Shy (band)
Encyclopedia
Shy are a British
metal
band formed in 1980 under the name 'Trojan', hailing from Birmingham
, England
.
, Steve Harris (guitars
) (not to be confused with Iron Maiden
's bass player, Steve Harris
), Paddy McKenna (keyboards
), Mark Badrick (bass
) and drummer
Alan Kelly. Their first album, called Once Bitten...Twice..., was released in 1983. Initial reports from Kerrang!
were positive, however, a reporter was sarcastic to the band in the interview that would follow. After the release, Mills dropped his David Bowie
-esque make up, and Mark Badrick was replaced by former Trouble bassist Roy Davies.
Shy made their major label debut on RCA Records
with 1985's Brave the Storm. This release gained success despite the single "Hold On (To Your love)" being disqualified from the charts, as early copies included a shrink-wrapped T-shirt. Reviews from Kerrang! were more positive, comparing Mill's soaring vocals with those of Geoff Tate
, vocalist of Queensrÿche
. In the eighteen months that preceded the band's third album, Shy toured with Bon Jovi
, Meat Loaf
, Twisted Sister
, Gary Moore
and UFO
.
The band's 1987 album, Excess All Areas, was recorded in Holland with producer Neil Kernon. The album featured Shy's biggest hit, "Break Down The Walls", co-written with Don Dokken
. The album reached Britain's top 75, with Metal Hammer
magazine being appreciative. 1989 saw the release of Misspent Youth on MCA
. The album, produced by Roy Thomas Baker, was promoted with American and European tours.
By 1994, Mills had been replaced by vocalist Jon Francis. The band's 1994 album, Welcome To The Madhouse was released in Japan by Phonogram but failed to get distribution elswhere. The band released a live album in 1999, recorded in Europe
, and two albums containing previously unreleased songs, "Let The Hammer Fall" and "Regeneration".
Mills returned to the band in 2000. In 2002, Shy recorded and released an album featuring Mills, Unfinished Business which saw Man
drummer Bob Richards replacing Kelly.
In 2005, Shy released Sunset And Vine on the MTM Music label. In addition to Mills, Harris and Davis, this album featured Mills' ex Siam colleague Ian Richardson on rhythm guitar, and keyboard player Joe Basketts who had previously worked with Mills on his solo album.
In 2006, Mills met with Norwegian
rock act TNT
, and announced he was leaving Shy to take up the vocalist slot, empty since the announced departure of Tony Harnell
. Shy supported TNT on their final tour.
Shy originally had planned for Tony O'Hora to replace Mills. However, Lee Small, formerly of Surveillance and Phenomena, took the helm for a handful of gigs before parting company with Shy in January 2009, he is now once again Shy's vocalist. The band's latest album, entitled simply Shy was released in Japan in September 2011 on the Marquee Avalon label, and in Europe in October on Escape Music. Ian Richardson (previously in Siam) has since left Shy, although he provided additional guitars on the latest release. Steve Harris died of a brain tumour in October 2011. A posting on the band's own website dated 29 October 2011, also announced his death.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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 formed in 1980 under the name 'Trojan', hailing from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
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...
.
Biography
Formerly known as Trojan, Shy featured vocalist Tony MillsTony Mills (musician)
Tony Mills is an English musician and the vocalist in the Norwegian hard rock band TNT.Hailing from Birmingham, when he was 14 years old, he sang in his first band, the punk band The Rip-Offs, before joining fellow Birmingham punk band Cracked Actors as bass guitarist...
, Steve Harris (guitars
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
) (not to be confused with 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...
's bass player, 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...
), Paddy McKenna (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
), Mark Badrick (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Alan Kelly. Their first album, called Once Bitten...Twice..., was released in 1983. Initial reports from Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
were positive, however, a reporter was sarcastic to the band in the interview that would follow. After the release, Mills dropped his David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
-esque make up, and Mark Badrick was replaced by former Trouble bassist Roy Davies.
Shy made their major label debut on RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
with 1985's Brave the Storm. This release gained success despite the single "Hold On (To Your love)" being disqualified from the charts, as early copies included a shrink-wrapped T-shirt. Reviews from Kerrang! were more positive, comparing Mill's soaring vocals with those of Geoff Tate
Geoff Tate
Geoff Tate is an American singer and musician, who rose to fame in the 1980s with the progressive metal band, Queensrÿche...
, vocalist of Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche
thumb|250px|right|Queensrÿche's classic line-up performing at the [[Sauna Open Air Metal Festival]] 2011 in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]. Left to right: bass Eddie Jackson, lead vocals Geoff Tate, drums Scott Rockenfield and guitars Michael Wilton....
