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DARE is best known for their frontman singer songwriter Darren Wharton who first rose to fame in the early eighties playing keyboards with legendary Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. From the tender age of 17, Darren went on to record the famous Chinatown album with Philip Lynott, Scott Gorham, Snowy White (Pink Floyd) and Brian Downey. After being featured on Chinatown, Phil Lynott had taken Darren under his wing and the young musician from Manchester soon found himself touring extensively throughout Europe, America, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

After a year of selling out concert halls around the globe Thin Lizzy once again returned to the studio. Now as an established member of the band, Darren was about to embark on his second Thin Lizzy album Renegade. After co-writing Angel of Death with Philip Lynott, Wharton’s talent for song writing began to emerge. Several world tours later, Darren went on to co-write The Sun Goes Down, This Is The One, Heart Attack and Someday She’s Gonna Hit Back on the legendary Thin Lizzy album Thunder and Lightning.

After four great years of playing alongside Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham, Brian Downey and Whitesnake’s John Sykes, the Thin Lizzy disbanded. Darren returned to Manchester where he began to write, sing, and produce his own songs. After recruiting young guitarist, Vinny Burns, it wasn’t long before Darren’s new band DARE were getting noticed by the major labels in London and in 1987 Darren and DARE were signed by A&M records.

In 1988, DARE recorded their début album Out Of The Silence in Los Angeles at singer, Joni Mitchel’s private studio in Beverly Hills. After this highly acclaimed first release, DARE’s live performances soon earned them a cult following throughout Europe, opening for Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, and Swedish rockers Europe. DARE toured extensively throughout Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Belgium, Italy, France, the UK, and Ireland.

Back in Los Angeles, DARE’S second album Blood from Stone was produced by renowned L.A. producer Keith Olsen (Whitesnake, The Scorpions’ and had a much harder edge than the previous Out Of The Silence. When PolyGram bought A&M records in the UK, several changes forced Darren and Dare to walk away from their four-year deal.

Disillusioned and frustrated, Darren decided to move away from Manchester to North Wales. Settling in the Snowdonia National Park, Darren quickly set about building his own recording studio. Now working with new guitarist and friend Richard Dews, Darren was inspired by the haunting natural beauty of his new surroundings, and a new atmospheric Celtic feel started to emerge in the DARE sound. The first songs to come out of Wales were to become DARE’S third studio album Calm Before The Storm, it would also see Darren's in a new role - as producer. Calm Before The Storm was well received by Dare fans marked the welcome return of DARE, re-establishing the band throughout Europe and the UK. Dare were back!

Taking time out from writing, in 1994 ten years after the sad death of Phillip Lynott, Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham, John Sykes, Darren Wharton, Brian Downey and Marco Mendoza reformed for a very successful tribute tour of America, Japan and Europe to honour their friend Phil Lynott. On January 4th they performed in Dublin, at the Point and were joined on stage with many Irish legends including U2’s Bono, Bob Geldof, Joe Elliot, and Van Morrison.

Back in Wales, Darren composed new material for a new album Belief. This beautiful album set a new standard for DARE. “Like a mirror to the soul” and a doorway to the heart of this unique songwriter, the first single White Horses was playlisted by Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2. Tours throughout Europe and Scandinavia followed, including a 12-date tour with Asia in the UK.

After the success of Belief, DARE fans were rewarded again when Beneath The Shining Water was released in the summer of 2004. This album, hailed by many as a modern classic, is highly original and instantly addictive. It featured some of Darren’s most inspired songs to date. Sea Of Roses received months of airplay on BBC Radio 2. DARE had once again pushed back their musical boundaries, broadening the bands appeal to both young and old alike.

Behind the scenes, 2008 finally saw the official US release of Belief and Beneath The Shining Water as a double CD though Warner Music/ADA, widening DARE’S audience even further.

Now the world stage was set, DARE’S latest album Arc Of The Dawn was released October 2009 on Wharton's own label, Legend Records, through Warner’s distributor ADA, and to the fans delight, saw the return of old friend and guitar legend Vinny Burns; back with Dare again on live shows, including a famous appearance at Sweden Rock Festival alongside Whitesnake and Def Leppard.

2012 was an exciting year for DARE and their fans. With Vinny Burns now firmly back in the band, along with drummer Kev Whitehead and Nigel Clutterbuck on bass, there were many new projects planned. Including a special edition re-release of Calm Before The Storm 2, completely re-recorded with never-before-released bonus tracks.

