Dinosaurdays - Blue Murder

Blue Murder were formed by vocalist/guitarist John Sykes after he left Whitesnake (he'd previously featured with the Tygers of Pan Tang and Thin Lizzy). Ex-Vanilla Fudge/Cactus drummer Carmine Appice (who replaced initial drummer Cozy Powell) and ex-Firm bassist Tony Franklin made up the balance of this very promising hard rock outfit. The band spent a frustratingly long time trying secure the services of a vocalist, but when nothing materialized, it was decided to record and tour as a trio, with Sykes handling the vocals. (Can't imagine why there was such a problem or delay - Sykes is pretty good in the vocal stakes). The album, although heavily criticized for the "lack of penetrating vocals" and its pretentious songwriting approach, has a number of really good tracks with sophisticated arrangements and lengthy instrumental breaks. The album unfortunately failed to make a commercial impact, though, and sank into obscurity. A second album, "Nothin' but Trouble", featuring Sykes together with Nik Green on keyboards, Marco Mendoza on bass (currently in Thin Lizzy), Kelly Keeling (ex-Baton Rouge) on background vocals and Tommy O'Steen on drums, with Appice and Franklin shown as "additional members", was released in 1993. It wasn't too bad an album, but many felt it wasn't as good as the debut. The band split in the early to mid 90's. A live album, "Screaming Blue Murder - Dedicated to Phil Lynott", featuring the same line-up that appeared on "Nothin' but Trouble", recorded in Tokyo in December 1993, was released in 1994. Sykes recently featured in the reformed Lizzy and has also released a new solo album.

(If you have more info on this band, please e-mail us)

Biography by Robert DeFreitas & John Book
Blue Murder features Carmine Appice on drums, John Sykes of Whitesnake fame on guitar, and Tony Franklin, who played with The Firm, on bass. Great supergroup playing some heavy riffs and nice, blues-influenced hard rock. Melodic but not too soft.