Spear of Destiny is a British rock band, formed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1982 by lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Kirk Brandon and bassist

Stan Stammers Stan Stammers (born 19 May 1961, England) is an English musician best known as the bass player for the bands Theatre of Hate, Spear of Destiny and Plastic Eaters. Early life Stammers grew up in Saffron Walden, Essex. He got into punk music ...

. It has had an ever-changing line-up through the years. They have had 10

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

entries. Four reached the Top 50 but only one made the Top 20 – "

Never Take Me Alive "Never Take Me Alive" is a song by English rock band Spear of Destiny. It was released on 23 March 1987 as the second single (after "Strangers in Our Town" in January) from the band's fourth album, '' Outland''. It achieved the band's highest eve ...

" (1987).

History

Formed in 1982, the band's original line-up consisted of Kirk Brandon,

, Chris Bell and Lascelles James. In late 1983, this line-up was superseded by Dolphin Taylor on drums, Alan St. Clair on guitar, John Lennard on saxophone and Neil Pyzer on keyboards and additional saxophone. In 1984, John Lennard was replaced by Mickey Donnelly on saxophone. Spear of Destiny recorded one session for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

(recorded 22 November 1982, transmitted on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

on 29 November 1982). "The band played a punk-influenced form of power rock, which often had an anthemic feel." Their second studio album, '' One Eyed Jacks'' was released in 1984. It reached No. 22 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

Spear of Destiny’s reputation in the mid-1980s depended to a greater extent on their live performances. In 1985, their third studio album, '' World Service'' reached the UK Top 20. On 22 June 1985 they were one of five bands supporting U2 at the Longest Day concert at the

Milton Keynes Bowl The National Bowl (originally the Milton Keynes Bowl) is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit (for brick-making), filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil ex ...

. The other acts were the Faith Brothers,

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music i ...

the Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

and R.E.M. Founding member

left the band in 1986. In the wake of the release of the fourth studio album, '' Outland'' (1987) and its Top 15 hit "

", the band began achieving some

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...

success and staging sell-out

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

s, including a support slot to U2 at Wembley Stadium. However, ill fortune struck on the eve of the band's appearance at the Reading Festival, as Brandon developed

reactive arthritis Reactive arthritis, also known as Reiter's syndrome, is a form of inflammatory arthritis that develops in response to an infection in another part of the body (cross-reactivity). Coming into contact with bacteria and developing an infection can t ...

which obliged the band to put all their plans on hold for nearly a year. In addition to Brandon and Stammers, past members of the band in the 1980s included former Gillan drummer

Pete Barnacle Pete Barnacle is an English rock drummer who has played for various bands including Gillan,Thompson, Dave (2004) ''Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story'', ECW Press, , p. 214 Girl,Jasper, Tony & Oliver, Derek (1985) ''The international En ...

, former JoBoxers bassist Chris Bostock, former Adam and the Ants guitarist

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959, London, England) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many ...

, and former Tom Robinson Band and Stiff Little Fingers drummer Dolphin Taylor.Strong, M.C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, Edinburgh, p. 519 - 520; Brandon was also a member of the supergroup Dead Men Walking.

Discography

*'' Grapes of Wrath'' (1983) – UK No. 62 *'' One Eyed Jacks'' (1984) – UK No. 22 *'' World Service'' (1985) – UK No. 11 *'' Outland'' (1987) – UK No. 16 *'' The Price You Pay'' (1988) – UK No. 37 *''

Sod's Law Sod's law, a British culture axiom, states that "if something ''can'' go wrong, it will". The law sometimes has a corollary: that the misfortune will happen at "the worst possible time" ( Finagle's law). The term is commonly used in the United Kin ...

'' (1991) *''

Religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

'' (1997) *''

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

'' (2000) *''

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

'' (2003) *'' Loadestone'' (2005) *'' Imperial Prototype'' (2007) *'' Omega Point'' (2010) *''31'' (2014) *''Tontine'' (2018) *''Ghost Population'' (2022)

References

External links

* * *
Kirkbrandon.com (official website)

Stanstammers.com (official website)

The Engine Room (the Spear of Destiny rhythm section)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spear Of Destiny (Band) English rock music groups English new wave musical groups English alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1983 Virgin Records artists English post-punk music groups Musical groups from London