2016 saw the highly anticipated seventh studio album from DARE. Sacred Ground delighted DARE fans everywhere, and after receiving spectacular reviews for European and UK press, quickly topped the Amazon Rock Charts in four countries, reaching number #1 in the UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

Charting once again in Sweden, DARE also reached new heights in America, hitting number #5 in the U.S. Amazon Rock charts, and an amazing number #1 in the Japanese Imports charts. Following critically acclaimed live performances in the UK, London Roundhouse, Germany Rock Of Ages, Sweden Rock Festival, Spain, Athens, Norway, the band’s reputation grew from strength to strength, reinstating Dare’s cult status in Europe and the UK and the world. With the first single On My Own playlisted on Planet Rock for over three months, the band found themselves back on top of the AOR rock scene.

2018 was to be another great chapter in the book of DARE, as the band celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a Special Edition re-release of their debut classic album Out Of The Silence. The album Out Of The Silence 2 Reached number #1 in the Amazon Classic Rock charts in four Countries, UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain

2022 will see the April release of DARE’s tenth studio album Road To Eden featuring the single Born In A Storm. The band will support the release of the album be embarking on a 12-date UK tour in October 2022.


Collateral have been busy in the studio since the release of their debut EP ‘4 Shots!’ which was originally released on November 17, 2018 and featured the single ‘Midnight Queen’. After the single got to the top of the Australian Radio Charts, it was then added to the main playlist on Planet Rock; the UK’s biggest classic rock radio station (the single appears on the band’s upcoming debut album).

The exciting and flamboyant Kent-based rock and roll band are comprised of Angelo Tristan (lead vocals, guitar), Todd Winger (guitar), Jack Bentley-Smith (bass) and Ben Atkinson (drums).

On May 3, 2019, Collateral released their next single, ‘Lullaby’ which was the first new song taken from their highly anticipated debut album. The single was accompanied by a live style music video which was celebrated by Planet Rock and was premiered on their official website.

After the release of the ‘4 Shots!’ EP, Collateral worked relentlessly to keep the momentum going. They won a Camden Rocks Festival competition out of 20,000 bands to play the main stage at the Electric Ballroom on June 1, 2019. A few months later, they won a competition between 40 bands at the Ramblin’ Man Rumble to play the Rising Stage at the Ramblin’ Man Fair festival 2019. The band drew the biggest crowd when they played the Rising Stage at Ramblin’ Man.

One of their most exciting achievements for Collateral in 2019, was when they won a competition out of 200,000 entrants to support Jon Bon Jovi on his Runaway to Paradise Mediterranean Cruise departing Barcelona to Majorca on August 26th.

British four-piece rock band Collateral are set to release their highly anticipated eponymous debut album on February 21, 2020.

Collateral’s hotly tipped debut album is likely to propel them next level. A lot of people don’t know what to expect from the new album, as the band have been tight-lipped about the new songs. Collateral have created a state-of-the-art rock album that will enable fans to feel the blood, sweat and glory that went into the recording of every song.

“We wanted to stay away from the normal rules that apply to what you can and cannot put on an album,” says front man Angelo Tristan. “The album contains all of our inspirations, and nothing’s has been diluted. I’m very influenced by country music which is evident in the song ‘About This Boy’. Jack is heavily influenced by 80’s rock on tracks like ‘Mr. Big Shot’ and ‘Promiseland’.

“One of the more Southern style tracks on the album is “Merry-Go-Round.” It’s a reflection of Todd’s inspiration from bands that include Black Stone Cherry and Cadillac Three. Our drummer, Ben, comes from a far heavier metal background which really gives the songs their powerful edge.

“The album is comprised of nine songs - all killer and no filler. The recording of this album was an amazing experience from the get-go. To finally see this record come to life was remarkable. I hope the fans will share the same excitement we had when we made the album. Buckle up. We’re in for one helluva ride!”


