BIOGRAPHY

The second line-up of Spear Of Destiny saw Dolphin Taylor from Stiff Little Fingers/Tom Robinson Band join on drums, Neil Pyzer from Howard Devoto on keyboard and sax, Alan St Clair from Howard Devoto on guitar and Mickey Donnelly from Ian Dury's band on sax and percussion. This was undoubtedly a great line up with well seasoned musicians.

The end of '83 was the first time "The Engine Room" was thrown into the mix together, and what a partnership it would prove to be, Drum & Bass at it live, raw best! Dolph and Stan instantly gelled as a rhythm section, and they would prove time and time again to be one of the tightest rhythm sections around in the UK at the time. Spear Of Destiny's live shows were second to none and they had a large cult following. 'Prisoner of Love' was the first song that "The Engine Room" worked on together in 1983.

'One Eyed Jacks' was released in 1984, it was well written and creative, reaching number 22 in the UK album charts. Two exceptional singles were released from 'One Eyed Jacks', the first being 'Prisoner Of Love', and the second a live favourite amongst fans, 'Liberator', which was played on Channel 4's The Tube music programme along with 'Young Men'.

The band's third album released in 1985 was 'World Service', which reached number 11 in the UK album charts. 'World Service' threw the band into the big league, with tours all over England and Europe. The band were in demand for TV appearences both at home and abroad, which included a second stint on Channel 4's famous The Tube and Bliss programmes! Two singles were released from 'World Service', 'All My Love' and 'Come Back', but it was 'Mickey', 'Once In Her Lifetime' and 'I Can See' that became firm favourites live with fans. The band played two large UK tours in 1985, along with a number of festivals both in the UK and Europe. These two tours cemented Spear Of Destiny as one of the most popular live acts in the UK.

In early '86 the band went into the studio to record their next album which would include the live favourite, 'Land of Shame'. Not long after the demos were recorded, Spear Of Destiny Mk2 disbanded after being dropped by their record label. CBS/Epic Records must have been blind to the fact that the band had acquired such a large following. By many this was deemed to be a big mistake by the record label. This unfortunately and prematurely, broke up one of the finest rhythm sections to come out of the UK, in the studio or on the live circuit.