Axe (stylized as AXE) was an American
hard rock band from
Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1979 and disbanded in 2012. The band is best known for their 1982 song "Rock 'N' Roll Party in the Streets", and had other hits such as "Now or Never", "I Think You'll Remember Tonight" and "Heat in the Street".
Biography
Previously known as Babyface with a line-up of vocalist
Edgar Riley, guitarist
Bobby Barth, bassist
Mike Turpin and drummer
Bob Miles and managed by J. Brian Gendimenico (1962-2016), the group adopted the new title of Axe in 1979 when the band added second guitarist
Michael Osborne.
Signing with
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...
, by manager
Lou Manganiello Jr Lou may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Personal name
* Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Lou (German singer)
*Lou (French singer)
* Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China
* Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most common ...
, Axe released their self-titled debut in 1979 and immediately gained attention with a melodic rock sound comprising heavy guitars mixed with keyboards. Band leader Bobby Barth had first picked up a guitar in 1965, encouraged by his father who was already an accomplished player, although Barth's first interest had been in the drums. As a drummer Barth had made his first public appearance in 1963, but would not play in front of an audience in his new vocation until 1967 at a college gig in Colorado. Barth claims to have no recollections of the bands whose singles he played on early in his professional career, although does recall that his first vinyl appearance was covering a
Rolling Stones song, before later forming Babyface.
The band was notable for being photographed on their first LP all sporting
B. C. Rich guitars, one of the first bands to use them exclusively.
Following ''Axe'' with 1980's ''Living On The Edge'' the group switched labels to Atco in 1982 for third album ''Offering'',
an album that included the hit anthem "Rock n' Roll Party In The Streets" and a cover of
Montrose's "I Got The Fire". The album marked the addition of new bassist Wayne Haner to the ranks and AXE got to tour with
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
,
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
,
Judas Priest,
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
and
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...
. The band also played in Britain during 1983 opening for
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
.
Following the arrival of the band's fourth album ''Nemesis'' and touring with
Mötley Crüe in 1984, AXE suffered a setback when guitarist Michael Osborne was killed in an auto crash in which a badly injured Bobby Barth was lucky enough to escape with his life. The band dissolved following the tragedy.
Barth, once recovered, joined
Blackfoot,
replacing the seasoned
Ken Hensley
Kenneth William David Hensley (24 August 1945 – 4 November 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s.
He wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah ...
for the 1984 album ''Vertical Smiles'' and subsequent touring. The tenure was short lived however and Barth subsequently released a well crafted solo album ''Two Hearts, One Beat'' on Atco Records in 1986. In an attempt in 1989 at reforming AXE, including
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
drummer Andy Parker, was made but petered out,
with Barth going to Australia in order to work with ex-
Rose Tattoo
Rose Tattoo are an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice Bo ...
frontman
Angry Anderson
Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976. As a solo artist, he is best known f ...
.
Upon his return to America in 1991 the Denver, Colorado based
Caught in the Act came to his attention and, persuaded to take the band under his wing, Barth set to work producing demos. The ensuing debut album, which was eventually released on the Swedish Empire label and featuring covers of two AXE classics, ''Silent Soldiers'' and ''Steal Another Fantasy''. Barth has continued to work with the group on a second record, although Caught in the Act has since had to revert to the C.I.T.A. handle due to the existence of a Dutch Boy band with prior claim to the name.
Due to Barth's connections with the Japanese label Zero and German company MTM Music, he felt there was sufficient interest in AXE to make a renewed effort to put the group back together, albeit with a slightly revised line-up, and the release of a brand new album, aptly titled ''Five''.
The reformed 1997 line up was former
Frank Zappa vocalist Bob Harris, Barth on guitars, Edgar Riley Jr on keyboards and original drummer Teddy Mueller (born Ted J. Mueller on September 13, 1954) plus bassist Blake Eberhard, vocalist Bob Harris, and keyboardist Rob Lowe. Blake is one of Colorado's premier studio and live bassists. He joined Axe after being hired by Barth for several recording sessions, and added the new dimension of fretless bass and slap-bass style to the Axe sound. In the interim period between the band's split and the reformation, Edgar Riley Jr had worked with
Frank Zappa and had also played with several unidentified bands in the Southern states of America and Teddy Mueller had got involved in the publishing industry.
A brand new AXE album, ''Axe (Twenty Years From Home)'' was released in September 1997 featuring re-recorded versions of choice tracks from each of the first four AXE albums, plus two from the recently released ''V'' record. For their 2001 album ''The Crown'' the group inducted new personnel guitarist Danny Masters and drummer Christian Teele. Masters had previously issued solo albums ''Electric Babylon'' and ''Till The Moon Goes Away''. AXE would release a limited edition mini album ''Live In America 1981'' to commemorate their European 2001 tour dates. The same year would find Barth gaining production credits with Denver's BLISTER 66.
Barth is also a member of Southern Rockers
Red Rock Roosters
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
releasing an album ''Attitude Is Everything'' in 1998. During 2003 Bob Harris re-emerged fronting the
Edge of Forever
''Edge of Forever'' is the tenth studio album by Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Released in 1999, it is the last album to feature Leon Wilkeson before his death in 2001.
Track listing
Personnel
;Lynyrd Skynyrd
*Gary Rossington - lead, rhyth ...
project, an eighties Rock styled venture in union with keyboard player
Alessandro Del Vecchio, bassist Christian Grillo and the
Sleek,
Gotthard and
U.D.O.
U.D.O. is a German heavy metal band founded by lead vocalist Udo Dirkschneider in 1987.
History
Following Udo Dirkschneider's departure from Accept in 1987, he formed his own band called U.D.O. He recruited guitarists Mathias Dieth and Peter ...
credited guitarist Igor Gianola.
In 2004, Barth rejoined
Blackfoot.
Ted Mueller died on June 29, 2012, at the age of 57.
Members
;Current members
*
Bobby Barth – guitar (1979-1984, 1989, 1997—present), lead vocals (1979-1984, 1989, 1997-2006)
*Bob Harris – keyboards, lead vocals (1997-2001, 2006–present)
*Gerald Berger – bass (2006–present)
*David Landes – guitar (2004–present)
*Scott Misner – drums (2007–present)
*Brad Banhagel – guitar, lead vocals (2004–present)
*Paul Byron – keyboards (2010–present)
;Former members
*Edgar Riley Jr. – keyboards, backing vocals (1979-1984, 1989, 1997-2006)
*Mike Turpin – bass (1979-1984, 1989)
*Teddy Mueller – drums (1979-1984, 1997-2001; died 2012)
*Michael Osborne – guitar (1979-1984; his death)
*
Andy Parker – drums (1989)
*Blake Eberhard – bass (1997-2001)
*Rob Lowe – keyboards, backing vocals (1997-1998)
*Danny Masters – guitar (2001)
*Christian Teele – drums (2001)
*Javier Salinas – keyboards (2006-2010)
*Wayne "The Dangler" Haner – bass (1980-1984)
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Live albums
*''Live in America 1981'' (2001)
*''Live 2012 (NEH Records)'' (2012)
Compilation albums
*''20 Years from Home'' (1997)
*''20 Years from Home Volume II'' (1998)
*''Axeology'' (2012)
Music videos
*''Rock 'N' Roll Party In The Streets'' (1982)
*''Heat In The Street'' (1983)
*''I Think You'll Remember Tonight'' (1983)
References
External links
Axe on MySpace*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Axe (Band)
Hard rock musical groups from Texas
Musical groups established in 1979