Demon (band)

History

The band Demon was formed when singer Dave Hill brought together former members of the group Hunter: Les Hunt on lead guitar, Chris Ellis on bass, and John Wright on drums. In 1980, Mike Stone’s Clay Records signed the band, and their music was licensed to Carrere Records, which added them to its roster of metal acts. Their first album, Night of the Demon, came out in 1981. A year later, they released The Unexpected Guest, and with that record they began to move beyond the typical New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound, leaning into a more melodic approach while keeping their traditional heavy metal lyrics about black magic. In 1983, the band shifted again. The Plague saw them adopt a more progressive style, with session musician Andy Richards contributing keyboards. Lyrically, they turned toward overtly political themes, a direction they would maintain for the rest of their career. Their 1985 album, British Standard Approved, showed a Pink Floyd influence and was released on the small independent Clay label. It did not sell well, and after the death of Mal Spooner later that year, the band seemed close to breaking up. Around this time, they brought in Steven Watts as a permanent keyboardist and co-writer. The next album, Heart of Our Time, also from 1985, proved the remaining members were committed to carrying on. It marked the beginning of a songwriting partnership between Hill and Watts. Though often considered the weakest of Demon’s albums, it set the stage for the well-received Breakout in 1987 and its follow-up, Taking the World by Storm, in 1989. Two more albums followed in the early 1990s: Hold On to the Dream in 1991 and Blow Out in 1992. The band split up that same year, with Hill later explaining it was due to exhaustion. In 2001, Hill revived Demon with a new lineup and released Spaced Out Monkey. Since then, the band has put out three more albums: Better the Devil You Know in 2005, Unbroken in 2012, and Cemetery Junction, which came out on October 28, 2016. All of these post-reunion records have drawn positive reviews from critics, leading the band to perform at European festivals such as Bang Your Head!!! and Sweden Rock Festival, though they rarely do full tours. In 2005, they toured alongside Magnum singer Bob Catley.