Contraband was a short-lived

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize a ...

that included members of several famous

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

bands from the 1980s, such as Shark Island,

McAuley Schenker Group McAuley Schenker Group were an American rock band based in Los Angeles featuring core members Robin McAuley (vocals) and Michael Schenker (guitar), a successor (and eventual predecessor) to Schenker's earlier band Michael Schenker Group. McAu ...

Ratt Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass, backing vo ...

, and

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. Contraband came to be after a Vixen and Ratt

unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means *Unplugged (B.A.P song), "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 *Unplugged (Modern Family), "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums a ...

session on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. The band released only one self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

in 1991 which received lukewarm reviews. The album was a commercial failure and the band disbanded shortly after, while touring with Ratt. The song "Loud Guitars, Fast Cars & Wild, Wild Livin'" was included in the movie '' If Looks Could Kill'' soundtrack. In the US, the album charted at number 187. Their

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

All the Way from Memphis "All the Way from Memphis" is a single released by Mott the Hoople as the lead track from the album ''Mott'' in 1973. The song tells a story about a rock and roller whose guitar is shipped to Oriole, Kentucky, instead of Memphis, Tennessee. T ...

" appeared on the UK

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...

in July 1991. "Loud Guitars, Fast Cars & Wild, Wild Livin'" was later covered as "Loud Guitars, Fast Cars & Wild, Wild Women" by

Blue Tears Blue Tears was an American hard rock band from Henderson, Tennessee, United States, that enjoyed some short-lived fame in the late-1980s. However, the group failed to find significant commercial success, due to the wave of alternative/grunge mus ...

later in the early 1990s and released for the 2005 album '' Dancin' On the Back Streets''.

Band members

* Richard Black ( Shark Island) –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

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. ...

(

) –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, backing vocals *

Tracii Guns Tracy Richard Irving Ulrich (born January 20, 1966), known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the Supergroup (music), supergroups named Brides of Destru ...

(

) – guitars, backing vocals *

Share Pedersen Sharon June "Share" Ross (formerly Pedersen; born Sharon June Howe; March 21, 1963 in Glencoe, Minnesota) is an American musician. She was the bass player of the female hard rock band, Vixen, from whom she has been on hiatus since February 2022. ...

(

) –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals *

Bobby Blotzer Robert John Blotzer (born October 22, 1958) is an American musician best known as the drummer for metal band Ratt. He attended Torrance High School in Torrance, California along with his Ratt bandmate Juan Croucier. Ratt Blotzer began his car ...

(

) –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s, backing vocals

''Contraband'' (1991)

Track listing

Credits

*Spencer Sercombe – guitars, backing vocals, musical director *Steffan Presley – keyboards *

Kevin Beamish Kevin Keith Beamish is an American record producer, sound engineer, songwriter and mixer. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he became a naturalized American citizen at the age of nine. Classically trained on woodwind instruments, he secured a rec ...

– backing vocals, producer, engineer, mixing *Randy Nicklaus – producer, mixing *Joe Barresi – engineer *Steve Hall – mastering

References

1991 debut albums Glam metal musical groups from California Hard rock musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Heavy metal supergroups Impact Records albums Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups from Los Angeles Albums recorded at Sound City Studios {{US-rock-band-stub

Band members

''Contraband'' (1991)

Track listing

Credits

See also

References