck when Mal Spooner, founder member
and co-writer with Dave Hill, tragically died of
pneumonia. Mal was asthmatic with only one lung.
The Ship Sails On:
Dave Hill - John Wright - Steve Watts
John Waterhouse - Gavin Sutherland
July '85 saw the release of a remixed
version of 'Wonderland', again backed
with the remixed versions of
'Blackheath' and 'Nowhere To Run' on
the 12".
Released in December '85 was "Heart Of Our Time",
the band's fifth LP. This album was recorded to see if
the band could continue without Mal, and saw Dave
forming a new songwriting partnership with Steve
Watts. This was followed by a couple of live dates. A
12" sampler EP containing tracks from the last three
albums was issued in April '86.
Expressing The Heart:
Dave Hill - John Wright - Steve Watts
John Waterhouse - Andy Dale
To promote this the band played a few live dates with
Andy Dale replacing Gavin on bass. Further gigs
followed throughout 1986. In January '87, "The
Unexpected Guest" LP was re-released by CLAY
and, in June, a new studio album "Breakout"
appeared.
Expressing The Heart:
Dave Hill - Steve Watts - John Waterhouse -
Andy Dale
Scott Crawford - Steve Brookes
John Wright leaves the band after this
album to be replaced by Scott
Crawford. Steve Brookes (previously in
Discharge) is also brought in as an
additional guitarist for live work. This
additional departure leaves Dave Hill as the only
surviving member of the original line-up!
The band undertake a successful tour of Germany
during November of '87, and with the "Breakout"
album selling well, U.K. gigs become more regular.
Clay Records secure the rights for the first album,
"Night Of The Demon", which is re-released in April
'88. Also in April, Clay released a gatefold sleeved
double-pack 7" single, featuring a new track 'Tonight
(The Hero Is Back)' together with 'Hurricane' and
remixed versions of the old favourite 'Night Of The
Demon' and 'Don't Break The Circle' (CLAY48D).
Bass player Andy Dale leaves the band and is
replaced by another ex-Discharge member, Nick
Bushell.
This Time We're Taking The World By Storm:
Dave Hill - Steve Watts - John Waterhouse -
Scott Crawford
Steve Brookes - Nick Bushell
In March 1989, DEMON FEEDBACK is
set up to provide an information service
for DEMON fans worldwide. The first
newsletter was produced in April '89.
This line-up records seven new tracks for an album
released in June'89, "Taking The World By Storm".
Mike Stone moves from Stoke to Wolverhampton,
selling Clay Records in the process, and sets up a
brand new label, 'Sonic Records'. DEMON tour the
UK during September and October playing ten gigs
to promote the new album.
After this tour, Central Television filmed the band
performing 'Blue Skies In Red Square' in a studio in
Stoke-On-Trent, the song was particularly topical at
the time with the fall of the Berlin Wall. A brief
interview with Dave plus an excerpt of 'Blue Skies...'
were featured on Central News, Wednesday 22nd
November 1989. The band then headed over to
Europe, for a 12 date tour of Germany, supported by
"Domain". The Ludwigsburg "Rockfabrik" gig
(December 10th 1989) was captured by the
Dierks-Mobile for possible future release.
Early in 1990, 'Which CD?' magazine
printed its yearly awards; "Taking The
World By Storm" won DEMON the
"Best Heavy Metal CD of 89" award -
beating off strong competition! August
1990 saw Sonic Records release the 15 track double
live album (recorded during the German tour); "One
Helluva Night - Live In Germany". It captured the full
spirit of DEMON live!
September 1990 saw DEMON booked to headline
an all British Rock Festival in Wiltshire.
Unfortunately, the "Wyatts Lake Rock '90 Festival"
was washed out - just before DEMON were due
onstage, the heavens opened and there was a
torrential downpour. The PA company pulled out
even though the band were willing to play, leaving
both the band and the fans extremely disappointed.
DAVE HILL: "It's not us (the band) I feel sorry for, but
all the fans who have travelled to be here..."
The band were in no way to blame, I guess you could
put it down as 'the presence of the unexpected
guest'!
Towards the end 1990, DEMON are invited by
Tommy Vance & Tony Wilson (BBC Radio One) to
record a brand new session for the Friday Rock
Show. The set of: The Lion's Share/Don't Break The
Circle/No More Hell On Earth/Commercial Dynamite;
broadcast in January '91 (and repeated in May)
showed the band to be as powerful as ever, almost
10 years after the first Rock Show session
