In 1981, Accept’s third studio album, Breaker , was released, and the band employed manager Gaby Hauke . The same year, Accept served as a supporting act on Judas Priest ‘s World Wide Blitz Tour , and obtained attention outside of Europe for the first time.
The band was originally formed in 1981 by Johnnie Dee (vocals, guitar), Brad Bent (keyboards, vocals), and Mike Lengyell (drums, formerly with The Diodes ). By 1983, the line-up changed, with Dee (the only original remaining member) now on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, along with new recruits Derry Grehan…
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For its next album, the band worked again with producer Ezrin, with whom Kiss had found success on Destroyer . Early press reports indicated that the new album would be a return to the hard rock style that had originally brought the band success. However, 1981’s Music from “The Elder”…
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In 1981, Aerosmith began work on their next album, Rock in a Hard Place , which saw them reunite with producer Jack Douglas. However, after the first song for the album, ” Lightning Strikes “, was recorded, Brad Whitford left the band and formed a duo with Derek St. Holmes…
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The band began another lengthy yet successful tour on June 12, 1981, supported by opening acts Billy Squier , Greg Kihn Band , Point Blank , and Loverboy , and Journey opened for the Rolling Stones on September 25 in Philadelphia at JFK Stadium . MTV videotaped one of their…
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Birch produced the band’s next album as well, Fire of Unknown Origin (1981), which peaked at number 24 on the Billboard 200 , becoming the band’s highest-charting album. The biggest hit on this album was the Top 40 hit “Burnin’ for You,” a song Roeser had written with a Richard…
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Following the success of the 1981 tour, the band’s full establishment as a corporation, and the formation of a fan club called “Journey Force”, the band released “Only Solutions” and “1990s Theme” for the 1982 Disney film, Tron . Schon had also made time to work with Jan Hammer on…
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As with most of the post-Deep Purple bands, money remained very tight. By 1981 the band members were beginning to wonder why their European and Japanese success was not translating into increased financial rewards. Rumours also circulated that band funds were being diverted to pay for problems with Ian Gillan’s…
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With a slightly different track listing, East was issued in the United States and they undertook their first US tour in mid-1981.
In 1981 Grand Funk Railroad reunited after being approached by their former manager Cavaliere. The reunion took place without Frost (who was playing with Bob Seger ) and with Dennis Bellinger replacing Schacher on bass. Schacher begged off saying he had developed a fear of flying but later admitted that…
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