Kings of the Sun (band)
Kings of the Sun | |
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| Origin | Sydney, Australia |
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| Website | kingsofthesunband |
Kings of the Sun (also abbreviated K.O.T.S.) are an Australian hard rock band, which were formed by brothers Clifford and Jeffrey Hoad in 1986. They released three studio albums, Kings of the Sun (1988), Full Frontal Attack (1990) and Resurrection (1993), before disbanding in 2001. The Hoad brothers formed a related hard rock band, the Rich and Famous, in 2002. This group also issued three studio albums, The Rich and Famous (2004), Like a Superstar (2006) and Stand Back... Prepare to Be Amazed! (2007), and broke up in 2009. Thereafter the brothers were estranged and no longer worked together. In 2010 elder brother Clifford formed Clifford Hoad's Kings of the Sun, which has issued three albums, Rock Til Ya Die (2013), Razed on Rock (2016) and Playin' to the Heavens (2017). Jeffrey resumed the Rich and Famous band, which released an album, Take Us to Your Leader (2017).
Career
1982–1985: The Young Lions
The Young Lions were formed in 1982 by guitarist Bob Spencer (ex-Finch, Skyhooks)[1][2][3] with Clifford Hoad on drums, his younger brother Jeffrey on lead vocals and guitar and bass guitarist Marlon Holden.[4][5][6] Spencer had earlier met Clifford in Brisbane when assembling a drum kit.[6] Clifford asked Jeffrey to relocate with him from Gold Coast to Melbourne to join Spencer's band.[6][7] In early 1986 Spencer left the Young Lions to join hard rockers the Angels and the Hoads relocated to Sydney.[5][7]
1986–1998: Kings of the Sun (1986–2001)
The Hoad brothers formed Kings of the Sun in Sydney with Anthony Ragg on bass guitar (ex-Ballistics) and Ron Thiessen on guitar (ex-Uncanny X-Men).[5] The name references Yul Brynner's 1963 feature film of the same name.[6][8] In 1986 the Kings of the Sun were formed in Sydney as a pop rock quartet and briefly signed to Mushroom.[5][7] Their debut single, "Bottom of My Heart", was released in October, which reached the top 50 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.[5][9] Kings of the Sun were signed to RCA when executive Simon Lowe saw them perform. The group toured the United States during 1987. In New York City they worked on their first album, without Thiessen.[5]
In October 1988 they released their debut studio album, Kings of the Sun, which was produced by Eddie Kramer and mixed by Dave Thoener.[5] Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane praised it as a "no-frills, hard rock album with a raw feel for pop economy".[5] Its lead single "Serpentine" (July), peaked at number 48 in Australia.[5][9] After the album was released Glenn Morris joined on lead guitar as they toured the US supporting Joe Satriani and then Europe supporting Kiss.[5] They returned to Australia in late 1988.
They opened for Guns N' Roses on the Australian leg of their Appetite for Destruction Tour in December. However, Kings of the Sun were removed from that tour when Jeffrey "dropped his pants in front of the audience" at their Sydney show and expressed his opinion on Guns N' Roses.[5] Tensions had developed between the two groups due to Clifford's remark in the local On the Street magazine: he claimed Guns N' Roses took much of their image from Rose Tattoo.[10][11] Clifford recalled in July 2012, "When I said those things, I meant them. It wasn't necessarily aimed at Guns N' Roses. It was aimed at the Australian press and public. 'OK, make a fuss over Guns N' Roses but at least know that Rose Tattoo exists.'"[12]
Another line-up change occurred in mid-1989 when Morris left for eight months to join the Screaming Tribesmen but he rejoined before KOTS released their second album, Full Frontal Attack, in August 1990.[5][7] It was produced by William Wittman. Dave Thoener returned to mix it, which was their last album for RCA. It reached the ARIA albums chart top 100.[13] Kings of the Sun supported Lita Ford's US tour during late 1990 before returning to tour Australia and co-headlining with the Screaming Jets early in 1991.[5][7] Morris and Ragg both left in 1992.[5][7]
The band's third album Resurrection was released in 1993 through Mushroom Records.[14] It was recorded at A&M Studios and Paramount Studios and was mastered at Precision Mastering.[14] Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne) played on all the tracks on the record with the exception of "Fuzz", which Brad Spurr contributed, and Spurr joined the band after its release.[5]
Kings Of The Sun self-produced the album except for two tracks by mixer Mark Dearnley, "First Thing About Rock'n'Roll (I Remember)" and "Fuzz".[14] Two singles were released from the album, "Trapped Inside Your Heart" and "Road to Nowhere", and the band supported Jimmy Barnes on his Australian tour during 1993.[5]
Spurr left the band around 1995 and was replaced by Dean Turner on bass.
The band recorded an album Daddy Was A Hobo Man in 1997, but it was not released until 2011, when it was made available as an independent release.[15] Of the album, Clifford Hoad stated that they did not want to release an album similar to their prior releases and that "This album, we wanted to record with no commercial pressure what so ever, also, at the time we wanted to record as a 3 piece and live in the studio, this is what you’re hearing."[15]
In 1998 the band supported Sammy Hagar's Australian tour.[5] Kings of the Sun officially disbanded in 2001.[8]
Clifford Hoad and Jeffrey Hoad ceased working together in 2009 and continue to be estranged.[16][17]
2010–present: Clifford Hoad's Kings of the Sun
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In 2010 Clifford Hoad began with the composition of songs for the new album and formation of a new Kings of the Sun lineup – this time without his younger brother Jeffrey.
