Dinosaurdays - Lucifer's Friend

The history of this Hamburg based progressive hard rock outfit is complex, confused and not that well documented. What is known is that the band evolved from two Hamburg pop bands, The Giants and German Bonds, in the early sixties. Around 1969, a consistent nucleus of five members established a band called Asterix, which is believed to be an early incarnation of Lucifer's Friend. Once established, Lucifer's Friend were primarily a studio band, as all the musicians had other careers within the music industry. Indeed, a number of the band members were also used as backing musicians in the James Last band! The band was formed by Peter Hecht on keyboards, Dieter Horns on bass and vocals, Peter Hesslein on guitars, Joachim Reitenbach on drums and English vocalist John Lawton. This debut album, released in November 1970, is generally believed to be the best debut album of any of the German bands at the time, although it was their next album, with the unlikely title of "Where the Groupies killed the Blues", that proved to be their finest, with a more complex and progressive rock, blending in classical and jazzy elements. Their "Banquet" album, complete with strings and horns, was one of the best album releases of 1974. Lawton moved to Uriah Heep in 1977 and stayed with the British rockers for three albums before being replaced by John Sloman. Lucifer's Friend, in the meantime, had recruited another English vocalist, Mike Starrs, from Colosseum 2, to replace Lawton, and he recorded two moderately successful albums, "Good Time Warrior" in 1978 and "Sneak me in " in 1980, with them. Lawton returned to the band in the eighties and they released a final album, the more metal orientated "Mean Machine" in 1981, before Lucifer's Friend was finally laid to rest. Lucifer's Friend 2, put together by Lawton and Peter Hesslein, together with bassist Andreas Dicke and keyboard player Jogi Wichman, and featuring world famous drummer Curt Cress, surfaced with a new album, "Sumogrip", in 1994, but, as far as we know, nothing further has been released by this great German band. ( Lawton toured South Africa with Uriah Heep in 1995). Most of Lucifer's Friends' albums have been released on CD.

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Reviews of the bands albums will feature here..

John Lawton
Adrian Askew
Herbert Bornholdt
Peter Hecht
Peter Hesslein
Dieter Horns
Joachim Rietenbach
Mike Starrs

Dust
Savatage
Manowar
Judas Priest
Yngwie Malmsteen
War Dog
Blind Guardian
Demon
Skyclad
Dead Horse
Diamond Head
Rage
Lynch Mob
Warrior Soul
Dio
Iron Maiden
GWAR

Uriah Heep

Rainbow