The break-up was made public in July 1976, with then-manager Rob Cooksey issuing a statement: “The band will not record or perform together as Deep Purple again”.
Black Sabbath began work for their next album at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, in June 1976.
High and Mighty followed in June 1976. It was considered lightweight; even Box stated: “less of the ‘eavy and more of the ‘umble” (making pointed reference to Uriah Heep ‘s self-description as “‘umble” in Dickens’ David Copperfield ). The matter of production here became the point of major contention. With…
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Bassist Steve Harris formed Iron Maiden in 1975, a few months before Christmas. Harris attributed the band’s name to a film adaptation of The Man in the Iron Mask from the novel by Alexandre Dumas , as the title reminded him of the iron maiden torture device . They originally…
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The last show on the tour was on 15 March 1976 at the Liverpool Empire Theatre . At the end of the concert, Coverdale walked off in tears and handed in his resignation. He was told there was no band left to quit, as Lord and Paice had already decided…
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The success of Alive! not only brought Kiss the breakthrough they had been seeking but arguably saved Casablanca, which was close to bankruptcy. Following this success, Kiss partnered with producer Bob Ezrin , who had previously worked with Alice Cooper . The result was Destroyer (released March 15, 1976), Kiss’s…
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In March 1976, deciding that two guitarists were required, the band auditioned an acquaintance of drummer Taylor’s named “Fast” Eddie Clarke . Wallis, who was continuing to tour with a reformed Pink Fairies, quit immediately after the auditions and Clarke remained as the sole guitarist. This trio of Lemmy/Clarke/Taylor is…
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By this time, Led Zeppelin were the world’s number one rock attraction, having outsold most bands of the time, including the Rolling Stones. Presence , released in March 1976, marked a change in the Led Zeppelin sound towards more straightforward, guitar-based jams, departing from the acoustic ballads and intricate arrangements…
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In February 1976, at the suggestion of the band’s agent, Kevin Brenner, Jay Jay was told that the band could only go so far without being able to play Led Zeppelin cover songs and urged Jay Jay to hire Danny Snider ( Dee Snider ), who had been in the…
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and a second album, Rising , was recorded in February at Musicland.