John Anthony David Sloman (born 26 April 1957) is best known as the lead vocalist for Welsh band Lone Star during 1977/78 and classic rockers Uriah Heep from 1979 to 1981.

Biography

Sloman's first band of note was local Cardiff act Trapper (with

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

) before he joined Lone Star in time for their 1977 second album, ''

Firing on All Six ''Firing on All Six'' is the second studio album by Welsh hard rock band Lone Star. The album was released in August 1977. The album was produced by Gary Lyons, who was one of two engineers on their debut album '' Lone Star''. The album enter ...

'', supported by a

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

appearance on 26 August 1977, a headline tour, and another tour with

Frank Marino Francesco Antonio Marino (born November 20, 1954) is a Canadian guitarist and singer, best known as the leader of Canadian hard rock band Mahogany Rush. Often compared to Jimi Hendrix, he is described as one of the most underrated guitarists of ...

and

Mahogany Rush Mahogany Rush was a Canadian rock band led by guitarist Frank Marino. Formed in Montreal, Quebec in 1969, the band had its peak of popularity in the 1970s, playing venues as large as California Jam II. The band is perhaps best known for Marino' ...

later that same year. Lone Star disbanded before a third album could be completed as guitarist Paul Chapman left to take

Michael Schenker Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker. ...

's spot in

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 ...

. Four songs from a BBC broadcast with Sloman, recorded 29 September 1977 at Queen Mary College, were released in 1994 as part of ''BBC Radio One Live in Concert''. Sloman and Lone Star drummer Dixie Lee, along with Trapper bassist Pino Paladino, would join forces in Canadian outfit Pulsar with keyboardist

Gregg Dechert Gregg Dechert (born May 11, 1952, in Listowel, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian keyboardist and guitarist. He was the keyboardist for Uriah Heep between July 1980 and March 1981, replacing Ken Hensley. He also performed keyboards and vocals with Da ...

and former Ian Thomas Band guitarist Dave Cooper. It would prove to be a short lived union as Sloman got the call from the Uriah Heep camp in 1979 to take over for John Lawton. Sloman recorded the controversial ''

Conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

'' album with the group but departed in 1981, citing "musical differences." An uncredited Sloman also played keyboards on UFO's 1981 album ''

The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent ''The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent'' is the ninth studio album by English hard rock band UFO, released in January 1981. Their first to be entirely self-produced. Its song "Lonely Heart" was a minor UK hit. Former Wild Horses' keyboard ...

''. After Uriah Heep, he formed the band John Sloman's Badlands and showcased at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

but failed to procure a record deal. Badlands featured former Trapper drummer John Munro,

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

's Neil Murray on bass, Graeme Pleeth on keyboards and guitarist

John Sykes John James Sykes (born 29 July 1959) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums. Following a stint in ...

prior to his joining

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

(and later reuniting with Murray in Whitesnake). Sloman and Murray would both join

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

's band which resulted in the '' Rockin' Every Night: Live in Japan'' album. Sloman went on to record the first of his solo albums, the

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

produced ''Disappearances Can Be Deceptive'', released in 1989. It featured contributions from former Trapper and Pulsar bandmates Pino Paladino, John Munro, and Gregg Dechert (who had also spent time with Sloman in Uriah Heep), as well as noted session guitarist

Alan Murphy Alan Murphy (18 November 1953 – 19 October 1989) was a British rock session guitarist, best remembered for his collaborations with Kate Bush and Go West. In 1988, he joined the jazz-funk band Level 42 as a full-time band member, and played wi ...

. Sloman worked on various projects throughout the 1990s, including Souls Unknown with old mates Paladino (who would later serve for a number of years as touring bassist for

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

) and Munro and The Who/

Atomic Rooster Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member and wrote ...

affiliated guitarist Steve 'Boltz' Bolton. Another project involved Paladino, guitarist Mats Johansson, and drummer Theodore Thunder (

Dick Heckstall-Smith Richard Malden Heckstall-Smith (26 September 1934 – 17 December 2004) was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most influential English blues rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s. He is known for pri ...

