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Zak Starkey's work with: |
| summary | releases | live | |
The band: (late)1984 - 1985 | |
(formerly w/ Bad Co.) Zak Starkey - drums Micky Moody - lead guitar (previously w/ Whitesnake) Spencer James - lead vocals Mike Simmonds - keyboards / vocals Managed by Colin Johnson & Bob Young (associated w/Status Quo for a number of years) | |
Note: The caption in the above photo points out that Zak is wearing THE coat worn by Marlon Brando in "On The Waterfront". |
Zak had run into Micky Moody way back in 1980, when Whitesnake was recording Come & Get It at Startling Studios. Seems Micky and Neil Murray had mistaken Zak and the rest of The Next hanging around the pool as "gatecrashers" ! Zak went on to work with Micky in the Moody Marsden Band, and Micky has guested on a few of Zak's projects.
For the longest time, not too much was known about Nightfly, other than the color photo and tour itinerary that appeared in Kerrang! Recently, a scrapbook of press clippings has turned up, and a few new factoids came to light. Zak and Micky Moody hooked up while doing some session work with John Entwistle. According to a few clippings, the band was formed around December of 1984, after Micky and Zak got tired of waiting since at least June of 1984 for Entwistle's project to get off the ground. From the band's press release: Zak's dislikes - "Waiting for people to form bands".
An internet bio about
vocalist Spencer James reveals that:
1) Spencer James is older than he looks!
2) Nightfly, or a slightly earlier configuration, was once called HEYDAY
Since January of 1986, Spencer James has been the vocalist (and guitarist) for The Searchers (yes, THE Searchers). The Searchers Bio goes a bit into Spencer's background:
* Born 1953, Hayes, Middlesex (NEVER would have guessed that from the photo!);
* Lead singer for the band FIRST CLASS (yes - the "Beach Baby" summertime pop classic!);
* "When that had run its course Spencer went on to experiment with Zak Starkey and Boz Burrell as part of a band called Heyday.";
* Then on to The Spencer James Band, who happened to play The Red Lion in Brentford as a support for The Searchers;
* The Searchers Jan 1986 - to date.
At some point in their history, the band was "produced by John Entwistle". Exactly when and exactly what is unclear. To date, nothing has seen release. Bob Young was quoted in a few articles in Feb of 1985 as saying if things went well (during the tour), the band hoped to begin recording that summer, and that some record companies were interested, but that the band unsigned.
The Kerrang! Feb 7-20 1985 article lists 16 dates. Numerous other pre-gig and review articles mention anywhere form 22-23 and even 35 dates!one article says 20 date, another says 22 in 28 days.
If by any chance you attended one of the gigs, have old ticket stubs, photos or reviews, please let us know!
In
1985, Micky Moody and Bob Young put out this humorous book. It was basically
a glossary of all terms encountered in the "Rock N Roll" world. It featured many
funny cartoon illustrations, and "insightful" definitions!
Zak
has his own entry:
Zak: An extremely rare Christian name which has
been bestowed upon the eldest son of Ringo Starr - Zak Starkey, née Starr.
Also, one of Zak's road projects, a crossword puzzle,
is also included in the book.
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Last Updated:
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Created: Dec 1996
Copyright ©
Kathy VanTassell
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