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Stallion

About Me


Stallion were always the band who liked to break the rules and challenge the norm.....
Of the many obscure, trench-coated progressive rock groups that germinated in the garages, sheds and studios of England in the early '70s, Stallion are now recognised as one of the great lost bands of the first progressive era. Hailed critically - by those lucky enough to see them perform - Stallion regularly appeared on the same bill as many of their more well known contemporaries, including, Curved Air, Stackridge, Rare Bird, Stray, The Edgar Broughton Band and Traffic.
As well as appearing as support act for T. Rex and Mötörhead and becoming regulars on the London club circuit, Stallion became London's much loved Saturday night favourites, with their exciting and dynamic live act earning them a record breaking headlining residency at the legendary Marquee Club in Soho's Wardour Street.
Despite winning the 1976 Melody Maker magazine competition and playing on the main stage at Reading Festival later that year (CD Rom footage of which is available on their recently released retrospective CD "The Hard Life") and having successfully merged progressive rock moves with punk attitude, major label success eluded Stallion and they broke up in the late '70s a well kept secret.
Their new remastered CD "The Hard Life" contains their rare 1975 single and songs from 'the album that never was', together with an extensive history of the band and previously unseen photographs.
Check out the further bio details and comprehensive band history in the blog pages above......read on.....

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/06/2007
Band Website: stallion.uk.com
Band Members: Phil Thornton - joined Minotaur for a UK tour supporting The Enid, working with the late Glen Baker, who made an excellent and now rare solo album for the Enid's label in 1985 called "Brief Encounter". He then formed Expandis with John Wilde and Minotaur's singer and guitarist Dave Miller. He also played on sessions for assorted artists such as Sam Fox and Asher Quinn. Eventually he joined Mandragora to sit in ..boards on 1987 tour with Hawkwind before joining Sinead O’Connor for her 1988 world tour. He has enjoyed a successful and prolific solo career, mainly concentrating on New Age and Chill out albums.
John Wilde - went on to perform with Expandis, a project which took the dynamic stage performances of Stallion and the musicality of Minotaur and combined them with electronic rhythms and experimental sounds. Has recently returned to Hastings after several years in the USA, where he had his own successful interior design business.
Steve Demetri - went on to form Head On with Andy and Tony Qunta and Stallion's original bass player Steve Kinch, expanding his musical approach into a more jazz rock format. Steve went on to become one of the UK's top session drummers.
Phil Gill - joined legendary progressive rockers England, replacing original bass player Martin Henderson, shortly after they released the now classic album “Garden Shed”. (See http://www.gardenshedmusic.com/). Phil eventually moved on to join Tich Turner’s Escalator, along with Steve Demetri on drums, a band that enjoyed some success with the Ray Fenwick produced single 'Diana'. Phil and Steve were also the dynamic rhythm section behind JoJo Laine's UK radio favourite "When The Boy's Happy". He continues to write, record, produce and perform and plays guitar and bass in a number of bands. Phil also appears on the Todd Rundgren inspired CD "Grok This" and makes an unscheduled and modest appearance on Rundgren's CD, "Live at the Forum".
Phil Gill uses and recommends Curtis Novak hand wound pickups and so should you.
John Petri - has his own studio, collects expensive guitars and continues to play in a variety of bands. His ambition is to have a cherry red Gibson 335 and nail it to the fridge.
Julian Carter - continues to write record and perform, both as a solo artist and with his band the Jules Carter Trio.
Tich Turner - as well as the Escalators, Tich generated a long list of great live bands and continues to perform with his most recent ensemble, The Cool Brynners, whose debut album “Somewhere Down The Line” was released in 2001.
Roger Carey - has had a long and varied musical career, appearing on many notable jazz albums. He has recently featured in a BBC 4 Brecon jazz session, performing with his wife Lianne Carroll.
Tony Bridger went on to re-form John Petri's old band, Hippo. Sadly, Tony is no longer with us.

Influences: Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Camel, Gong, Gentle Giant, Arthur Brown, Todd Rundgren, Utopia, Colosseum, Focus, Arthur Brown, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Beatles, Santana, Billy Cobham, Mothers of Invention - and Frank Zappa...
Sounds Like: Previously unreleased, a full length mid 70s progressive rock gem by this legendary band is now available on Lightning Tree Records.
Re-issued with the full co-operation of the band, their CD "The Hard Life" has 12 stunning original prog rock songs, previously unseen photos and a full band history.
"The Hard Life" is available from all good internet CD dealers and:
Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Includes a CD Rom bonus track featuring the band performing live at Reading Rock Festival in 1976.
Stallion appeared on the same billings as Stackridge, Rare Bird, Stray, Edgar Broughton and Traffic and featured Phil Thornton who later worked with British 80's Free Festival stalwarts Mandragora and also issued a number of highly acclaimed solo albums.

Record Label: Lightning Tree (www.lightning-tree.com)
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

The Hard Life now available from all good internet retailers....

It's been a long time coming but it's right on time.... We're very, very pleased to announce that Stallion's CD "The Hard Life" is now finally available!This previously unreleased album is a genuine ...
Posted by on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 06:47:00 GMT

Rare new band pics up in the pics folder

Hi allCourtesy of Julian Carter and Phil Gill, we now have some rare pictures of Stallion live at the original Marquee Club, in London's Wardour Street available to view in the pics folder. Enjoy!
Posted by on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:51:00 GMT

Stallion Band History.....the story so far....

In 2007, the Sussex town of Hastings is a place with more than its fair share of great musicians, yet the area was something of a musical backwater in the early 1970s. Whilst Canterbury had a thrivi...
Posted by on Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:06:00 GMT