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House of Lords is an American rock band based out of Connecticut, with members in
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and
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.


History

House of Lords was formed in 1987 by former Angel member and keyboardist Gregg Giuffria following his solo project Giuffria. After listening to demos – originally intended for Giuffria's third record – a record deal with
Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...
' company Simmons Records was agreed upon, on two conditions: to change the band's name (to House of Lords) and to recruiter a new lead singer (firing
David Glen Eisley David Glen Eisley (born September 5, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. Personal life Eisley was born in Los Angeles, California and is the son of actor Anthony Eisley and Judith Tubbs Eisley. While in high school, he pl ...
in the process). James Christian replaced Eisley. Christian was suggested by ex-Giuffria and Quiet Riot bassist
Chuck Wright Chuck Wright (born September 13, 1959) is an American bassist, best known as a member of the hard rock/heavy metal band Quiet Riot. He originally joined Quiet Riot in 1982, playing bass on the tracks " Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" and "Don' ...
, after having worked together in L.A. Rocks. House of Lords' eponymous debut was released in 1988, featuring a heavier sound than Giuffria’s and less prominent keyboards. The album received critical acclaim, and the band toured with
Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen ...
,
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 the Scorpions in 1989. The album featured one minor hit, "I Wanna Be Loved" (Hot 100 No. 58). The
Stan Bush Stan Bush (born July 10, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and rock musician. He is perhaps best-known for his song " The Touch", featured in the 1986 movie '' The Transformers: The Movie''. Career Bush began with his first studio album ...
penned "Love Don't Lie" was the second single but despite MTV airplay, failed to chart. After touring, original guitarist
Lanny Cordola Lanny Cordola (born 1961) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He has been a member of bands such as Giuffria, House of Lords and Magdallan (also known as Magdalen after Ken Tamplin's departure). Before joining Giuffria, Cordol ...
left in 1990, replaced by ex Shark Island's Michael Guy. Their next effort was 1990s ''
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
'', and featured a list of guest musicians. Other notable contributions to the album came from Doug Aldrich,
Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, inc ...
, Chris Impellitteri,
Mandy Meyer Armand "Mandy" Meyer (born August 29 1960) is a Swiss-Canadian guitarist best known for being a member of the hard rock band Gotthard, the progressive rock band Asia, and the heavy metal band Krokus. Meyer has also worked with Cobra, Stealin' H ...
,
David Glen Eisley David Glen Eisley (born September 5, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. Personal life Eisley was born in Los Angeles, California and is the son of actor Anthony Eisley and Judith Tubbs Eisley. While in high school, he pl ...
,
Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...
, Mike Tramp,
Steve Plunkett Autograph is an American glam metal band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1983. The band is best known for their 1984 hit song " Turn Up the Radio". Due to the song being their only major success, Autograph is often considered a one-hit won ...
and
Ron Keel Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
. Deliberately more guitar-oriented than the debut, the album hit No. 120 on the charts and in the wake of the successful single "Can't Find My Way Home" (a Blind Faith cover). The single and video also did well on Album Rock radio peaking at No. 10. The second single "Remember My Name" was a bigger hit hitting No. 72 on the Hot 100 and a Top 5 regular on DIAL MTV. Soon after, bassist Chuck Wright and drummer
Ken Mary Ken K Mary is an American musician who has worked as a drummer, producer, engineer, singer, record executive and writer on over thirty-five albums that combined have sold over five million copies worldwide. He has worked in genres from heavy roc ...
left the band. Promoting Sahara, House of Lords toured with
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, did a short tour with
38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...
, and a final show with Warrant and Tesla at the Universal Amphitheater in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
. Christian cites this as one of his favorite shows with House of Lords. For 1992's release '' Demons Down'', House of Lords had left BMG. Christian says of ''Demon's Down'': "This album turned out fabulous. We had a great budget and turned in a beautifully crafted album with great songs, no fillers. I was totally happy with the record and hoped we could really take this album right to the top of the charts." Alongside Christian and Giuffria, line-up changes for ''Demons Down'' consisted of a new drummer
Tommy Aldridge Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesna ...
, a new bass player in
Sean McNabb Sean McNabb (born September 24, 1965) is an American actor and bassist. While still on tour with rock bands, he is also acting and writing, composing, and singing music for TV and film. In 2015, he released his first solo music as a lead singer, ...
(ex
Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American 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 Forsyth, though th ...
), and a new guitar player in Dennis Chick (ex-V.V.S.I.). The album spawned two singles, the title track and the ballad "What's Forever For". The arrival of Grunge would impact on the airplay and overall success of ''Demons Down''. The band broke up in 1993 despite recording demos to shop for a new label. After the band broke up, guitarist Dennis Chick joined
Freak of Nature ''Freak of Nature'' is the second studio album by American singer Anastacia. It was released on November 23, 2001, by Epic Records and Daylight Records. The album was primarily produced by Ric Wake, Sam Watters, and Louis Biancaniello, with ad ...