Formed in 2011, SKAM are a hard rock power trio band from the middle of England. They have a reputation for delivering no nonsense, gutsy, classic sounding British rock music. Over the last 9 years, the band have worked tirelessly to build a solid following in the UK, and now they are widely considered to be at the forefront of the ‘New Wave of Classic Rock’ movement that is currently sweeping the nation. To date, the band have independently released 3 albums. ‘It’s Come to This’ (2011) and ‘Peacemaker’ (2014) were released to critical acclaim and the band established themselves as a live force to be reckoned with. The band have hit road with The Answer, Airbourne, Skindred, The Quireboys, and GUN to name a few and are considered a formidable live act. A drive to innovate inspired SKAM to release ‘The Amazing Memoirs of Geoffrey Goddard’ (2017), a concept record based on the diary entries of a time travelling RAF pilot. The songs were described as ‘gritty anthemic rockers’ by Classic Rock Magazine and the album received a number of 5 star reviews from the UK Music press. SKAM don’t write songs to a formula, they write songs as rock fans, trying to capture what they would want to hear. Lead single ‘Take it Or Leave it’ was voted as ‘track of the week’ by Classic Rock Magazine and has since been included on Earache Records ‘New Wave of Rock N Roll’ compilation vinyl. And now in 2020, coming up to their 10th anniversary, SKAM are working on their 4th release.


Wold-class guitar virtuoso Miguel Montalban has been considered “One of the greatest young guitarists around” (Zack Wilde). Originally taking to the streets of London busking, Montalban’s version of Dire Straits’ ‘Sultans of Swing’ became a viral hit on YouTube, notching up over 26 million views getting him worldwide recognition by Rod Stewart as “one of the finest guitarists in London” and Mark Knopfler as a “totally excellent musician.”

Miguel studied at the Conservatory of Jazz Music in Rome, which led him to co-work with Grammy awards producers. Kevin Metcalfe (Queen, David Bowie, Duran Duran, White Stripes) produced Miguel’s single “Girl” in London’s Red Bull Music Studios, Mike Hedges, Haydn Bendall, Vincent Niclo’s Sony production “Adagio”, Andy Whitmore (Peter Andre, Elton John) and Eroc (Grobschnitt, Robin Trower, Gary Moore), who mixed and mastered his debut album” AND THE SOUTHERN VULTURES”.

In 2019 the Chilean-born guitarist formed The Southern Vultures, a four-piece London-based band, which has been considered a rising star in the virtuoso blues and rock music sphere over the past year, headlining festivals around UK and Europe to crowds of thousands and amassing 120k followers over their social accounts, since their first full album “And the Southern Vultures” and debut singles “Wander” and “Fell in Love”.

The band shared big stages with Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake), Ricky Warwick (Black Star Riders, Thin Lizzy) Texas Band, Chris Farlowe, Dare, King King, and Ten Years After, among many others leading to co- headlining show with Samantha Fish in the Netherlands in 2023.

The newest double album, ‘Live In Birmingham’ is the perfect introduction to the band, which showcases the exhilarating playing of Chilean- born Montalban over the rock-solid backbone of The Southern Vultures (Marc Hayward – rhythm guitar & backing vocals, Edoardo Marriotti – drums, Bruno Pint – bass).


 DEPARTED have an impressive CV having performed at the likes of Planet Rockstock, Winters End, Download Festival, Bloodstock as well as opening for rock giants such as Michael Schenker, Status Quo, The Darkness amongst many many others.

DEPARTED consist of founding members Ben Brookland (ex member of The Treatment) and vocalist Mark Pascall (Formerly of Cats in Space and Kingdom of Madness). They are complimented by the talents of multi instrumentalists Matt Chalk and Charlie Smith.

Last year the band were back from a needed break and exploded back on to the scene whilst touring with Skin.

 

 

 


Blue Nation, a 3-piece band from Birmingham, use Riff based Melodic Blues Rock from a reservoir of influences, including Beatles, Cream, Zeppelin, Brit Pop 90’s, more recently Rival Sons and Vintage Trouble, to create their memorable sound. Their songs are delivered by three accomplished musicians, fronted with stunning vocals. All backed up with impressive gig experience, stage presence and great songs. They play top venues and festivals in the major cities of the UK and further afield including two tours of NYC’s Greenwich Village and Manhattan. They are equally happy doing stripped down acoustic or full blown electric gigs Their most prestigious performances have been on the Main Music Stage @ F1 British Grand Prix Silverstone, twice, and tours / gigs with Dirty Thrills, Steve Conte (NY Dolls), Skid Row, Brian Downey (Thin Lizzy), Von Hertzen Brothers, Virginmarys, Cats in Space, King King, Daxx & Roxane, Kris Barras, The Record Company, Sari Schorr and Chantel McGregor. Main support to Toploader @ Rhuddfest and main stage slot @ Evoke Festival Brentwood. The quirkiest was The Tramlines Festival Sheffield, acoustic on a moving Tram.


