Quireboys тобының тарихы мен эволюциясы

English rock band
the English rock band

The Quireboys are an English rock band formed in 1984 in London, with strong ties to Newcastle. Originally known as The Queerboys, billed as The London Quireboys in the United States and Canada, settling at last with their current name.

Vocalist Jonathan Gray (commonly referred to as just 'Spike') moved from Newcastle upon Tyne to London when he was 17 years old. By the mid 1980s, the two decided to form a rock and roll band, the name chosen for the group was originally 'The Choirboys' taken from the 1977 movie of the same name, but they soon changed it to the Queerboys. The Queerboys started to build up a following, playing at the Marquee Club. The band's drummer Paul Hornby soon left to join Dogs D'Amour, which contained future friends of the Quireboys, he was replaced by Nick Connell (known as Cozy). By 1987, the band's controversial name was starting to hinder them, it caused some of the gigs on their tour with Andy McCoy's band to be cancelled. They were also booked to play Reading Festival, on the understanding that they would change their name. Thus they changed it to the Quireboys and have kept the name ever since. Bitter Sweet & Twisted was finally released in March 1993 and peaked at no. 31 on the UK Albums Chart. Following the release of Bitter Sweet & Twisted, the Quireboys disbanded for eight years. Griffin attributed the breakup to "business stuff" and the emergence of grunge music. Following a run of successful live shows in Los Angeles, they decided to revive the band in 2001 with a new lineup.

In the interim, the Quireboys members embarked on their own recording projects. In 1995, Spike formed a duo with Darrell Bath of The Dogs D'Amour. Their album, Take Out Some Insurance, was released under the moniker Spike n' Darrell. In the following year, Spike formed the duo Hot Knives with Tyla, and together they released Flagrantly Yours. Spike's debut solo album, Blue Eyed Soul, was released in 1997. In the same year, Spike released one album as part of the band God's Hotel.

The Quireboys' reformation began with the release of their third studio album, This Is Rock'n'Roll, in July 2001. AllMusic described it as one of the band's "more consistent, focused and inspired efforts". The band's fourth studio album, Well Oiled, was released in 2004 through SPV. On 12 May 2008, the Quireboys released their fifth album, Homewreckers & Heartbreakers, through Jerkin' Crocus. Talking about the inspiration for the new album, Paul Guerin said "It's a funny story. We were in Malmö, Sweden in the dressing room. It was just before the show and we'd had a few frothy quenchers. We were trying to come up with album titles, and everyone was laughing at the suggestions. A certain member of the band was regaling a story about something he'd done, and another member of the band said "you're just a home wrecker," and someone else said "yeah, and a heartbreaker". We were just having a laugh, and bang, there it was. It was as simple as that." In March 2013, the Quireboys played aboard the Monsters of Rock Cruise, along with bands such as Cinderella, Tesla, Kix, and Queensrÿche. The band released a new single "Too Much of a Good Thing" on 15 May 2013, taken from their seventh studio album, Beautiful Curse, which was released a month later in June 2013. The band's twelfth studio album, Amazing Disgrace, was released on 5 April 2019. Classic Rock referred to the album as "energetic and dynamic", and "the best Quireboys album for ages". The album was preceded by its lead single, "Seven Deadly Sins". The band supported the album with a tour of the UK and Spain between March and May 2019. The album was originally crowdfunded through PledgeMusic, but the band were affected by PledgeMusic's payment issues scandal. Off Yer Rocka Recordings stepped in to fund the album. In late 2021 they supported the Dead Daisies on their UK Tour. The February 2022 Monsters of Rock Cruise included the Quireboys as a five piece, with Griffin covering vocal duties, after "a last minute nonappearance" from Spike.

In March 2022, the Quireboys announced that they had released lead vocalist Spike from the band. This sparked a mixed reaction from fans, leading two venues to cancel their upcoming Quireboys dates. However, the band continue to tour with Guy Griffin as lead vocalist. In 2023, they completed tours of Germany and the UK, and performed at Hellfest in Clisson, France. Spike's departure sparked an ongoing dispute about legal ownership of the Quireboys name. In May 2022, Spike announced that he was reuniting with original members Guy Bailey and Nigel Mogg to write and record new music using the Quireboys name, regardless of the legalities around using it. He later announced an upcoming concert in London featuring ex Quireboys members Chris Johnstone and Rudy Richman, due to take place in December 2022. On 9 December 2022, they released a two track single "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" in support of Care After Combat, a charity for British combat veterans. On 7 December 2022, the remaining band members released a live album recorded at O2 Forum Kentish Town in September 2022. Their first album without Spike, titled The Band Rolls On , was announced in July 2022, with a release date later confirmed for September 2023. The lead single "Lie to Me" was released on 5 December 2022. A second single, "Medicine", featuring Josh Todd and Stevie D. from Buckcherry, was released on 14 July 2023. The band announced a British tour to mark the 10th anniversary of Beautiful Curse between April and September 2023, supported by Blackballed. On 6 April 2023, guitarist Guy Bailey died. In an announcement, Spike revealed that he and Bailey had written songs for a new Quireboys album featuring bandmates Chris Johnstone, Nigel Mogg and Rudy Richman. The album, titled Wardour Street, will be released in the spring of 2024. The lead single, "Jeeze Louise", was released on 31 October 2023. The album release will coincide with a UK tour in May 2024, with guitarist Luke Morley from Thunder performing in place of Guy Bailey.