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

). Sloman would take on the pseudonym Earl Grangetown for The Beat Poets, a venture into soul music, which also featured former Lone Star bandmate Pete Hurley on bass. Although an album was recorded, it was never released. Sloman has gone on to produce seven more albums since the turn of the millennium, ''Dark Matter'' (2003) and ''13 Storeys'' (2006), an acoustic affair on which he is credited with playing everything from cello to harmonium. ''Reclamation'' (2009), ''Don't Try This At Home'' (2011), ''Taff Tail Troubadour'' (2016), ''El Dorado'' (2018), ''Metamorph'' (2019). Sloman guested with

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

veterans

Praying Mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

on 2003's ''The Journey Goes On'', providing lead vocals on 3 songs, "Tonight", "Beast Within" and "The Voice." He is also credited on the 2007 soundtrack for '' Highlander: The Source'' as the vocalist performing the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

hits "

Princes of the Universe "Princes of the Universe" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and performed by the British rock band Queen, originally released as a single in the United States on March 12, 1986 via Capitol Records. The song was written for the film '' Highl ...

" and "

Who Wants to Live Forever "Who Wants to Live Forever" is a song by the British rock band Queen. A power ballad, it is the sixth track on the album '' A Kind of Magic'', which was released in June 1986, and was written by lead guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to t ...

" as well as "The Sun Is Gonna Shine", a duet with Tamasin Hardy.

Discography

Solo

* ''Disappearances Can Be Deceptive...'' (recorded 1984 released 1989) * ''Dark Matter'' (2003) * ''13 Storeys'' (2006) * ''Reclamation'' (2010) * ''Don't Try This at Home'' (2016) * ''The Taff Trail Troubadour'' (2017) * ''El Dorado'' (2018) *''Metamorph'' (2019) *''Two Rivers'' (2022) *''The Missing Link - The Solo Anthology'' (due early 2023) Singles *''This River is a Time Machine b/w This River (instrumental) (non album B-side) (2021)'' *''The Last Coalminer b/w The Minor Lament (non album B-side) (2022)'' *''70’s Sunday b/w 70’s Sunday (Harp On - instrumental) (non album B-side) (2022)'' Videos *''This River is a Time Machine (2021)'' *''The Last Coal-miner (2022)'' *''70’s Sunday (2022)'' Books *''Lost On Planet Artiface'' (2022)

with Lone Star

* ''

'' (1977) * ''BBC Radio One Live in Concert'' (1994)

with Uriah Heep

* ''

'' (1980)

with UFO

* ''

'' (1981)

with Gary Moore

* '' Corridors of Power'' (1982) (Backing vocals) * '' Rockin' Every Night: Live in Japan'' (1983)

Sessions and guest appearances

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British rock/pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK; it also had success in several other countries in ...

– ''

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

'' (1987) *

Brother Beyond Brother Beyond were a British pop band who had success in the pop rock genre in the late 1980s. Biography The group's first four singles, "I Should Have Lied", "How Many Times", "Chain-Gang Smile" (produced by Don Was), and an early version of ...

– ''

Trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

'' (1989) * Various Artists – ''Kaizoku'' (1989) * "Fast" Eddie Clarke – ''

It Ain't Over till It's Over ''It Ain’t over Till It’s Over'' is a solo album by Fast Eddie Clarke, former Motörhead and Fastway guitarist. Lemmy guests on "Laugh at the Devil". Track listing # "Snakebite" # "Lying Ain't Right" # "Back on the Road" # "Naturally" # ...

'' (1994) *

– ''The Journey Goes On'' (2003)

References

External links

Official websiteMyspace pageMyspace Acoustic page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sloman, John 1957 births Living people Welsh rock singers Welsh male singers Badlands (UK band) members UFO (band) members The Gary Moore Band members Uriah Heep (band) members Musicians from Cardiff