Demon (band)

Demon
Demon live 2010
Background information
Origin	Leek, Staffordshire, England
Genres	Heavy metal Hard rock Progressive rock
Years active	1979 (1979)–present
Labels	Clay Records, Carrere Records
Website	the-demon.com
Members
Dave Hill Paul Hume David Cotterill Paul Farrington Neil Ogden Paul Johnson
Past members
Chris Ellis Chris Robinson Duncan Hansell Gavin Sutherland John Cotterill John Waterhouse John Wright Karl Finney Les Hunt Mal Spooner Mike Thomas Nick Bushell Paul Riley Paul Rosscrow Scott Crawford Steve Brookes Steve Watts Tim Read Andy Dale Ray Walmsley

Demon are an English rock/metal group, formed in 1979 by vocalist Dave Hill and guitarist Mal Spooner, both hailing from Leek, Staffordshire. They drew their initial audience from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement in 1980.

The original line-up was completed by Les Hunt (Lead guitar), Chris Ellis (bass guitar) and John Wright (drums). The band were signed by Mike Stone's Clay Records in 1980 and licensed to Carrere Records to join their stable of metal bands. Their debut album, Night of the Demon, was released in 1981.

After their 1982 follow-up album, The Unexpected Guest, the band experimented beyond the NWOBHM sound and moved the band in a more melodic direction whilst still retaining the more traditional heavy metal black magic lyrical style.^[1]

In 1983 Demon took a change in direction.^[1] The Plague marked a swing towards a more progressive sound. Lyrically the band also changed direction, switching to a more overtly political style that was to characterise their albums for the rest of their career.^[1] The following album, the Pink Floyd influenced British Standard Approved (1984), released on the small independent Clay label, was not a huge commercial success, and with the death of Mal Spooner later that year, it appeared that the band would soon fold.^[1]

However Heart of Our Time (1985) showed that the remaining members of the band were determined to continue, and it was the start of a new songwriting partnership between Hill and Watts. Although the album is regarded as the weakest of the bands releases, it paved the way for the critically acclaimed Breakout (1987) and its follow-up Taking the World by Storm (1988).^[1] The band continued releasing material throughout the 1990s, and despite several line-up changes continue to record and tour whilst maintaining a loyal and hardcore cult following throughout Europe.^[1]

Discography

Studio albums / EPs

• Night of the Demon (1981)
• The Unexpected Guest (1982) - UK Number 47
• The Plague (1983) - UK Number 73
• Wonderland (EP) (1984)
• British Standard Approved (1985)
• Heart of Our Time (1985)
• Demon (EP) (1986)
• Breakout (1987)
• Taking the World by Storm (1989)
• Hold on to the Dream (1991)
• Blow-out (1992)
• Spaced out Monkey (2001)
• Better the Devil You Know (2005)^[2]

Live albums / compilations

• One Helluva Night (live) (1990)
• Anthology (compilation) (1991)
• The Best of Demon: Volume One (compilation) (1999)
• Time Has Come - The Best of Demon (compilation) (2006)

DVDs

Hill/Stone Productions

• The Unexpected Guest Tour - Live at Tiffany's 1982 (2009)
• Up Close and Personal - Live in Germany at The Keep It True Festival warm up show 2006 (2009)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Potts, Mark L. (2006-11-10). "Official DEMON biography 2001". Demon Official Website. http://the-demon.com/main.cfm?inlog=&error=&kat=start&sidoID=269. Retrieved 2010-11-10. 
2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 150. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

• Official website
• Demon discography at Discogs