Russ North
Encyclopedia
Russ North, born 22 July 1965 in England
, is a singer, best known for his role in the heavy metal
band
Cloven Hoof
. North had two stints with Cloven Hoof, from 1987 to 1990, and again from 2006 to 2009. He recently had just rejoined the band in 2010 after their singer Matt Moreton fell ill and the rest of the band members (guitarists Mick Powell and Ben Read, and longtime drummer Jon Brown) betrayed and ditched bassist Lee Payne during their 2010 tour.
. Prior to Tredegar splitting up, Cloven Hoof
bassist Lee Payne
brought the both of them into his band in 1988.
(vocals), along with both original band members Stephen Rounds (guitar) and Kevin Pountey (drums), only original member Lee Payne
had remained active, and thus struggled to find new musicians to reform Cloven Hoof
. But it wasn't until around 1988 that Payne had succeeded at last with a fresher line-up.
Prior to immediately leaving the band Tredegar, Russ North was quite fond of Cloven Hoof
's first album, that when the band needed a new singer, guitarist Andy Wood (another ex-member of Tredegar) had joined Lee Payne's band and referred North to joining. Before North's audition, the band met up at Payne’s parents' pub. And on a more amusing note, Lee and Russ first met each other in the men's toilet room. He joined the band immediately, and along with drummer Jon Brown.
In 1988, the line-up was complete for Cloven Hoof, and so they set out to work on their second full-length studio album, Dominator
. It was the first release by the band that closed doors on the "four elements" styled stage names, that landed them further towards the stepping stones to epic power metal
.
The year after the successful release of North's first album with Cloven Hoof, 1989's A Sultan's Ransom
was followed, thus ending up as the band's most successful release of all time. But unfortunately due to contractual difficulties, the band had to split up in 1990.
The only known fact about Russ North in the 1990s was that after singer Bruce Dickinson
had left Iron Maiden
in 1993, the band were seeking other frontmen to audition, and Russ made it to the last two in the roster, with Blaze Bayley
at bassist Steve Harris
' house. But instead of recruiting Russ, the band took in Bayley instead.
In the summer of 2001, Lee Payne resurfaced the band and began looking for a new line-up after all these years of halt. However, at that time none of the past members were featured on the line-up, and instead Lee hired three studio musicians to record their comeback fourth studio album, 2006's Eye of the Sun
, in which the title was inspired by a track of the same name from, the 1986 Fighting Back live album.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is a singer, best known for his role in the heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
Cloven Hoof
Cloven Hoof (band)
Cloven Hoof are a heavy metal band from Wolverhampton that was active from 1979 to 1990, and again from around 2000 onwards. The band were associated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, alongside bands such as Iron Maiden and Diamond Head...
. North had two stints with Cloven Hoof, from 1987 to 1990, and again from 2006 to 2009. He recently had just rejoined the band in 2010 after their singer Matt Moreton fell ill and the rest of the band members (guitarists Mick Powell and Ben Read, and longtime drummer Jon Brown) betrayed and ditched bassist Lee Payne during their 2010 tour.
Tredegar
Russ North (vocals) and Andy Wood (guitar) were once members of TredegarTredegar (band)
Tredegar were a British heavy metal band formed in 1982.It was named after the town in Wales.-History:Tredegar were formed by former Budgie members Tony Bourge and Ray Phillips. Their debut album was recorded in 1986 with the help of Persian Risk's Carl Sentance as a guest vocalist as the band did...
. Prior to Tredegar splitting up, Cloven Hoof
Cloven Hoof (band)
Cloven Hoof are a heavy metal band from Wolverhampton that was active from 1979 to 1990, and again from around 2000 onwards. The band were associated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, alongside bands such as Iron Maiden and Diamond Head...
bassist Lee Payne
Lee Payne (bassist)
Lee Payne is the founding bassist and main songwriter of the British heavy metal/power metal band Cloven Hoof. Payne is a self-taught musician and is the only member of Cloven Hoof to feature in every line-up of the band to date.He started playing guitar at age of 17, but eventually switched to bass...
brought the both of them into his band in 1988.
