White Spirit were an English heavy metal band from

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

, best remembered for guitarist

Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...

who went on to play with

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

, and ultimately,

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

. Other members of the band were Bruce Ruff (vocals), Malcolm Pearson (keyboards), Phil Brady (bass), and Graeme Crallan (drums) and Mick Tucker (guitars).

History

White Spirit, co-founded by Gers and Crallan in 1975, are considered part of 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 ...

, although their sound was closer to that of 1970s hard rock acts such as

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

or Uriah Heep. The band issued their debut single, "Backs to the Grind", on the fledgling heavy metal independent label

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 ...

in 1980. It was backed with "Cheetah", which would also appear on Neat's ''Lead Weight'' compilation (and again on the retrospective '' New Wave of British Heavy Metal '79 Revisited'' double LP/CD in 1990, compiled by noted NWOBHM enthusiast

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and former ''

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- ...

'' editor

Geoff Barton Geoff Barton (born July 1955) is a British journalist who founded the heavy metal magazine ''Kerrang!'' and was an editor of ''Sounds'' music magazine. He joined ''Sounds'' at the age of 19 after completing a journalism course at the London Col ...

). White Spirit featured on various other notable NWOBHM compilations such as Volume 2 of ''

Metal for Muthas ''Metal for Muthas'' is the name given to a series of heavy metal compilations made during the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). The original compilation was ''Metal for Muthas'', released in February 1980. The compilation was a sampl ...

'', the ''Muthas Pride'' EP, ''Brute Force'', and ''60 Minutes Plus''. With the upsurge of the NWOBHM, White Spirit moved to the MCA label on which they released their first and only album in 1980. The album was simply titled ''White Spirit'' and featured cover artwork by Michael Spaldin, who later worked on stage set design for Gillan. That same year White Spirit made an appearance at the

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. The group suffered a serious blow in 1981, when their guitarist Janick Gers accepted an offer from former

frontman

, to join his solo outfit Gillan in place of

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. Gers went on to record the albums '' Double Trouble'' and ''

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'', before Ian Gillan decided to dissolve the band and join

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

. Gers was also part of the short lived UK supergroup Gogmagog, also featuring former members of

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and

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, who folded after releasing a sole EP, '' I Will Be There'', in 1985. White Spirit bassist Phil Brady later played with the

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metal band Therapy from 1990 until 1991, helping them reach the semi-finals of the Battle Of The Bands competition at Rio's in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

in 1990. He left White Spirit after their first studio album and was replaced by Ian Shuttleworth. Drummer Graeme Crallan, also known as 'Crash', joined

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in 1984, along with Mick Tucker, and played on their '' Honour & Blood'' album. He quit the following year. Crallan died at

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...

, Hampstead on 27 July 2008 after a fall in York Way, London. The band's eponymous album was re-issued in 2005 on the Castle label with an entire second disc's worth of bonus material, including rarities, demos, alternate versions and takes, and B-sides. Most notable amongst these additional tracks is one entitled "Watch Out", originally found on the ''60 Minutes Plus'' compilation in 1982, recorded after vocalist Bruce Ruff had left the band. Instead, future

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and

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singer Brian Howe contributed lead vocals.Source: CD liner notes The re-issue is currently in print in Japan only, where

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

issued the album as a re-mastered Limited Edition SHM (Super High Material technology) Mini-LP Sleeve CD in 2008. However this latest re-issue did not include various bonus tracks found on the original Castle edition. Following the discovery of a cassette tape containing studio demos recorded in 1981 of what was to be the 2nd White Spirit album, careful restoration took place to retrieve the original Brian Howe vocals and musical performances. This was to form the basis of a new White Spirit album "Right Or Wrong", released through Conquest Music in July 2022. Guest performers on the album include Neil Murray, Russell Gilbrook, Jeff Scott Soto, Steve Overland & Lee Small.

Members

* Bruce Ruff – lead vocals (1975–1981) * Brian Howe – lead vocals (1981) *

– guitar (1975–1981) * Phil Brady – bass guitar (1975–1981) * Graeme Crallan – drums (1975–1981) * Malcolm Pearson – keyboards (1975–1981. 2022–?) * Mick Tucker – guitars (1981. 2022–?) * Alexx Stahl - lead vocals (2022-?)

Discography

Studio albums

*''White Spirit'' (1980) MCA *''Right Or Wrong'' (2022) Conquest Music

Compilation appearances

*''

Volume II'' (1980, EMI Records) ("High Upon High") *''Muthas Pride'' 12" EP (1980, EMI Records) ("Red Skies") *''Brute Force'' (1980, MCA Records) ("Back to the Grind") *''Lead Weight'' LP (1981, Neat/Base Records) ("Cheetah") *''60 Minutes Plus'' cassette (1982, Neat Records) ("Watch Out") *''All Hell Let Loose'' LP (1983, Base Records) ("Watch Out") *''Metal Minded'' CD (1987, Prism Entertainment) ("Watch Out") *''New Wave of British Heavy Metal '79 Revisited'' CD (1990, Metal Blade) ("Cheetah")

Singles and EPs

*"Backs to the Grind" b/w "Cheetah" (1980, Neat Records) ( UK Indie No. 3)Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, *"Midnight Chaser" b/w "Suffragettes" (1980, MCA Records) *"High Upon High" b/w "No Reprieve", "Arthur Guitar" (1980, MCA Records)

References

External links

*
NWOBHM.info – White Spirit page
{{Authority control English heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups