Rare Gunhill LPs with John Lawton reissued!

The talented John Lawton is one of those journeymen rockers who leave excellence in their wake as they jump from one project to another over the decades. The British-born singer first came to prominence as frontman for the German hard rock outfit Lucifer’s Friend, touring and recording with the legendary band from 1969 through ’76, appearing on five albums before leaving to join Uriah Heep.

Replacing the irreplaceable David Byron on the microphone, Lawton recorded three solid albums with Heep – 1977’s Firefly and Innocent Victim and 1978’s Fallen Angel – before leaving to rejoin Lucifer’s Friend for another lengthy run. Lawton was also part of Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover’s 1975 project “Butterfly Ball,” performing live at the Royal Albert Hall alongside Purple’s Ian Gillan, David Coverdale, and Glenn Hughes.

Often overlooked, however, is Lawton’s early ‘90s-era band GunHill. With Lawton on vocals, Brian Bennet on guitar, bassist Neil Kavanagh, and drummer Chris Jones, GunHill released two studio albums of prog-flavored hard rock similar to Rainbow or King’s X – 1995’s fan club exclusive One Over The Eight cassette and 1997’s Nightheat – both of which have been out of print for ten years or more, and are incredibly hard to find.

Answering the prayers of John Lawton fans worldwide, both albums have been reissued as a two-disc set with bonus tracks, representing a comprehensive collection of GunHill studio recordings (a live album was released in 1999). Provided a fresh digital re-mastering, the reissue was overseen by Lawton personally and has his approval.

In a press release for the reissues, Lawton says “these two CDs are part of my musical history when I played together with some fine musicians, some quite young and some a bit more experienced. It was an opportunity to cover some tracks that I look back on as really great songs and a few original tracks that have stood the test of time.”

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: GunHill's One Over The Eight/Nightheat

John Lawton's GunHill circa 1997

Lucifer’s Friend Reunion Tour & Album

German hard rock band Lucifer’s Friend was one of the most interesting and entertaining outfits of the early 1970s. Fronted by leather-lunged British vocalist John Lawton, the music was propelled by Peter Hesslein’s imaginative guitar lines and bassist Dieter Horns’ heavier-than-uranium rhythms. The band’s self-titled 1970 debut album proved to be a defining work of hard rock and heavy metal, putting them similar commercial footing with like-minded fellow travelers Dust, Atomic Rooster, or Uriah Heep and influencing the next generation of (harder) bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.

Still, Lucifer’s Friend seemed to struggle for an identity that they’d already perfected on the first go-round, and subsequent albums evolved from the progressive rock of 1973’s Where The Groupies Killed The Blues to the jazz-fusion of the following year’s I’m Just A Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer to the melodic rock of the band’s late 1970s efforts. Lawton split in ’76 to front Heep in the wake of David Byron’s departure, and Lucifer’s Friend soldiered on until breaking up in 1981. A brief 1994 reunion between Lawton and Hesslein resulted in the Sumo Grip album, a throwback to their original sound, and then the band went quiet for another 20 years.

2015 may well prove to be Lucifer’s Friend’s year, however. Lawton, Hesslein, and Horns are reuniting to play the Swedish Rock Festival in June, and are currently putting together a full tour. Sadly, original band drummer Joachim Rietenbach passed away a few years ago, so newcomer Stephan Eggart will occupy that position, with Yogi Wichman, who played on Sumo Grip, on keyboards.

If that wasn’t enough good news to satisfy long-suffering Lucifer’s Friend fans, the band will also be releasing Awakening, a compilation album featuring four new songs recorded by the new band line-up, on Cherry Red Records in March 2015. Awakening is available for pre-order exclusively on the Cherry Red website, and fans that go ahead and order the disc will also receive an exclusive signed item.

In a press release for the band reunion, singer John Lawton states, “the reformation of Lucifer's Friend has been a long time coming, but we all feel that the time is right…to get back together with the guys with whom I had worked together for so many years and recorded albums that have in many respects stood the test of time, is for me, an upcoming highlight.” Adds guitarist Peter Hesslein, “…we thought that before it really is too late, to give our fans, especially the younger ones, a chance to experience a part of the founder members of hard rock...”