Formed in March 2013, this British, Blues Rock / Hard Rock Trio, already have two EP’s, two Albums and three Singles to their name.

Showcasing their very own ‘Signature Brand’ of Guitar driven, ‘Power House’, Rockin’ Blues, their original songs have seen them 
share stages with Joe Bonamassa, Robin Trower, Martin Barre, Focus, Wishbone Ash & Walter Trout to name but a few.

Their influences are many and varied, Free, Joe Bonamassa and Rory Gallagher to name a few, pulling in the best of ‘British Invasion’ Rock and Blues with their live performances already compared to many of their hero’s including Cream, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Taste & Johnny Winter.

 


Brave Rival are the South East’s brand-new rip-roaring rock and blues Machine. Hailing from Portsmouth, the UK Blues Award Nominated band features the powerful and beautiful twin vocals of Chloe Josephine and Lindsey Bonnick. On lead guitar, providing dramatic guitar solos and crunching rock riffs is Ed “The Shred” Clarke. And holding it all together is the rhythmic backbone, the self-proclaimed engine room of Billy Dedman (bass) and Donna Peters (drums).

Drawing influence from the likes of John Mayer, Aretha Franklin, Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and Tedeschi Trucks, Brave Rival offer a style and sound that you’ve always known, and yet never heard before.

Since their inception in the summer of 2019, Brave Rival have gone from strength to strength, featuring in Raw Ramp Magazine as one of the 'Top 20 Bands To Watch In 2020' and nominated for 'Breakthrough Act 2019' by Get Ready To Rock Radio.

At the turn of the decade, hot off the heels from supporting blues rock giants such as Stevie Nimmo and The Billy Walton Band, Brave Rival captured their raw energy live by recording their headline set to a gracious sold-out audience at Hook’s famous Echo Hotel Music Club. This fabulous set of early material was quickly released to critical acclaim as their first Live Album ‘Brave Rival Live at the Echo Hotel Music Club’. Keeping the momentum going, a Kickstarter was launched for their first studio album with the target easily reached by their loyal fanbase with time to spare. It was then time to repay that loyalty with a studio album. Little did they know however, that the world was about to change forever.

With the pandemic putting the brakes on recording plans, Brave Rival spent much of the UK Lockdowns writing new material via the power of Zoom calls and Google drive. The abundance of material produced served them well for the eventual recording of their debut album in the summer of 2021. Recorded at The Mayfair Studio in the picturesque Surrey countryside with producer/seducer Tarrant Shepherd at their side, Brave Rival’s highly anticipated debut album “Life’s Machine” arrived on May 6th 2022 to critical acclaim. Emerging Rocks Bands Magazine said it best when they described the album as “Boss blues energy from start to finish”. Similarly, Powerplay Magazine finished their ten out of ten review by saying that “Brave Rival have unleashed one lean, mean and well oiled machine!”

Tipped as one of Joe Bonamassa’s “favourite discoveries this year” the future is looking incredibly bright for this young up and coming band. A successful set on the introducing stage at the 2022 Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in Skegness saw them win the competition, securing a deserved place on the main stage in 2023. The relentless gigging and hard work in 2021 has also paid off for the band with a UK Blues Award Nomination for Best Emerging Blues Band.

Brave Rival are a band on a meteoric rise, firing on all cylinders and are about to take the world by storm. Their unique combination of beautifully harmonic, soulful vocals, epic guitar solos, pounding drums and powerful bass serves up an infectious sound that is not to be missed.


Back after too many years away, International award winning songwriters Soulweaver received worldwide radio play and critical acclaim back in the early to mid 2010's. Run independently by one of the hardest working couples in rock, The  Goodges, Soulweaver shared bills with acts such as Black Star Riders, Quireboys, Wishbone Ash, Alabama 3 and many more. With dynamics, quality and intensity, they contain the essence of classic British rock bands but with a contemporary edge that has seen them described as the British Foo Fighters. “Very Impressive, Cracking Band” - TotalRock Radio. “They’ve got a certain something” - Dave Ling. "Soulweaver are addictive" - Thisisnotascene.com. "Their set of bounce along dynamic rock music hit just the right spot and boy, did the crowds enjoy them.” Midlands Rocks.

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