In late December 1972, Manhattan resident John Segall (who later renamed himself “Jay Jay French”) auditioned for, and was asked to join, the “glitter band” Silver Star from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. Silver Star was formed by drummer Mel Anderson (“Mel Star”) as the “New Jersey version of the New York…
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Moore left and was replaced with Chris “Congo” Campbell, and the band joined the management agency of Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi , Iommi Management Agency. Atkins continued to write material for the band—including “Whiskey Woman”, which became the base for the Judas Priest staple ” Victim of Changes “—but…
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In November 1972, the band played a showcase for Epic Records A&R director Don Ellis, in an effort to secure a record deal.
Vol. 4 was released in September 1972, and while critics were dismissive, it achieved Gold status in less than a month, and was the band’s fourth consecutive release to sell a million in the US.
In June 1972, the band reconvened in Los Angeles to begin work on their next album at the Record Plant . With more time in the studio, the album saw the band experimenting with new textures, such as strings, piano, orchestration and multi-part songs. Recording was plagued with problems, many…
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They returned to Japan in March 1972 for a show at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium , and in 1973 were billed to perform with the Rolling Stones throughout their Japanese tour; however, all concerts were canceled when Mick Jagger ‘s visa was rejected due to a drug conviction. They released…
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Hopkins briefly joined that band in 1972 as a replacement for founding guitarist Mick Walsh
but left by the end of the year after they were dropped from their original record label.
Pentagram’s first 7-inch , “Be Forewarned”, was released under the name Macabre and included “Lazy Lady” on the B-side. The record was produced by Phillip Knudsen and released on Intermedia. This recording ended up being one of the band’s only proper releases, although a promotional 7-inch of the song “Hurricane”…
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Following the Master of Reality world tour in 1972, the band took their first break in three years.