Rogue Male (band)

Rogue Male were a British heavy metal band from the mid 1980s. Considered for a while to be the pretenders to the Motörhead throne, they foundered after the release of their second album and faded quickly back into the obscurity from which they came.

Rogue Male was the brainchild of Northern Ireland born singer/guitairst Jim Lyttle, who had previously been a stable fixture of many Irish Showbands, and the seminal Northern Irish punk band Pretty Boy Floyd and The Gems. Moving to London in the early 1980s he decided to put together a band that would mix punk styles and aggression with the more metal sounds of the NWOBHM bands of the time. After a series of line-ups, a stable touring band was produced. This line-up contained Lyttle, guitarist Mark Keen, bass guitarist Gareth Holder (Brian Helicopter) and drummer Bruce Bisland. This line-up's live performances gained the attentions of several record companies, but it was some time before the band secured a deal with the metal label Music For Nations. By the time this deal was inked though, Keen had departed to form his own band, The Grip, which saw success in its own right, Holder had departed to form the seminal metal/punk crossover band HellsBelles, and Bisland had left to join The Sweet. This meant that the first Rogue Male album, First Visit, was recorded by an entirely new line-up with Lyttle remaining the only original member. The new line-up consisted of Lyttle, John Fraser-Binnie on lead guitar, Kevin Collier on bass, and Steve Kingsley on drums. The album was well received critically, and Rogue Male toured the UK and the US extensively in support of it. However, before the second album, Animal Man, was released, Steve Kingsley departed, and although the drums on Animal Man were credited to his replacement, Danny Fury, the drums were played by a session player. This was to be the start of a revolving series of line-up changes in the band with Lyttle remaining the only constant member. This caused a lack of momentum in the band that essentially becalmed them when they should have been following up on the strong reputation of their first album, and this combined with the less enthusiastic reception of the second album essentially finished the band. Demos for a third album were done with yet another version of the band, but they were not taken up, and the band was subsequently dropped from their contract with Music For Nations. Without record company support, Rogue Male as a band dissolved soon thereafter. Both albums were re-released on an independent Polish record label in 2007.

Discography

Infobox Discography
Type =
Name = First Visit
Released = 1985
Label = Music for Nations
Producer =
Format =
Chart position=
Certification =
Sales =
Singles =
from Album =
Writer =
Tracks =
Other info = Infobox Discography
Type =
Name = Animal Man
Released = 1986
Label = Music for Nations
Producer =
Format =
Chart position=
Certification =
Sales =
Singles =
from Album =
Writer =
Tracks =
Other info =

Both albums will be reissued in September 2007.

External links

* [http://www.bnrmetal.com/groups/roma.htm BNR Metal Pages entry for Rogue Male]
* [http://www.myspace.com/roguemale1981 Unofficial Myspace site]