Dedringer were an English

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band associated with the

new wave of British heavy metal 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 ...

. They were formed in 1977 in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, and released two albums (through

Dindisc Dindisc (often rendered DinDisc) was a UK record label, an imprint of Virgin Records but operating semi-independently, which issued new releases from mid-1979 through early 1982. It is no longer active, but CD reissues on Virgin still mention the ...

and

Neat Records Neat Records was a British independent record label based near Newcastle, England. The label was established in 1979 by David Wood, who was the owner of Impulse Studios in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. A key figure in the establishment of t ...

respectively) before finally quitting in 1985.

History

Originally titled Deadringer,Larkin, Colin (1995). ''The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (2nd Edition)'', Guinness Publishing Ltd, , page 97. the band was formed in late 1977 as a cover band in Leeds by Johnny "JJ" Hoyle, Neil Hudson, Al Scott, Lee Flaxington and Kenny Jones. They built up a core grassroots following throughout 1978,Strong, Martin (2001), ''The Great Metal Discography (2nd Edition)'', MOJO Books, , page 150. and came to the attention of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

through their A&R man, who decided to manage the band when Virgin failed to sign them. In 1980, they signed to the pop and

new romantic The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...

label

and issued their debut single, "Sunday Drivers", in January; the band toured the UK with the likes of

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 ...

, Gillan,

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

and the

Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Schenke ...

. February 1981 saw the release of Dedringer's debut album, ''Direct Line''. Eduardo Rivadavia of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the album as a "fairly innocuous hard set", and

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionally ...

, giving the album 6/10, summed it up as "a memorial to non-threatening pub rock, absorbing all the non-achieving affectations of those who slogged the wee stages before them."Popoff, Martin (1997). ''The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal'', Collector's Guide Publishing, , page 114. The album however sold enough to gain the band a set on the Friday Rock Show, but following the release of the ''Maxine'' EP in April 1981, strife between the band and their record label, and serious car accident suffered by Hudson and Scott, led the band to call it a day. Hudson, Scott, and Jones reformed the band in 1982, with new members Neil Garfitt (vocals) and Chris Graham (bass guitar). They signed to

and released their new single, "Hot Lady" (in November 1982) and second LP, ''Second Arising'' (in January 1983). The new style was compared to

bands

Fist A fist is the shape of a hand when the fingers are bent inward against the palm and held there tightly. To make or clench a fist is to fold the fingers tightly into the center of the palm and then to clamp the thumb over the middle phalanges; in ...

and

Tygers of Pan Tang Tygers of Pan Tang are an English heavy metal band who are part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1978 in Whitley Bay, England, and were active until 1987. The band reformed in 1999 and continue to record and perf ...

, as well as older acts such as

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew F ...

Dokken Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and " Burn ...

, and

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

, but after some final line-up shuffling, diminishing fan interest led Dedringer to disband in 1985.

Line-up

Last known line-up

* Neil Garfitt (

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 ...

) * Neil Hudson (

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 ...

) * Mike Kremastoules (

) * Chris Graham ( bass) * Kenny Jones (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

)

Previous members

* Johnny "JJ" Hoyle (vocals) (Died May 7, 2009) * Lee Flaxington (bass) * Al Scott (guitar)

Discography

* "Sunday Drivers" / "We Don't Mind" 7-inch (

, DIN-10, 1980) * "Direct Line" / "She's Not Ready" 7-inch (Dindisc, DIN-12, 1981) * ''Direct Line'' LP (Dindisc, DID-7, 1981) * ''Maxine'' 2×7″ EP (Dindisc, DIN-11, 1981) * "Hot Lady" 7-inch (

Neat Neat may refer to: * Neat (bartending), a single, unmixed liquor served in a rocks glass * Neat, an old term for horned oxen * Neat Records, a British record label * Neuroevolution of augmenting topologies (NEAT), a genetic algorithm (GA) for the ...

, NEAT-18, 1982) * ''Second Arising'' LP (Neat, NEAT-1009, 1983)

References

External links

Dedringer
@

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...