Widowmaker
Long before ex-Twisted Sister vocalist Dee Snider fronted a short-lived heavy metal band named Widowmaker in the early '90s, there was another band called Widowmaker, a British-based one that was active for an even shorter spell during the mid-'70s. This band was created in 1975 by former Mott the Hoople guitarist Ariel Bender (aka Luther Grosvenor), and was considered something of a semi-supergroup at the time because it also boasted the talents of singer Steve Ellis (previously with U.K. chart-toppers Love Affair), guitarist Hugh Lloyd-Langton (formerly with Hawkwind), Australian bassist Bob Daisley (ex-Khavas Jute, Chicken Shack, and Mungo Jerry), and drummer Paul Nicholls (ex-Lindisfare). In fact, though they'd only been rehearsing together for a few months (at Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Manticore Studios, in London, no less), the quintet quickly parlayed their pre-existing music business connections into a contract with Jet Records, and had their first single, "On the Road," in stores come February of 1976. This was followed in short order by Widowmaker's eponymous debut, which actually charted in America (barely, at number 196) and featured an incredibly eclectic, even confusing, cross-section of sounds -- none of them nearly as menacing as the band's moniker, it should be noted. Rather, these included blues, country, folk, and hard rock elements, among others, and thus, simultaneously showed endless compositional possibilities and the inevitable musical and personality differences that would lead to their demise. Sure enough, it didn't take long for relationships to go sour once Widowmaker headed out on the road -- touring the U.K. with Nazareth and in the U.S. with ELO -- and by the time they returned home, Ellis had announced his departure, stating he was tired of clashing repeatedly with Bender. Singer John Butler was brought in to replace him for 1977's sophomore Too Late to Cry album, but Widowmaker wound up falling apart only months after its release. The musicians scattered to the four winds, with bassist Daisley enjoying the longest and busiest subsequent résumé of the bunch, as he went on to hook up with Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, and countless others. Actually his subsequent fame, even as a career sideman, easily overshadowed Widowmaker's modest legacy, which at least was eventually compiled into 2002's nearly complete, two-disc anthology, Straight Faced Fighters.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo
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Discography
12 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Stand By for Pain
Rock - Released by Sanctuary Records on 1 jan. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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An Open Tomb...An Empty Casket
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Golden Analogue on 12 jun. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Death Dealer
Metal - Released by 1342468 Records DK2 on 1 mrt. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fair Warning
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Perpetual Stew Records on 5 aug. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
LAMY
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by 958108 Records DK2 on 23 nov. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Tunneling Wurm / Forgotten Ruin / Exile (Original Mix)
Dance - Released by Wheel & Deal Records on 7 feb. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gold Tops (feat. Asun Eastwood & Mav)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Perpetual Stew on 18 feb. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Know Better (feat. Pro Dillinger & Nowaah the Flood)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Perpetual Stew on 28 jan. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brief You on the Damages (feat. WRD Life)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Perpetual Stew on 15 feb. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pessimist
Metal - Released by 1342468 Records DK2 on 17 dec. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo