- The Cross
:"See also:
Cross (disambiguation) "Infobox musical artist
Name = The Cross
Img_capt = The Cross onstage inGermany , 1990.
Img_size =
Background = group_or_band
Origin =England
Genre = Rock Dance
Years_active = 1987 – 1993
Label =Virgin Records Parlophone Records EMI Electrola
Associated_acts = Queen
URL = [http://eva.aws-it.at/english/the_cross.html The Cross Fan Site]
Current_members = Roger TaylorSpike Edney Clayton Moss Peter NooneJosh Macrae
Past_members =The Cross were the late-1980s side project of Queen's drummer Roger Taylor. Originally a
classic rock band with dance influences, the band abandoned the dance aspect of their sound and produced two straight forward rock albums. Although Taylor stated when the band formed in 1987 that the group would be "a force to be reckoned with" within six months, the group never took off in any market exceptGermany and subsequently disbanded in 1993.History
With the conclusion of Queen's
Magic Tour in 1986, Roger Taylor took the opportunity of a lack of activity on the Queen front to form his own band, which he named the Cross. Leaving hisdrum kit behind, Taylor assumed the duties ofrhythm guitarist andlead vocalist for the group. Outside of recruiting Queen's tourkeyboardist ,Spike Edney , the rest of Taylor's new band were found through an ad placed in the music press. They were a group of unknowns, consisting ofClayton Moss (guitar), Peter Noone (bass guitar), andJosh Macrae (drums). Contrary to popular belief, Taylor did not play drums for the band; he acted more as thefrontman , a position he claimed was "new" to him. [ [http://queen.musichall.cz/index_en.php?s=ro&d=roger91 Queen - Royal Legend ] ]With a group of songs already written, Taylor decided to record the first Cross album, "
Shove it " largely by himself, then tour with his new band. A hybrid of classic rock and dance influences, the album received some praise in the British music press but failed to get higher than the bottom of the album charts, as did its three singles. In theUnited States , the album failed to chart and the group would not release another album there. The band resumed operations after the next Queen album with "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know ", which was written by all the members in the band and embraced a classic rock sound. The lead single, "Power to Love," only dented the bottom of the British charts, while the album failed to chart at all. However, the band did continue to do well in Germany, and, with no record company support inEngland , released their third album, "Blue Rock", in that country only. After a final gig in 1993, the band broke up. Taylor went on to recordsolo album s and continue his work with Queen. Macrae accompanied Taylor on his solo tours as drummer and played percussion atthe Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert . Both Taylor and Edney participated in theQueen + Paul Rodgers tours whilst Macrae works behind the scenes as a sound engineer andPro Tools engineer for them.Discography
tudio albums
ingles
Trivia
* "Heaven for Everyone", from "Shove It" (album version only), features lead vocals from
Freddie Mercury . It was later reworked and included in Queen's 1995 album "Made in Heaven ".* "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know" features a cover of the
Jimi Hendrix song "Foxy Lady " (only on CD).External links
* [http://www.queenpedia.com/index.php?title=Song_List#The_Cross_Studio_Songs Queenpedia – The Cross complete song list]
* [http://thecross.queenrocks.ru/en/index.html Russian Fan Site]References
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