Cloven Hoof
After the unfortunate 1986 departures of Rob KendrickRob Kendrick
Rob Kendrick is best known as guitarist for the English band, Trapeze. Trapeze had major musical success in the 1970s and early 1980s with their hit single, "Black Cloud".The original band, Trapeze, broke up in the 80's...
(vocals), along with both original band members Stephen Rounds (guitar) and Kevin Pountey (drums), only original member Lee Payne
Lee Payne (bassist)
Lee Payne is the founding bassist and main songwriter of the British heavy metal/power metal band Cloven Hoof. Payne is a self-taught musician and is the only member of Cloven Hoof to feature in every line-up of the band to date.He started playing guitar at age of 17, but eventually switched to bass...
had remained active, and thus struggled to find new musicians to reform Cloven Hoof
Cloven Hoof (band)
Cloven Hoof are a heavy metal band from Wolverhampton that was active from 1979 to 1990, and again from around 2000 onwards. The band were associated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, alongside bands such as Iron Maiden and Diamond Head...
. But it wasn't until around 1988 that Payne had succeeded at last with a fresher line-up.
Prior to immediately leaving the band Tredegar, Russ North was quite fond of Cloven Hoof
Cloven Hoof (band)
Cloven Hoof are a heavy metal band from Wolverhampton that was active from 1979 to 1990, and again from around 2000 onwards. The band were associated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, alongside bands such as Iron Maiden and Diamond Head...
's first album, that when the band needed a new singer, guitarist Andy Wood (another ex-member of Tredegar) had joined Lee Payne's band and referred North to joining. Before North's audition, the band met up at Payne’s parents' pub. And on a more amusing note, Lee and Russ first met each other in the men's toilet room. He joined the band immediately, and along with drummer Jon Brown.
In 1988, the line-up was complete for Cloven Hoof, and so they set out to work on their second full-length studio album, Dominator
Dominator
In computer science, in control flow graphs, a node d dominates a node n if every path from the start node to n must go through d. Notationally, this is written as d dom n...
. It was the first release by the band that closed doors on the "four elements" styled stage names, that landed them further towards the stepping stones to epic power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
.
The year after the successful release of North's first album with Cloven Hoof, 1989's A Sultan's Ransom
A Sultan's Ransom
A Sultan's Ransom, released in 1989, is the third full-length studio album released by the British heavy metal band Cloven Hoof. It is also the last Cloven Hoof album to feature Andy Wood on guitar, due to contractual difficulties that forced the whole band itself to split up from 1990 to 2001...
was followed, thus ending up as the band's most successful release of all time. But unfortunately due to contractual difficulties, the band had to split up in 1990.
The only known fact about Russ North in the 1990s was that after singer Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
had left Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
in 1993, the band were seeking other frontmen to audition, and Russ made it to the last two in the roster, with Blaze Bayley
Blaze Bayley
Blaze Bayley is an English singer and songwriter. He has been the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994, and nowadays since their recent reunion. Blaze is however world-known for having been the lead singer of British metal band Iron Maiden from 1994 to 1999...
at bassist Steve Harris
Steve Harris (musician)
Stephen Percy "Steve" Harris is an English musician and songwriter, known as the bassist, occasional keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, which he founded in 1975...
' house. But instead of recruiting Russ, the band took in Bayley instead.
In the summer of 2001, Lee Payne resurfaced the band and began looking for a new line-up after all these years of halt. However, at that time none of the past members were featured on the line-up, and instead Lee hired three studio musicians to record their comeback fourth studio album, 2006's Eye of the Sun
Eye of the Sun
Eye of the Sun, released in 2006, is the comeback album of the British heavy metal band Cloven Hoof, the first since their split in 1990. Of the four band members, only Lee Payne had actually been a member of Cloven Hoof in their first incarnation....
, in which the title was inspired by a track of the same name from, the 1986 Fighting Back live album.