Magnum

Magnum is an English rock/hard rock melodic band founded in 1972 in Birmingham by guitarist Tony Clarkin and singer Bob Catley. They were joined by drummer Kex Gorin and, after two changes in the first years, by bassist Colin Wally Lowe. The formation became a quintet with the arrival of keyboardist Richard Bailey, and they opened for Judas Priest in 1977. A contract was signed with Jet Records for the release of the first album in 1978, Kingdom Of Madness. Magnum then made a first-part tour of Whitesnake, before returning to the studio for the recording of Magnum II in 1979. The combo then spins with Blue Öyster Cult and Def Leppard . Bailey left the adventure after the live Marauder (1980), and Mark Stanway replaced him on the keyboards. Magnum really started to drill with Chase The Dragon in 1982, which placed itself in the seventeenth position of the British charts. They then left for the United States for a few dates with Ozzy Osbourne , then returned to the United Kingdom for the lead, followed by The Elevenh Hour in 1983, the last release by Jet Records and the last album with drummer Kex Gorin, replaced by Jim Simpson. The real success finally came with On A Storyteller's Night , released on the FM Records label and which then allowed them to sign a contract with Polydor Records. Simpson was soon replaced by Mickey Barker, a line-up that would not move until Magnum split in 1995. Recognition continued to grow with Vigilante in 1986, then Wings Of Heaven in 1988, which came fifth in the charts. However, this does not last, because Goodnight L.A. (1990), received more lukewarmly though still placed, marks the end of the contract with Polydor. Three albums followed, including Keeping The Nite Light Burning in 1993 consisting of acoustic re-records of former titles. The band finally split up in 1995, however, the two founding members continued to play together in Hard Rain; They release two albums under this name before the singer chooses to put an end to their collaboration and favor his solo career. It does not take long to hear again about Magnum, since a reformation takes place in 2001. In addition to Clarkin and Catley, Stanway returned to the keyboards while Al Barrow retained the position of bass player he held in Hard Rain. A few months later, drummer Harry James (Thunder) was recruited, making the group fully operational. A contract was signed with SPV (still today), and Breath Of Life was created in 2002, followed two years later by Brand New Morning, which also marked the return of the training to various festivals. James temporarily departed from the band, and was replaced by Jimmy Copley. Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow, in 2007, saw Magnum return to the English charts. After James returned the same year, the line-up remained unchanged until the end of 2016; during this period appeared five albums, until Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies. Shortly after the re-records for The Valley Of Tears - The Ballads (released in January 2017), long-time keyboardist Mark Stanway left the band, soon replaced by Rick Benton. Then it's drummer Harry James, replaced by Lee Morris. The 20th studio album Lost On The Road To Eternity appeared with this lineup in January 2018.
.