power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and c ...
band from
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. Despite a lack of major commercial success, the band has a lasting cult following and has been cited as a major influence by bands such as Mötley Crüe, Poison, Bon Jovi, and
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and " I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with ...
.
History
Starz was formed out of the ashes of the early 1970s pop band Looking Glass, which had the No. 1 hit single " Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" in the summer of 1972.
After lead singer Elliot Lurie left Looking Glass in 1974, the three remaining members—keyboardist Larry Gonsky, bassist Pieter Sweval, and drummer Jeff Grob (who adopted the stage name Joe X. Dube)—teamed up with vocalist Michael Lee Smith and guitarist Brendan Harkin to continue the band, eventually changing the name to Fallen Angels.
In September 1975, they were joined by former Stories guitarist Richie Ranno. After keyboardist Gonsky separated from the group, they decided to rebrand and pursue a more heavy metal direction.
The band was trying to decide on a new name when their manager noticed the star necklace Ranno was wearing, in addition to his guitar with stars on it. When he suggested the name "Starz", the band was not immediately on board with the idea. However, when the band returned to the studio the following day, their manager presented them with a rough sketch of the current (STARZ) logo, which he had drawn on a napkin. Upon seeing the logo sketch, the band all agreed it was perfect, and the band was officially rebranded as Starz.
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
manager
Bill Aucoin
William Martin Aucoin (December 29, 1943 – June 28, 2010) was an American band manager, well known for his work with the rock band Kiss and Billy Idol.
Biography
Born in 1943 in Ayer, Massachusetts, Aucoin attended Northeastern University a ...
was introduced to STARZ via his right-hand man Sean Delaney, who had previously befriended Sweval. Aucoin began representing Starz in late 1975, helping them to get signed to Capitol Records in early 1976.
The first self-titled '' Starz'' album was released on June 21, 1976, and contained their first single, "(She's Just A) Fallen Angel". The album also contained a controversial track in the song "Pull the Plug", about a man ending his comatose wife's life support.
Their first major hit single, "Cherry Baby", in the spring of 1977 came from their second album, ''
Violation
Violation or violations may refer to:
* Violation (basketball), the most minor class of an illegal action in basketball
* ''Violation'' (album), a 1977 album by American hard rock band Starz
* ''Violation'' (film), a 2020 Canadian horror film
* ...
'', produced by Jack Douglas of Aerosmith fame. Douglas produced their first two studio albums: ''Starz'' and ''Violation''.
Their third studio album, the self-produced '' Attention Shoppers!'', was more in the vein of power pop than heavy metal and featured a
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 ...
influence in songs such as "X-Ray Spex", and "Hold on to the Night".
Harkin and Sweval were asked to leave the band after ''Attention Shoppers!'', reportedly since they wanted to continue in that album's musical direction, while the others favored a return to the harder sound of their first two albums.
On their fourth, and final, studio album on the Capitol label, '' Coliseum Rock'', produced by
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of " Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After ...
producer Jack Richardson, Harkin and Sweval were replaced by
Bobby Messano
Bobby Messano (born June 23, 1954) is an American artist, guitarist and musician. He has recorded and toured with STARZ, Lou Gramm, Steve Winwood, Previously, Davis was the bassist for the Southern rock band Hydra, which released multiple albums in the mid-1970s. His contributions can be heard on the first two LP's: 1974's ''Hydra'' and 1975's ''Land of Money''. After leaving Hydra, Davis joined REX, a hard rock outfit fronted by Smith's younger brother, Rex Smith.
After being dropped by Capitol and manager Aucoin, Starz split up in mid 1979. Dube and Ranno put together a trio with bassist Peter Scance called Hard Core. In late 1980 Starz reunited with a lineup of Smith, Ranno, Harkin, Davis, with Doug Madick on drums. The group played clubs up and down the East Coast in what amounted to a farewell tour.
In 1981 Smith, Ranno, Madick, and Scance regrouped and rebranded as Hellcats. Hellcats recorded five new songs, released as an EP on the independent label Radio Records in 1982.
In the mid-1980s, Ranno shifted the lineup of Hellcats, this time featuring Perry Jones on lead vocals. They produced and released an album in 1987 on the King Klassic record label, as well as a four-track EP in 1988.
Brian Slagel of Metal Blade Records contacted Ranno in 1989, telling him of his longtime admiration of the band and asked if Ranno held the rights to any of the band's material.