. In the eighteen months that preceded the band's third album, Shy toured with Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
, Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
, Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
and UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
.
The band's 1987 album, Excess All Areas, was recorded in Holland with producer Neil Kernon. The album featured Shy's biggest hit, "Break Down The Walls", co-written with Don Dokken
Don Dokken
Donald Maynard Dokken is best known for being the lead singer and founder of the band Dokken. He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style which has made him an influential figure in American heavy metal. After enjoying mainstream success with Dokken, he parted ways with the band in 1988...
. The album reached Britain's top 75, with Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
magazine being appreciative. 1989 saw the release of Misspent Youth on MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
. The album, produced by Roy Thomas Baker, was promoted with American and European tours.
By 1994, Mills had been replaced by vocalist Jon Francis. The band's 1994 album, Welcome To The Madhouse was released in Japan by Phonogram but failed to get distribution elswhere. The band released a live album in 1999, recorded in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and two albums containing previously unreleased songs, "Let The Hammer Fall" and "Regeneration".
Mills returned to the band in 2000. In 2002, Shy recorded and released an album featuring Mills, Unfinished Business which saw Man
Man (band)
Man are a rock band from South Wales whose style is a mixture of West Coast psychedelia, progressive rock, blues and country-rock. Formed in 1968 as a reincarnation of Welsh rock harmony group ‘’The Bystanders’’, Man are renowned for the extended jams in their live performances, and having had...
drummer Bob Richards replacing Kelly.
In 2005, Shy released Sunset And Vine on the MTM Music label. In addition to Mills, Harris and Davis, this album featured Mills' ex Siam colleague Ian Richardson on rhythm guitar, and keyboard player Joe Basketts who had previously worked with Mills on his solo album.
In 2006, Mills met with Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
rock act TNT
TNT (band)
TNT is a Norwegian hard rock/glam metal band from Trondheim, formed in 1982. The band has released twelve studio albums, three EPs and two live albums while going through numerous line-up changes since its formation...
, and announced he was leaving Shy to take up the vocalist slot, empty since the announced departure of Tony Harnell
Tony Harnell
Antony "Tony" Harnell is an American hard rock singer, best known for his work with the Norwegian hard rock band TNT....
. Shy supported TNT on their final tour.
Shy originally had planned for Tony O'Hora to replace Mills. However, Lee Small, formerly of Surveillance and Phenomena, took the helm for a handful of gigs before parting company with Shy in January 2009, he is now once again Shy's vocalist. The band's latest album, entitled simply Shy was released in Japan in September 2011 on the Marquee Avalon label, and in Europe in October on Escape Music. Ian Richardson (previously in Siam) has since left Shy, although he provided additional guitars on the latest release. Steve Harris died of a brain tumour in October 2011. A posting on the band's own website dated 29 October 2011, also announced his death.
Discography
- 1983: Once Bitten...Twice...
- 1985: Brave the Storm
- 1987: Excess All Areas
- 1989: Misspent Youth
- 1994: Welcome to the Madhouse
- 1999: Regeneration
- 1999: Let the Hammer Fall
- 1999: Live in Europe
- 2001: Breakaway (EP)
- 2002: Unfinished Business
- 2005: Sunset and Vine
- 2006: Reflections: The Anthology 1983-2005
- 2011: Shy
Current members
- Lee Small - Vocals
- Roy Davis - BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Joe Basketts - KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Bob Richards - Drums
Previous members
- Steve Harris - GuitarsLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
(deceased) - Tony MillsTony Mills (musician)Tony Mills is an English musician and the vocalist in the Norwegian hard rock band TNT.Hailing from Birmingham, when he was 14 years old, he sang in his first band, the punk band The Rip-Offs, before joining fellow Birmingham punk band Cracked Actors as bass guitarist...
- Vocals - Ian Richardson - Guitars
- Alan Kelly - Drums
- Paddy McKenna - KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- John Ward (Wardi) - Vocals
- Mark Badrick - BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Léo Serrinha - (Lead Guitar)
External links
- Band official website: www.shyonline.co.uk
- Aorock fan site: www.aorock.com
- Lee's Official Site: www.leesmall.co.uk
- Shy 1980-2000 website (run by Alan Kelly, ex drummer): (http://www.shy-england.4t.com)
- Madhouse Rehearsals (owned by Roy): www.madhouserehearsals.com
- Once Bitten Music (Roy's publishing company): www.oncebittenmusic.com