, the band formed by Mike Tramp after the break-up of
White Lion The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest ...
. Chick played on both of their studio albums, released in 1993 and 1994. James Christian recorded and released ''Rude Awakening'', and spent a short time in the line up of
Manic Eden Manic Eden were a short-lived hard rock band consisting of former members of Whitesnake and Little Caesar. Overview Following David Coverdale's decision to place Whitesnake on indefinite hiatus in the early 1990s, former Whitesnake members Ad ...
. After legal delays over the rights to the band name the group reformed in 2000, featuring an extended line up of Christian, Giuffria, Cordola, Guy, Mary, and Wright, although Guy soon departed. Two years later '' The Power and the Myth'' was finished but it was 2004 before it was released by
Frontiers Records Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the m ...
. The album marked the return of Chuck Wright, Lanny Cordola and Ken Mary, but is the first not to feature Giuffria, who had left the project with keyboard work done by guests
Derek Sherinian Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X a ...
, Allan Okuye, Sven Martin and
Ricky Phillips Ricky Lynn Phillips (born October 7, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and a member of the rock band Styx (band), Styx since 2003, splitting duties with longtime bassist Chuck Panozzo. He has also played in Nasty Habit, as a member of The Baby ...
. Directly after The ''Power and the Myth'' was released, Christian released his second solo CD, ''Meet The Man.'' House of Lords contacted Jeff Kent to take over the writing of lyrics and melodies due to the band's lowest scores since its inception. After Jeff Kent was finished, the band scored 96% on the 2006 CD ''World Upside Down'' with 10 of Kent's lyrical and melodic compositions, and 97% of the 2008 CD ''Come to My Kingdom'' with 13 of Kent's lyrical and melodic compositions. After a further reunion in 2005 for the Firefest festival in the UK, House of Lords released a new album, '' World Upside Down'', adding songwriter Jeff Kent/melody & lyric writer and keyboardist, guitarist Jimi Bell, bassist Chris McCarvill, and drummer B.J. Zampa. Kent also played all the keyboard parts on the 2005 Frontier Record release. A live album '' Live in the UK'' was released in January 2007. In 2008, the band released their sixth studio album '' Come to My Kingdom''. The album featured the same line-up as ''World Upside Down'', and was produced by frontman James Christian and frequent collaborator Jeff Kent (who played bass prior to McCarvill's joining), who also co-wrote most all of the album's vocal melodies and lyrics. Bassist Chris McCarvill left the band just before the CTMK release due to prior touring commitments with
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 ...
. He was replaced by Matt McKenna who recorded bass for the band's next album '' Cartesian Dreams'' and performed on all the '' Come to My Kingdom'' tour dates. The group embarked on a world tour of 39 cities throughout Europe, Brazil, and the United States, commencing between March–July 2008, including main stage performances at Hard in Rio, Rocklahoma and the South Texas Rockfest festivals. On September 18, 2009, the band's seventh studio album '' Cartesian Dreams'' was released. Although bass was recorded by Matt McKenna, Chris McCarvill had rejoined the band following the recording and played bass on the supporting tour for the album in September–November 2009. Jeff Kent produced the album along with Christian, although this time around he did not contribute any songwriting to the album. On July 26, 2011, it was announced that the band would release their eighth studio album ''Big Money'' on September 23, 2011, in Europe and September 27 in North America. The album was recorded with the same line-up as the 2008 album '' Come to My Kingdom'', including bassist Chris McCarvill, and was promoted with a European tour in October 2011, the band's first tour since 2009. James Christian released his third solo album, ''Lay It All On Me'' in 2013. In 2014 House of Lords released their ninth studio album, ''Precious Metal''. The album was recorded with the same line-up as the 2008 album '' Come to My Kingdom''. In April 2015 it was announced that House of Lords tenth studio album ''Indestructible'' would be released in the EU on June 5 and 9 in North America. The album was recorded with the same line-up as the 2008 album '' Come to My Kingdom'', this line-up celebrating ten years together. According to Christian: ''The name ''Indestructible'' was chosen because we all felt that we have been through a lot in our long careers and what better way to say, 'Hey, I'm still here' than by giving the CD a bold title.'' He adds: Indestructible' features eleven brand new songs... ...The album is heavier in the beginning, but we love songs that are both melodic and heavy, and the idea was to fill the best of both on one CD without sounding like two different bands. I think we have accomplished that.'' In addition to announcing an appearance at the Frontiers Rock Festival in Trezzo (MI), Italy on April 12, 2015, jameschristian.com stated 'a European tour in September, with a very special surprise show to be announced soon. More details soon!' As part of the Indestructible Tour 2015, House of Lords performed in Japan at Loudpark 2015 on October 10, 2015. The Indestructible tours started in
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
on September 25 and concluded on October 19 in
Pratteln Pratteln ( Swiss German: ''Brattele'') is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland, located in the district of Liestal. History Pratteln is first mentioned around 1102-03 as ''Bratello''. Geography Pratteln has an ar ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. A U.S. date on October 23 followed. In January 2017 it was announced that House of Lords eleventh studio album ''Saint Of The Lost Souls'' would be released on March 24. According to a Frontiers press release the album was recorded with essentially the same line-up as previous albums, the only change being Chris Tristram replacing Chris McCarvill on bass guitar.


