The Cross
As a good introduction to the
history of The Cross, I have copied the text from an insert in the ultra-rare
'Mad, Bad, And Dangerous To Know' German promo box, which is printed on
the back side of the poster that I have scanned in above.
Way back in 1987, Roger Taylor began writing
and recording material for a proposed solo album. There was nothing unusual
about this - Roger had already written and recorded two solo albums previously,
‘Fun In Space’ in 1981 and ‘Strange Frontier’ in 1984. The difference this
time was that Roger had decided his new material needed more than just
an album, it needed a band - it had to be played LIVE.
He had already completed most of the work on
this solo album by June 1987 and had signed a recording deal with Virgin
Records. All he needed now were the prople to go out on the road and play
the music. Advertisements were placed in all the top UK music papers and
magazines stating simply that a top recording artist was looking for good
musicians for a new venture - please reply to this box number if you think
you’ve got what it takes.
The replies came in by the sackload. Each letter
was read, each demo tape listened to. Some were brilliant, some were mediocre,
and some were downright awful! After weeks of listening, Roger ‘shortlisted’
about 20 guitarists, 20 drummers, and 20 bass players. In late June 1987
a theatre in London’s Soho was booked for three days and the hopeful musicians
given times to appear. Auditions started at 10 a.m. and finished at 8 p.m.
None of those participating knew who they were playing for as Roger kept
out of sight throughout. A third day was reserved for those that Roger
had particularly liked to return and play together.
Finally, the band were selected. Out of thousands
of hopefuls, drummer Josh Macrae - who’s previous bands had included The
Metro Gliders and Wadi Vision; bass player Peter Noone, ex One The Juggler
and Roman Holiday; guitarist Clayton Moss, who had been with a band called
Old Tennis Shoes; and keyboard player Spike Edney, who had already played
as guest keyboard player on Queen’s 1986 tour, became a group. Roger himself
would provide lead vocals and rhythm guitar.
By early September 1987 the album that Roger
had written and recorded had a title - Shove It. But with a single release
imminent on Virgin the band still didn’t have a name! They finally chose
to call themselves The Cross. No deep religious significance, it was just
short and simple. The first single ‘Cowboys & Indians’ was released
on Virgin on September 21st 1987. The band rehearsed together constantly
to get to know each other and improve their live presentation. They wanted
to be first and foremost a touring band.
The debut album ‘Shove It’ was released in January
1988, with a second single, the title track, released at the same time.
The European chart successes of both the singles and the album weren’t
as high as anticipated, but they did get the band a considerable amount
of recognition and a following of keen fans.
The Cross first European tour began on February
19th 1988 at Leeds University. The 15 date UK leg of the tour took them
from one end of Great Britian to the other playing clubs and universities
culminating on March 10th at London’s Town & Country Club - by which
time the band had established a strong following and impressed more than
a few skeptical journalists! The tour also served to bring the band closer
together as friends and working colleagues.
The band’s third single, Heaven For Everyone
was released in April 1988. Their tour of Germany started on April 9th
with a live TV show in Bremen, and due to the interest the tour was causing
the single entered the German charts. Fourteen live shows later The Cross
had gained their first German fans!
Most of the rest of 1988 saw Roger heavily involved
with the Queen recording schedule. But the other members of The Cross weren’t
idle. Between them they converted a warehouse into a small recording studio
to enable them to work on new material. It was really during this period
that The Cross became a true group in it’s own right. They got to know
each other, they began to interact and write music together. It was also
at this time that Roger’s album deal with Virgin expired, and by mutual
agreement wasn’t renewed. The band were undaunted and continued to work
hard on the new songs. Roger spent as much time with them as Queen commitments
allowed and the group began looking for a new recording deal.
During the Spring of 1989 The Cross took their
demo tapes and began some serious rehearsals and more work with Roger.
Those demo tapes that they had worked on in the warehouse studio were sent
over to Electrola Records in Germany. The band chose Germany as their launch
pad as they felt they had a greater chance of radio, TV, and live exposure
there than anywhere else in Europe. Helmut Fest and Lothar Meinerzhagen
were impressed with what they heard. Lothar duly flew over to England to
watch the band at work in rehearsals, he was convinced and The Cross singed
to Electrola for the world.
The band decided to record their first album
as a group at Mountain Studios, in Montreux, Switzerland. They were there
for eight weeks. Justin Shirley-Smith engineered and co-produced the album
- for him it was his first production. He’d previously been assistant engineer
on David Bowie’s ‘Tin Machine’ album and engineer on Chris Rea’s ‘On The
Beach’ album. The band’s recording technique was simple - play it ‘live’
in the studio and record it, if it needed touching up afterwards then they
would do so. This method worked, and by late November 1989 the album was
finished. The music is strong and powerful, quite a different style to
the ‘Shove It’ album - they have settled into being The Cross and not a
bunch of unconnected musicians.
On December 14th the band flew to Vienna to
film their first video for the new album with the famous ‘Torpedo Twins’
Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher. The album will be released on March
5th 1990. The title of the album is ‘Mad, Bad, And Dangerous To Know’ -
a quote they discovered that was used to describe the eccentric Lord Byron,
who had been imprisoned in Chillon Castle on the shores of Lake Geneva,
not far from Mountain Studios.
The album cover was designed by Steven Bliss
- who studied graphics at the Brighton Polytechnic, then worked extensively
in Japan as a model and graphic artist. His work for The Cross saw him
branching into a new field as this was his first album cover design.
The Cross will be on the road in Europe in the
Spring of 1990 - be prepared - they’re mad, bad, and dangerous to know!
Back To The Cross Discography Page