The Barratt Band was formed in 1980 by Norman Barratt, formerly of Gravy Train and the Alwyn Wall Band, and in its initial stages consisted of Barratt (Guitar, Vocals), Dave Morris (Keyboards), Tim Hatwell (Bass) and Russ Caldwell (Drums). The band recorded their first album ''Playing in the City'' in 1981 at Chapel Lane Studios just outside

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. The band were one of the first fully professional

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

(CR) bands in the United Kingdom, all members having worked as professional musicians in mainstream rock and pop. The band signed to the fledgling

Chapel Lane A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

label that had just been started by Rob Andrews, owner of Chapel Lane Studios. This was a bold attempt to produce CR recordings that matched professional secular standards and also raise Christian rock's profile. The band toured the album extensively throughout the UK, Europe and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

on major tours supporting

Larry Norman Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 album ...

. Barratt Band was featured on Larry Norman's 1981 live '' Friends on Tour'' album, along with Alwyn Wall. In their own right they embarked on smaller club tours, the highlight being the 1982

Greenbelt Festival Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown out of an evangelical Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young people into its current form, a more inclusive f ...

held at Knebworth, where they headlined the closing night. Larry Tomaso replaced Tim Hatwell on bass in 1982 and the band appeared on numerous tours and albums supporting or backing some of the top CR artists of the day from the US and UK, including

, Steve Camp,

Phil Keaggy Philip Tyler Keaggy (born March 23, 1951) is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 55 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets. H ...

, Jesse Dixon and Sheila Walsh. The band released a second album in 1984 named ''Voice'' with Dave Engel on drums. The heavy touring and work schedules took their toll resulting in one of the band members collapsing through exhaustion while on tour in

towards the end of 1986. Although the band has never officially split up, it never toured or recorded again.

Discography

* ''Playing in the City'' (Chapel Lane CLS8005, 1981, reviews) * ''Voice (LP)'' (Chapel Lane CLS8015, 1983)

References

{{Reflist

External links

for more detail and update
Musical groups established in 1980 English Christian rock groups