Quartz (British band)


Quartz are an English heavy metal band active during the new wave of British heavy metal. Their origins can be traced back to the mid-1970s.
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History

Quartz dates back to 1974 when they were known as Bandy Legs. Prior to the founding of Quartz, Hopkins had played in Wages of Sin, a short-lived Birmingham band that toured as a backing band for Cat Stevens in 1970. After that band's dissolution, two of his bandmates, expatriate Canadians Ed and Brian Pilling, returned to Canada and formed the band Fludd; 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.

Touring and recording

Bandy Legs signed to Jet Records in 1976, and supported Black Sabbath and AC/DC. The band changed their name to Quartz for their 1977 debut album, Quartz. The album was produced by Tony Iommi and Quartz toured with Black Sabbath to support this release. Queen guitarist Brian May offered to do his "Queen" style editing of the song "Circles," but after several attempts he admitted that he thought the original version was still better; which also featured Ozzy Osbourne on backing vocals, but his contribution was cut from the final mix by Iommi. This track did not appear on the album, but was released as the B-side to the "Stoking the Fires of Hell" single, and as a bonus track when the Stand Up & Fight album was later reissued on CD in 2004 by Majestic Rock.
Quartz toured during this time, playing the Reading Festival three times and touring in support of some of the larger hard rock bands: Iron Maiden, Saxon, UFO, Gillan and Rush.
In 1979, Geoff Nicholls left to join Black Sabbath. He contributed keyboards and songwriting to that band from 1980's Heaven and Hell to 2004.
Quartz released their second studio album, Stand Up and Fight, in 1980 and their third, Against All Odds, in 1983 before disbanding in 1984.

Post-dissolution

In 2004, doom metal band Orodruin covered "Stand Up and Fight" on their album Claw Tower.
Quartz reformed in 2011 playing a reunion gig on 16 December 2011 at The Asylum in Birmingham, England. The line up consisted of Geoff Nicholls, Mike Hopkins, Derek Arnold, Malcolm Cope and former vocalist David Garner.
The band's original lead singer, Mike "Taffy" Taylor, died on 27 September 2016. Geoff Nicholls died at the age of 68, from lung cancer, on 28 January 2017.

New album and compilation

In July 2014, the band announced a new album and compilation were in the works, "featuring previously unreleased studio material from the '80s, to be released later this year via Skol Records". The album, Quartz: Too Hot To Handle, was ultimately released on January 31, 2015.
In 2022, Quartz released their fifth studio album, On the Edge of No Tomorrow.

Musical style

According to Metal Injection, "Quartz straddled the line between hard rock and heavy metal for many years. No matter—Quartz wrote songs muscular enough to appeal to both audiences".

Members

Current

  • David Garner - vocals
  • Mick Hopkins - guitar
  • Derek Arnold - bass
  • Malcolm Cope - drums

Former

  • Steve McLoughlin - bass
  • Geoff Nicholls - guitar/keyboards
  • Geoff Bate - vocals
  • Mike "Taffy" Taylor - vocals

Discography

Studio albums

  • Quartz
  • Stand Up and Fight
  • Against All Odds
  • Fear No Evil
  • ''On the Edge of No Tomorrow''

Singles

  • "Street Fighting Lady" / "Mainline Riders"
  • "Satan's Serenade" / "Bloody Fool" / "Roll Over Beethoven"
  • "Nantucket Sleighride" / "Wildfire"
  • "Stoking Up the Fires of Hell" / "Circles"
  • "Stand Up and Fight" / "Charlie Snow"
  • "Tell Me Why" / "Streetwalker"

Live and compilation albums

  • Live Quartz - Recorded at Digbeth Civic Hall, Birmingham, England on 1 December 1979
  • Resurrection - live compilation, recorded 1976–1979
  • Satan's Serenade - live and studio tracks
  • Live and Revisited - live EP
  • Too Hot to Handle - ''Studio sessions 1981–1982''