Stallion

German heavy/speed metal band

Stallion is a German heavy and speed metal band associated with the NWOTHM scene. The band’s name is also used by several unrelated acts from different countries and genres, but this entry refers to the German metal group.

Other acts with the same name

The name Stallion is also shared by a UK progressive rock band formed in the early 1970s, a New Zealand rock and metal band formed in Dunedin in 2010, a Swedish AOR band, an alias used by German techno producer Henning Baer, and a 1970s rock band from Colorado.

Related UK progressive rock band

The UK Stallion forms in 1972, when drummer Steve Demetri, guitarist Tony Bridger and singer Tich Turner set up the group in response to what they see as a bland local scene. They focus on original songs and present them with a theatrical live show shaped by progressive rock. The first line-up is completed by bassist Steve Kinch, who later tours with Hazel O’Connor before joining Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. Kinch is replaced in 1974 by Roger Carey.

The band appears on bills with Curved Air, Stackridge, Rare Bird, Stray, the Edgar Broughton Band and Traffic, and also supports T. Rex and Motörhead. It becomes a regular name on the London club circuit and develops a following at the Marquee Club in Soho, where it holds a record-breaking headlining residency. Influences named for the group include early Genesis, King Crimson, Billy Cobham and Frank Zappa on Demetri’s side, Rory Gallagher and Jimi Hendrix for Bridger, and American R&B for Turner, including Marvin Gaye and Little Feat.

Stallion wins the 1976 Melody Maker competition and plays the main stage at Reading Festival later that year. Despite combining progressive rock with punk attitude, it does not secure major-label success and breaks up in the late 1970s. A later remastered release, The Hard Life, includes its rare 1975 single, songs from an unreleased album, a band history and previously unseen photographs.

New Zealand Stallion

The New Zealand band Stallion forms as a covers group in Dunedin in 2010. Its line-up is Tim Kent on vocals and guitar, Glen Pearce on bass, Adon Moskal on synths and guitar, and Isaac Proctor on drums. The group starts by playing 1970s and 1980s rock songs at weddings and on the local pub circuit. At the end of 2010 it records a demo of an original track, Feels Good, and continues as both an originals and covers band in Dunedin.