In March 2013, new KOTS lineup entered Govinda Doyle’s private studio to record Cliff Hoad’s latest compositions. Quentin Elliott returned to play lead guitar and Dave Talon (Rollerball) joined on rhythm guitar. Drummer Cliff Hoad also took charge of singing, as he sang backing vocals on all previous albums and lead vocals on 2 tracks (shared with Jeff on Shot Me an Arrow & lead on I Wanna Rock). Bass tracks were recorded by Govinda Doyle who also engineered and produced the album with co-production by Clifford Hoad. Mixing was done by Govinda & Clifford.
New album entitled Rock Til Ya Die was released on 5 September 2013 via band's website and is return to classic Australian rock sound.[18] 5 promo videos were shot by Dan Jensen and Trudy Martin of Darklight Studios, combining music clip with documentary style interviews with Cliff Hoad, who tells a story behind each song.[19]
Clifford Hoad has released his 9th album called Razed on Rock on 20 October 2016 and the most recent one called Playin' to the Heavens on 28 May 2017.[20] Hoad again played double duty as lead vocalist and drummer.
Personnel
Current members
- Clifford Hoad - lead vocals, drums & percussions
Past members
- Jeffrey Hoad - lead vocals, guitars
- Anthony Ragg - bass
- Rowie Riot - lead guitar
- Shar Roxxon - rhythm guitar, keyboards & backing vocals
- Laurie Marlow - bass & backing vocals
- Quentin Elliott - lead guitar
- Dave Talon - rhythm guitar
- Baron von Berg - 2nd drums
- Darren Marlow - bass & backing vocals
- Glenn Morris - lead guitar
- Chris Lewis - bass
- Dean Turner - bass
- Brad Spurr - bass
- Ron Thiessen - lead guitar
- Tommy Poulter - lead guitar
- John McKinnon - bass
- Marlon Holden - bass
- Bob Spencer - lead guitar
Session musicians
- Gary Lee - bass *Full Frontal Attack album recording
- Phil Soussan - bass *Resurrection album recording
- Govinda Doyle - bass *Rock Til Ya Die album recording
- Craig Pesco - bass *KISS concert at Carrara Stadium in 2001
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [13] | ||
| Kings of the Sun | — | |
| Full Frontal Attack |
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93 |
| Resurrection |
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— |
| Daddy Was a Hobo Man |
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— |
| Rock Til Ya Die |
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— |
| Razed on Rock |
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— |
| Playn' to the Heavens |
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— |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [9][13] | |||
| 1986 | "Bottom of My Heart" | 47 | non album single |
| 1988 | "Serpentine" | 48 | Kings of the Sun |
| "Black Leather" | — | ||
| 1990 | "Drop the Gun" | 82 | Full Frontal Attack |
| "Lock Me Up" | — | ||
| "I Get Lonely" | — | ||
| 1993 | "Trapped Inside Your Heart" | — | Resurrection |
| "Road to Nowhere" | — | ||
| 1995 | "Bombs Away" | — | non album single |
Awards and nominations
Countdown Australian Music Awards
Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987, it presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.[21][22]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | themselves | Most Promising New Talent | Nominated |
References
- ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Skyhooks'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 19 April 2004.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Holmgren, Magnus; Notling, Fredrik; Brown, Jenny. "Skyhooks". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 19 March 2004. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The Nights Entertainment Also Includes:". Tharunka. Vol. 28, no. 12. Sydney, NSW. 13 September 1982. p. 20. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Mason, Darryl. "Kings of the Sun: Still Shining", Hot Metal, Issue 18, August 1990.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Kings of the Sun" entries:
- [on-line] 1st Edn.: McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Kings of the Sun'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004.
- [print] 2nd Edn.: McFarlane, Ian; Jenkins, Jeff (Foreword) (2017). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Kings of the Road'". The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd ed.). Gisborne, VIC: Third Stone Press. pp. 265–266. ISBN 978-0-9953856-0-3.
- ^ a b c d "An Interview with Quentin Elliot - Kings of the Sun". Australian Guitar Magazine. 2014. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia. n.b. Source has the band formed in "late 1983"
- ^ a b c d e f "bmusic - Newsletter No. 74". bmusic.com.au. 29 July 2005. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "The New Kings of the Sun". Kings of the Sun Band Official Website. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 167. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Throwing Down the Palms The 'Kings' Return", On the Street, Issue No 417, Wednesday 14 December 1988.
- ^ "Guns N' Roses, Sydney Entertainment Centre, 1988". hotmetalonline.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ Mascord, Steve (27 July 2012). "Kings of the Sun Drummer Responds to Axl Rose 24 Years After Guns N' Roses Front-man Kicked Him out of the Sydney Entertainment Centre". Triple M. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 155.
- ^ a b c "Kings Of The Sun – Resurrection". Discogs. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ a b "2011 DADDY WAS A HOBO MAN". Kings of the Sun Band. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ "Jeffrey Hoad 'Why I Fell Out With My Brother' (archived)". Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ "Jeffrey Hoad on White Line Fever podcast #95 (2017)". Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "KINGS OF THE SUN - Clifford Hoad - Official Website". kingsofthesunband.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ KINGS OF THE SUN® ROCKTOWN by Clifford Hoad Promotional video. YouTube. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ "KINGS OF THE SUN - Clifford Hoad - Official Website". kingsofthesunband.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ "Countdown to the Awards" (Portable document format (PDF)). Countdown Magazine. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). March 1987. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
- ^ "Final episode of Countdown". 1970scountdown. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
External links
- Official website
- 2015 Jeff Hoad interview
- 2017 Jeff Hoad interview
- 2017 Clifford Hoad interview
- Kings of the Sun discography at Discogs
- The Rich & Famous discography at Discogs
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