Knightshade

From HtownWiki
Revision as of 04:52, 6 November 2010 by Thedugganaut (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search
"Knightshade"

Knightshade were a successful mainstream/metal rock group in the late 1980s and 1990s. They had early chart sucess with Out for the Count in 1986 (five weeks in the chart, peaking at 26) and later with The Physical You (1987; seven weeks, peaking at 14) and Last Night in the City (1988; peaking at 9). They also hit the album charts with their debut release Out For the Night in 1987 (three weeks in the album charts, peaking at 37). On the back of this sucess, they supported international acts ZZ Top, Deep Purple, Bon Jovi, The Angels, Guns and Roses, Jimi Barnes and Stryper. All later releases were on Hark Records, including the 1995 single Television Eyes that had a video made by Greg Page. At their peak they had a fan club with 800 members.

The band traces its origins to 1982 in Te Puke, originally calling themselves Clearlite. The band played mainly surf clubs and pubs in coastal towns, but moved to Hamilton and changed their name to Knightshade. The most well-known lineup included Wayne Elliot (lead vocals), Rik Bernards (guitar), Gavin Lind (guitar), Jon Bell (bass), and Alan Grady (drums). Before and after this lineup Bernards was accompanied by Paul Martin, Craig Pollock, and finally Simon Garlick on guitar. Bernards and Bell had played together in The Bronx. Guitarist Rik Bernards taught music at Wintec in the late 1990s, and his classes were taught for a time by Garlick while Bernards was studying overseas. Alan Grady is the drummer in "The Stevie Ray-Cream and Hendrix Experience" and "A.K.A" a tribute to Toto, Foriegner and Journey.

Releases

"Knightshade" logo, 1987


Published Articles

  • Remembering the Good Old Days of Knightshade by Ben Telfer, Waikato Times 28 July 2007

External Links