Ranno stated he owned two unreleased live shows and allowed Metal Blade to compile them as '' Live in Action'', which contained cuts from a 1976 Cleveland show and a 1978 radio promotional show in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. The release of ''Live in Action'' was a precursor to the 1990 release of the four Starz studio albums on compact disc, as the inaugural releases by Metal Blade's "Classics" imprint.
The albums have been subsequently re-released on CD (by other labels and the band themselves), with bonus tracks primarily composed of material from the band's days as Fallen Angels, as well as a few songs from the 1992 reunion (independent) album, ''Requiem''.
Pieter Sweval died on January 23, 1990.
Later that year, Smith and Harkin went to New York to join Ranno in writing and recording five new songs. Madick played drums on the new project, as Dube had left the music business to work as an architect. Harkin replaced the late Sweval on bass.
The songs were released (with some live tracks, plus other previously written, yet unreleased songs) on their own label, Drastic CD, in 1992 as the aforementioned ''Requiem''. After this, Ranno continued on his own with the Richie Ranno Group, which put out a CD (''RRG'') in 1996.
Ranno was approached in 2003 by a British promoter who wanted to bring STARZ over to the UK. This particular UK tour never materialized; however, the surviving original members (Smith, Ranno, Harkin, and Dube), with new bassist George DiAna, regrouped that same year for a number of successful club dates, culminating in the two-day, 2005 "Starzfest" in
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...
, which featured the entire band joined by Messano and Davis. They performed the studio album catalog in their entirety, including songs which had never previously been performed live. Two concerts in California were also performed in late 2005, one recorded for a television special.
In addition, a show recorded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2004 was released on CD in late 2006. The Ohio show was performed as a four piece, as Harkin had missed his flight to Cleveland. In 2005, Messano once again replaced Harkin as the second-guitarist. Ranno also performed shows on the East Coast with DiAna and Dube as the "Richie Ranno All-Stars".
Former Ted Nugent drummer Cliff Davies filled in for Dube at a Starz show in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, in October 2007. For additional shows in California in April 2008, Billy Howe filled in on guitar for Messano. Former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick did the honors at that year's Kiss Convention on May 3 in Secaucus, New Jersey. In 2012, Messano was replaced by guitarist Steven DeAcutis.
Alex Kane took over the second guitar slot from DeAcutis in 2013. Kane played guitar and Ginger Wildheart subbed on bass for a one-night-only gig in the UK at The Garage, London in London's
Highbury
Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington
in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads.
The manor house was sit ...
section on December 18, 2013. The band released privately-made DVDs of the show, some copies signed on the cover by Ranno.
Starz went back out on tour in 2019, co-headling with Angel on East Coast (April) and Midwest (May) show dates.
Starz and Angel were supporting acts for Ace Frehley on May 4, 2019, at Chesterfield Amphitheater in St. Louis County, Missouri. The St. Louis show kicked off the Midwest leg of the 2019 tour.
Influence
Despite lack of major commercial success, Starz has created a significant and enduring legacy. Several 1980s
glam metal
Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a me ...
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and " I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with ...
cite Starz as a primary influence.
Ginger of the Wildhearts has also cited Starz as an important influence, including them in the lyrics to the song "29x The Pain (I see Starz)".
''
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 included the first two Starz albums on their list of the most important heavy metal albums of all time.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Live albums
* ''Live At Municipal Auditorium, Louisville, March 30, 1978'' (1978)
* ''Live In America'' (1983)
* ''Live In Canada'' (1985)
* '' Live in Action'' (1989) (Contains the 1978 live album + extra live recordings)
* '' Greatest Hits Live'' (2004)
* ''Double Live'' (2006)
* ''Live at the Agora (Starz album), 1978'' (2020) Vinyl Issue by Renaissance Records
* ''Live in Cleveland (Starz album), 1976'' (2020) Vinyl Issue by Renaissance Records
Compilation albums
* ''Brightest Starz'' (1985) on Heavy Metal America records (contains a collection of songs from "Starz," "Violation," "Attention Shoppers!" and "Coliseum Rock")
* ''Do It with the Lights On'' (1987) Contains Previously Unreleased Material
* ''Brightest Starz Anthology'' (2000) on Renaissance Records (CD)
* ''Live at the Agora 1978'' (2021) on Renaissance Records (CD)
* ''Live at the Agora 1978'' (2021) on Renaissance Records (LP)