Band members

Current * James Christian – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards (1988–1993, 2000–present) * Jimi Bell – lead guitar (2005–present) * B.J. Zampa – drums, backing vocals (2005–present) * Chris Tristram - bass (2016–present) Former * Gregg Giuffria – keyboards, backing vocals (1987–1993, 2000–2004, 2006) *
Ken Mary Ken K Mary is an American musician who has worked as a drummer, producer, engineer, singer, record executive and writer on over thirty-five albums that combined have sold over five million copies worldwide. He has worked in genres from heavy roc ...
– drums, backing vocals (1987–1991, 2000–2005) *
Chuck Wright Chuck Wright (born September 13, 1959) is an American bassist, best known as a member of the hard rock/heavy metal band Quiet Riot. He originally joined Quiet Riot in 1982, playing bass on the tracks " Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" and "Don' ...
– bass, backing vocals (1987–1991, 2000–2005) *
Lanny Cordola Lanny Cordola (born 1961) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He has been a member of bands such as Giuffria, House of Lords and Magdallan (also known as Magdalen after Ken Tamplin's departure). Before joining Giuffria, Cordol ...
– guitar, backing vocals (1987–1990, 2000–2005) * Doug Aldrich - guitar, backing vocals (1990–1991) *
Michael Guy Michael J. T. Guy (born 1 April 1943) is a British computer scientist and mathematician. He is known for early work on computer systems, such as the Phoenix system at the University of Cambridge, and for contributions to number theory, computer ...
– guitar, backing vocals (1990–1991, 2000) * Dennis Chick – guitar, backing vocals (1992–1993) *
Sean McNabb Sean McNabb (born September 24, 1965) is an American actor and bassist. While still on tour with rock bands, he is also acting and writing, composing, and singing music for TV and film. In 2015, he released his first solo music as a lead singer, ...
– bass, backing vocals (1991–1993) *
Tommy Aldridge Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesna ...
– drums, backing vocals (1991–1993) * Jeff Kent – bass, keyboards, backing vocals, songwriting (2006, 2008) * Chris McCarvill – bass, backing vocals (2005–2008, 2009–2015) * Matt McKenna – bass, backing vocals (2008–2009) * Rob Marcello – guitar, backing vocals (2009–2010) * Tommy Denander - guitar, keyboards, co-production, songwriting (2011)


Discography


Studio albums

* ''
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
'' – 1988 (Simmons/
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Com ...
) * ''
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
'' – 1990 (Simmons/RCA/
BMG Music Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...
) * '' Demons Down'' – 1992 (
PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...
) * '' The Power and the Myth'' – 2004 ( Dead Line/ Frontiers) * '' World Upside Down'' – 2006 (Frontiers) * '' Come to My Kingdom'' – 2008 (Blistering/Frontiers) * '' Cartesian Dreams'' – 2009 (Frontiers) * ''Big Money'' – 2011 (Frontiers) * ''Precious Metal'' – 2014 (Frontiers) * ''Indestructible'' – 2015 (Frontiers) * ''Saint of the Lost Souls'' - 2017 (Frontiers) * ''New World - New Eyes'' - 2020 (Frontiers) *Saints & Sinners 2022 (Frontiers Records)


Singles

* "I Wanna Be Loved" - 1988 (Simmons/RCA) #58 Hot 100 * "Love Don't Lie" - 1988 (Simmons/RCA) * " Can't Find My Way Home" - 1990 (Simmons/RCA/BMG Music) * "Remember My Name" - 1990 (Simmons/RCA) * "Heart on the Line" - 1991 (Simmons/RCA) * "What's Forever For" - 1992 (Victory/
Metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats p ...
) * "O Father" - 1992 (Victory/Metronome)


Compilation albums

* ''
Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...
'' – 2008 (
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...
)


Live albums

* '' Live in the UK'' – 2007 (Frontiers)


''Billboard'' chart


References


External links


Official website
* {{Authority control Hard rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1988 Frontiers Records artists Cleopatra Records artists PolyGram artists RCA Records artists Victory Records artists