Band Retrospective- Starfighters

 

We take a look back to to 1979/1980 and I guarantee you cannot count how many Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands started poking their heads out especially in the great Metal factory that is the U.K. This was the beginning of what was known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Now like a lot of fans of this period, I will always say it was spearheaded by Iron Maiden, Saxon and Diamond Head as well as helping older Brits like Judas Priest and Motorhead get their time to really shine. However, the band I am talking about today really slugged it out on the club circuit and had gotten a chance to open for a little known band on an extremely prolific tour before releasing two full lengths and then vanishing. That band of course is the Hard Rocking Starfighters from the the Metal capitol of Birmingham. Comprised of Steve Burton, Pat Hambly, Doug Dennis, Barry Spencer Scrannage and most famously Stevie Young. For those who don't know, Stevie is the cousin to Angus and Malcolm Young of ACDC fame. Even if you didn't know that, you could very well tell as his playing is extremely similar to  Mal's sheer hard rhythm attack. This band would go to release two albums of hard rocking excellence that are prime for a reexamination stsrting with their self titled debut released in 1981.

Starfighters(1981)

After being accepted on an opening bill on ACDC's historic Back In Black tour in 1980, the band gained enough notoriety to be picked up by Jive Records for their first full length album. The band was primed and ready as they released a few rough singles beforehand and the album was a perfect culmination of them at that point. The band was rough ragged and going for the throat here. The style is definitely in the vein of ACDC as supercharged blues based hard rock from the sheer attack of opener "Alley Cat Blues" and and the high energy of "Devil's Driving". Like I said before, Stevie's playing is very much like Malcolm Youngs which isn't a bad thing as it shows just how good of a player and time keeper he is as well. Perhaps the most defining feature is the vocals of Burton as they remind me a lot of Algy Ward of TANK with that bluesy punk infused growl. "Don't Touch Me" is another favorite with the schizophrenic hopping rhythms from Young and Hambly. Hambly's soloing is not over the top but just right to give some extra edge. Finally the other other half of the rhythm section from Scrannage's drumming and Dennis' rumbling bass on songs like the live wire-esque "Silver Lady" and "Eye's Telling You" realy shows how tight these guys were. This album really is nearly flawless as I personally never skip a song. From the start they had a formula that was similar but had a more punk infused spark to compete with alot of other acts. However, their next album definitely would be a bit more of a different offering.

In-Flight Movie(1983)

After gaining some ground in 1982 and even having the chance to play in the U.S with Ozzy, the abdn entered the studio again for their sophomore record titled "In Flight Movie". The album we got was actually not what a lot of people expected but in retrospective it is a damn solid effort. The production was a bit more cleaned up and clean and the overall sound was quite a bit more melodic with opener "Working Girl" and the super up beat "Who Cares" (song that is a staple in my hard rock playlists). Songs like "Running From The Gun" and the full bore attack of "Gallows Dancer" definitely play more into their pub rock sound but bigger and better. The guitars are bigger sounding but Stevie's Gretsch cuts through very well and Pat's leads are still damn good with some more melodic touches. Another personal favorite is "I'm Your Nightmare" which has a great build to it. This album should have brought the band more coverage however as fat would have it, the record company lost interest and they folded in 1984. 

As the band folded, the members all went their own ways in various small music projects. Burton joined a multitude of blues rock acts through the years and Scrannage even went to become a club promoter as well. Stevie Young would stay most active in the music scene reigniting the Starfighters name briefly before joining Little Big Horn and filling in for Malcolm on ACDC's 1988 U.S tour. He eventually became a permanent member of the band in 2014. My experience with the Starfighters started in high school when I came across them on youtube. Being the ACDC fan I am I was obsessed from day one. Stevie became a hero as his uncles are to me in terms of guitar playing and this retrospective I felt was the perfect way to reignite my music blog. If you are reading this, please give these albums another shot as these guys deserved that break so long ago and I feel this is the perfect time to give them another shot! The High Vaultage reissues definitely are the way to go if you're a physical collector like I am. Long live Starfighters!