Starfighters are an English heavy metal band from 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 ...

movement founded in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, in 1980. They attracted a strong British cult following but were not able to translate this into any lasting success, producing just two full studio albums in the early 1980s. Ex-member

Stevie Young Stephen Crawford Young Jr. (born 11 December 1956) is an Australian musician, and the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for the Australian rock & roll band AC/DC. He joined the band in April 2014, to record the group's ''Rock or Bust'' albu ...

brought in some attention to the group after he joined the

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

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 ...

in 2014. (Stevie Young is the nephew of AC/DC leaders

Malcolm Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpeffray, 14th-century bishop-elect of Dunkeld Nobility * Máe ...

and

Angus Young Angus McKinnon Young (born 31 March 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter, and only remaining original member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, school ...

Biography

Initially called Savage (named after the original lead vocalist, Phil Savage), the founding members,

and Barry Spencer Scrannage changed the band's name to Starfighters and released the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Heaven and Hell" (

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

) and "I'm Falling" (B-side), on the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Motor City Rhythm Records. A further two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

were recorded and produced in 1980, prior to the band winning their support slot, but were never released. This line-up consisted of Steve Burton (vocals), Pat Hambly (guitar)

(guitar), Doug Dennis (bass) and Barry Spencer Scrannage (drums, born 1954 in Smethwick and formerly in

Glenn Tipton Glenn Raymond Tipton (born 25 October 1947) is an English guitarist. Often noted for his complex playing style and classically influenced solos, he is best known as one of the lead guitarists for heavy metal band Judas Priest. Early life and ...

's pre

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

band Shave 'Em Dry). They were then signed up by

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

(a part of Zomba). They then won a support slot with

on their 1980 'Back in Black' tour, during which, Barry Spencer Scrannage left following the death of close personal friend,

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...

), his position was later filled by Steve Bailey. Signing up with Krokus manager Butch Stone, in 1983 they released the follow-up album, ''In-Flight Movie'', again produced by

Tony Platt Tony Platt is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with a diverse mix of artists, including, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Bob Marley, Iron Maiden, Shy, Buddy Guy, Foreigner, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sparks, Jazz ...

. Jive however were not prepared to pay for further tour promotions, and the band resorted to appearing in small British clubs. Despite receiving good reviews and publicity, particularly in ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' magazine, this album did no better and Jive dropped them. The band consequently folded. In 1987, the band reformed with the line-up of Burton (vocals), Young (guitars), Rik Sandford (guitars), Redvers (bass) and Jamie Hawkins (drums). Redvers had been known as Steve Hill up to this point, but was rechristened with his middle name, to avoid the confusion of having three 'Steves' in the band. Despite attracting a strong local following in Birmingham, they could not secure another

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

, and the band folded after little more than a year. Sandford and Hawkins had very brief stints with

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 ...

and

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

respectively. Redvers became Steve Redvers and joined The Grip, before linking up with Young and Ian Charles (Chaz) in Little Big Horn. Starfighters reformed again for a one off show on 10 November 2006 at 'The Roadhouse' in South Birmingham to raise money for charity, with the line-up of Burton (vocals), Young (guitars and vocals), Hambly (guitars), Dennis (bass and vocals) and Tony Bayliss (drums). Scrannage played with

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 stayed at Osbourne's house in 1979, was briefly in the band Bullion with original

members

Ernie Chataway Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

and

Bruno Stapenhill Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

and, as of 2008, worked as an actor and used to run the Rock Tavern in Hill Street,

Brierley Hill Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, 2.5 miles south of Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Part of the Black Country and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a popu ...

. When bassist Doug Dennis died in 2011, the remaining Starfighters reformed to play at his wake with Stevie Young's son Angus on bass. In May 2014, Stevie Young replaced his uncle Malcolm Young for the recording of a new AC/DC album and tour. As of June 2021, Burton is fronting Birmingham blues band Vincent Flatts Final Drive. They have just released their fourth cd - Back In The Saddle.

Discography

*''Starfighters'' (1981) -

*''In-Flight Movie'' (1983) - Jive Records

References

External links

MusicMight bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starfighters (Band) English heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups