Lucifer's Friend
Lucifer's Friend | |
---|---|
Origin | Hamburg, West Germany |
Genres | |
Years active | 1970–1982 2014–2020 |
Labels | |
Past members | Peter Hesslein Stephan Eggert Jogi Wichmann Joachim "Addi" Rietenbach Peter Hecht Herbert Bornhold John Lawton |
Website | lucifersfriend |
Lucifer's Friend was a German
History
Vocalist
The early albums were released on the Vertigo Records label in Europe, but in the United States those albums were released on a series of small independent record labels (Billingsgate, Janus, Passport), often a year or more after their release in Europe. Thus, despite airplay in some markets and a cult following, the band's albums were hard to find and commercial success eluded them. The band was finally signed to Elektra Records in 1977: it released three albums with a more commercial pop oriented sound, but by then interest in the band had waned; those albums were even less successful than the earlier ones.
Lucifer's Friend was known for changing musical styles and influences on each album. The self-titled 1970 debut had dark lyrics and a stripped-down guitar and organ style and sounded similar to Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath [citation needed]. That album is still sought after by fans of early heavy metal music.
The second album,
Banquet (1974) featured extended, multi-layered jazz fusion compositions and a 30-piece backup band, alternating with some shorter tracks reminiscent of Chicago and Traffic. Those first four albums are all concept albums of a sort and along with the self-titled Asterix album are the most sought after today.
John Lawton's 1980 solo album on
Recent years
Although
Lucifer’s Friend released two further albums, Too Late To Hate in 2016 and Black Moon in 2019. Bassist Dieter Horns passed away in December 2020, followed by lead singer John Lawton passing away in June 2021, effectively ending the band.
The Lucifer's Friend song "Ride in the Sky" is played in the Bulgarian film Love.net, starring Lawton, as a song by a fictional band called Tabloid.
Legacy
Tim Baker, lead singer of the doom metal band Cirith Ungol, cited Lucifer's Friend as an influence on Cirith Ungol's sound in an interview with Metal Forces, stating that "We really wanted to be like [Lucifer's Friend]".[10]
Members
- John Lawton– vocals (1970–1976, 1981–1982, 2014–2020; died 2021)
- Mike Starrs – vocals (1977–1981)
- Peter Hesslein – guitar (1970–1982, 2014–2020)
- Dieter Horns – bass (1970–1982, 2014–2020; died 2020)
- Joachim "Addi" Rietenbach – drums (1970–1974; died 1974)
- Herbert Bornhold – drums (1974–1982)
- Stephan Eggert – drums (2014–2020)
- Peter Hecht – keyboards (1970–1982)
- Jogi Wichmann – keyboards (2014–2020)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
- Asterix (1970; as Asterix)
- Lucifer's Friend (1970)
- Where the Groupies Killed the Blues(1972)
- I'm Just a Rock 'n' Roll Singer (1973)
- Banquet (1974)
- Mind Exploding (1976)
- Good Time Warrior (1978)
- Sneak Me In (1980)
- Mean Machine (1981)
- Sumogrip (1994; as Lucifer's Friend II)
- Too Late To Hate (2016)
- Black Moon (2019)
Compilation & live albums
- The Devil's Touch (1976) (1970–1976 Compilation)
- Rock Heavies: Lucifer's Friend (1980) (1970–1976 Compilation)
- Awakening (2015) (Compilation + new songs)
- Live @ Sweden Rock 2015 (2016)
German Bonds (Includes Peter Hecht on keyboards and Dieter Horns on bass)
- Sonata Facile b/w So Mystifying (1965)
- We are Out of Sight b/w Sing Hallelujah (1966)
- Skinny Eleonore b/w Birthday is Today (1969)
Bokaj Retsiem (Includes Peter Hecht on keyboards, Dieter Horns on bass and Joachim Rietenbach on drums)
- Psychedelic Underground (1969)
Hell Preachers Inc. (Includes future Lucifer's Friend members Peter Hecht on keyboards, Dieter Horns on bass and Joachim Rietenbach on drums, guitar played by Rainer Degner and vocals by George Mavros)
- Supreme Psychedelic Underground (1969)
Brother T & Family (Includes future Lucifer's Friend members, except John Lawton)
- Drillin' of the Rock (1970)
Electric Food (singer George Mavros backed by Lucifer's Friend members, without John Lawton)
- Electric Food (Electric Food album, 1970)
- Flash (Electric Food album, 1970)
Asterix
- "Everybody"' (single, lead vocals George Mavros, pre-John Lawton)
- Asterix (album, 1970, includes all future Lucifer's Friend members, plus Toni Cavanagh)
Pink Mice (Includes all original Lucifer's Friend members, except John Lawton)
- In Action (1971)
- In Synthesized Sound (1971)
Hepp, Hahn and Huhn (Includes Peter Hecht on keyboards and Dieter Horns on bass)
- Alive and Goodnight (1971)
Okko Becker (Includes Peter Hesslein on guitars)
- Sitar and Electronics (1971)
Propeller (Includes Peter Hesslein on guitars)
- Let Us Live Together (1971)
Frankie Dymon (Includes Peter Hecht on keyboards)
- Let it Out (1971)
The Rattles (Includes Herbert Bornhold on drums)
- The Witch (1972)
David Frank Selection (Includes Peter Hesslein on guitars)
- Blues & Electronics (1972)
- Heartbeat (John Lawton solo album, 1980)
References
- ISBN 978-1-59851-051-5.
- AllMusic
- AllMusic
- )
- ^ Christe (2003), pg. 345, "Beginning with the overlooked Lucifer's Friend and Necromandus in the early 1970s, doom crawled through the 1980s with Trouble, Witchfinder General, the Obsessed, Candlemass, Pentagram, and Saint Vitus, then into the 1990s with Cathedral, Sleep, and Burning Witch."
- ^ Jeff (8 April 2014). "Stone Cold Crazy: A Very Candid Conversation with John Lawton". Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "Rock Chicago Magazine » Interview with John Lawton (Lucifer's Friend, Uriah Heep)". Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
- ^ Sweden Rock Festival (11 October 2014). "First bands confirmed for Sweden Rock Festival 2015". Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2017 – via YouTube.
- ^ "John Lawton – Official Website". Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ Morgan, Anthony (1 January 2012). "Cirith Ungol – Kings Of The Dead". Metal Forces. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
General sources
- ISBN 0-380-81127-8
External links
- Lucifer's Friend discography at Discogs
- Lucifer's Friend at AllMusic