Blue Murder (band)

Blue Murder were an English hard rock band, founded by ex-Whitesnake, Tygers of Pan Tang and Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes.[1]

Blue Murder
GenresHard rock, Heavy metal
Years active1988–1994
LabelsGeffen
Associated actsWhitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Tygers of Pan Tang, John Sloman's Badlands
Past members

Background

Blue Murder was formed by John Sykes in 1988.[1] As he was largely elemental for the success of Whitesnake's multiplatinum-selling self-titled album, their label Geffen signed a record deal with Sykes following his dismissal from the band.

In the nascent stages of the band, drummer Cozy Powell - with whom Sykes had played in Whitesnake - was attached to the project.[1] Ray Gillen, who had previously sung for Black Sabbath and later for Badlands, sang for an early version of Blue Murder, and reportedly the band recorded demos with him. Additionally, Tony Martin (who replaced Gillen in Black Sabbath), Derek St. Holmes and David Glen Eisley briefly worked with the band, but never in an official capacity.[2]

Upon comparing the original demos with Sykes' vocals to the demos with Ray Gillen, A&R executive John Kalodner encouraged Sykes to handle the vocal duties himself.

Blue Murder released two studio albums: Blue Murder in 1989 and Nothin' but Trouble in 1993.[1] A live album, Screaming Blue Murder was released in Japan only in 1994, but has since been released elsewhere via iTunes.

The band was dropped by their label in the mid-1990s, at which point Sykes (the only consistent member in the changing line-ups) recorded Out of My Tree in 1995 with Blue Murder members Marco Mendoza and Tommy O'Steen, effectively transforming Blue Murder into an "official" Sykes solo project.

On 13 March 2016, keyboardist Nik Green died from cancer.[3]

Band members
  • John Sykes - lead vocals, lead guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar (1988–1994)
  • Tony Franklin - bass, fretless bass, keyboard, backing vocals (1988–1992)
  • Carmine Appice - drums, percussion, timpani, gong, backing vocals (1988–1992)
  • Marco Mendoza - bass, backing vocals (1992–1994)
  • Tommy O'Steen - drums, percussion, backing vocals (1992–1994)
  • Cozy Powell - drums, percussion (1988, died 1998)
  • Nik Green - keyboards, backing vocals (1988–1994, died 2016)
  • Ray Gillen - lead vocals (1988, died 1993)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

See also

References
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who’s Who of Heavy Metal (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 0-85112-656-1.
  2. "Sykes BB Interview". Web.archive.org. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  3. Wilkening, Matthew. "Blue Murder Keyboardist Nik Green Dies". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
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