BIOGRAPHY
Stampede was formed in 1981: a cult hard rock outfit which exploded onto the British rock scene, signing to Polydor Records and immediately receiving favourable press attention.
Song writing duo Reuben and Laurence Archer had already made inroads into the music scene prior to STAMPEDE around 1979, with previous music projects Lautrec, Lionheart and Wild Horses, completing touring with the likes of Saxon, Whitesnake and Def Leppard and appearing at prestigious venues such as London’s Marquee.
After keyboardist Alan Nelson moved on, Stampede played the 1982 Reading Festival with what then became the definitive four-piece line-up: Reuben Archer (vocals), Laurence Archer (guitar), Colin Bond (bass) and Eddie Parsons (drums). The Reading and Mildenhall Festival sets from that year were recorded on The Rolling Stones mobile studio, the result of which was the first Stampede album released by Polydor; the Official Live Bootleg.
The band completed a residency at the Marquee at this time, as well as two tours with Gary Moore,. Although live the band preferred the tighter feel without keyboards, Magnum’s Mark Stanway was brought in on keys later on for the recording of their first studio album Hurricane Town (1983).
Polydor also released a 4 track EP; Days of Wine And Roses, a single of the same name, and a further 2 singles; The Other Side, and Photographs., which received considerable airplay on BBC Radio, Capital Radio and across Europe and Japan. Stampede also appeared on many compilation albums between 1981 and 1983.
The band continued to tour, completing a residency in Portugal. Other notable appearances included live sessions for the BBC Tommy Vance Friday Rock Show, Fluff Freeman’s Capital Radio Rock Show, BBC In Concert, and several TV slots.
Prior to The band’s Reading appearance, Reuben broke his leg badly and soon quit the music business to form his design company, whilst Laurence went on to join Phil Lynott in his new band Grand Slam, and later UFO to record High Stakes and Dangerous Men and UFO: Live in Japan. Bassist Colin Bond went on to work with Meat Loaf and Bernie Torme, and also formed his widely acclaimed tribute band, Beach Boys Inc.
NEW HORIZONS
Stampede’s reunion in 2009 was a unanimous decision by the three founder members; Reuben Archer, Laurence Archer and Colin Bond.
The original 2009 reunion gigs and first stages of recording featured Clive Edwards on drums. As with Laurence, though, the difficult recording schedule and travelling distances involved made it logistically impossible to organise. Luckily for the band, though, Reuben found in Steve Graystone a drummer who could fall in with the awkward recording schedule and at the same time proved to be the powerhouse required.
Together with new helping hands – including hot-shot guitarist Rob Wolverson and guitarist Chris Clowsley – the band has now crafted a worthy and impressive, long-awaited follow-up to ‘Hurricane Town’, a new record harnessing all the promise of the original band, but with the experience of years crafting their art in numerous studios and on the live circuit.
Laurence’s playing, fluidly powerful and edgy now draws on years of listening to players such as Satriani, Schon, Lukather to name but a few. Reuben’s lyrics and vocals, which always drew heavily on his roots in the blues, benefit from writing and playing contemporary blues with his band over the last 10 years. Colin Bond’s individual style; a marriage between bass and Moog pedals contributes immensely to the Stampede sound. Initially influenced by players such as Geddy Lee, the following years have simply honed his playing to an unmistakable signature delivery.
Though being categorized by the record companies under the NWOBHM umbrella, in the early days Stampede was always described as a hard rock band influenced by bands such as UFO, Thin Lizzy and even The Who. They were never annoyed by the comparisons – those bands like Stampede were British, and that was the British sound. As ever, the band describe their sound as melodic hard rock, and it is fair to say that, older and wiser and with an abundance of spirit and chemistry, this band has a renewed thirst for going about its unfinished business.
