Strife -

Strife was an English hard-rock band that released the 1975 Chrysalis album Rush, followed by the 1978 Gull release Back to Thunder. Bassist Gordon Rowley became a mainstay of Nightwing.

Members: Paul Ellson (drums, 1969-77), Peter Hobbs (bass, 1969), Pete Trotman (guitar, 1969-71), Gordon Rowley (bass, vocals, 1970-79), Graham Kin (keyboards, 1970), John Reid (lead vocals, guitar, 1971-79), Paddy Breen (lead vocals, 1971), Trevor Griffiths (guitar, ?-1972), Vic Pappaleo (guitar, 1975), David Williams (drums, 1978-79)

Background

Strife formed in 1969 in Bootle, Merseyside, when drummer Paul Ellson assembled a trio with bassist Peter Hobbs and guitarist Pete Trotman. Rowley soon replaced Hobbs on bass and became a lead-voice presence. Kin entered briefly on keyboards and vocals. The group cut the demo single “Preparation” (b/w “Jerafter”) before Trotman’s departure. Breen passed through the lineup, and Reid joined on guitar and vocals in 1971 after earlier work with The Klubs, a Birkenhead freakbeat band behind the 1968 Cam Records single “I Found the Sun.”

Strife returned to trio format with Rowley, Reid, and Ellson. Edwin Starr saw the group in Liverpool and helped place them before Motown soundman R. Dean Taylor during a 1973 US trip. Taylor produced demo recordings in Los Angeles and San Francisco, including “Better Man Than I” and “Worry.” In 1974, the band signed with Chrysalis.

Rush

Strife released their debut album, Rush, in January 1975 on Chrysalis.

The album contains five John Reid originals, including the epic three-part title suite. Side A contains the Gordon Rowley song “Man of the Wilderness” and the group-written “Indian Dream.”

“Back Streets of Heaven” barrels through a thick riff and broad group harmonies. “Man of the Wilderness” grinds through hard chug, precise guitar chops, and a pummeling bass run across its section changes. “Magic of the Dawn” pounds with darker thrust and repeated unison lifts. “Indian Dream” opens on a ceremonial beat and string-effect figure before plaintive singing yields to a rising riff, a high drone, and a wailing crest.

“Life Is Easy” bounces through bright chorus horns. “Better Man Than I” sprints through a slinky boogie figure and compact harmony replies. “Rush” shifts from fast boogie drive into harmonica over a dirty chug, echoed space sections, a chiming plateau, a doomy riff, a motorik run, a gong hit, and a final surge of double-tracked leads.

A1. “Back Streets of Heaven” (3:19)
A2. “Man of the Wilderness” (4:30)
A3. “Magic of the Dawn” (3:27)
A4. “Indian Dream” (6:53)

B1. “Life Is Easy” (2:55)
B2. “Better Man Than I” (3:05)
B3. “Rush” (12:02)
— a. “People Running ‘Round” (3:14)
— b. “More Haste, Less Speed” (3:01)
— c. “Final Fling” (5:47)

Strife recorded Rush at Morgan Studio with producer R. Dean Taylor and engineer Don Gooch, also credited on 1974–76 albums by Norman Feels and Terry Reid.

Rush appeared in a Hipgnosis sleeve with graphics by Richard Evans (UFO, Hydra, Free Hand) and illustration by Colin Elgie, also credited on 1973–75 albums by Darryl Way’s Wolf, Headstone, The Hollies, Wishbone Ash, and Renaissance (Scheherazade and Other Stories). The front image places two sword-bearing armored figures in a field under a dark sky, with red Strife lettering across the upper half

Zoom Club reissued Rush on CD in 2001. Shadow Kingdom reissued the album in 2018 with the 1973 Universal Studios demos “Magic in My Mind,” “Tawny Eyes,” and “Worry” as bonus tracks. Rock Candy issued a remastered CD in 2021 with the same three bonus recordings.

“School”

In March 1977, Strife released a standalone maxi-single: “School” backed with “Go…” and “Feel So Good,” all John Reid originals.

“Go” sprints at Reid’s stated 153 bpm pace. “Feel So Good” races through hard, choppy riff runs and drops into a closing rumble before the fade.

A. “School” (3:57)
B1. “Go…” (2:26)
B2. “Feel So Good” (3:14)

Before their second album, Strife founder Paul Ellson cleared out for drummer David Williams.

Back to Thunder

Strife released their second album, Back to Thunder, in November 1978 on Gull.

The album contains eight John Reid originals performed with the revised Rowley/Williams rhythm section. Colosseum II keyboardist Don Airey guests on “Weary Traveller” and the epics “Sky” and “Fool Injected Overlap.”

“Shockproof” stomps on a sharp, choppy riff and terse singing. “Let Me Down” rises from a mellow entry into a slow, chunky boogie grind. “Feel So Good” races through choppy riff runs and drops into a closing rumble before the fade. “Sky” arcs from a ballad entry into an operatic lift, a boogie reprise, and swelling synth.

“You Are What You Are” pivots from Western-film hush to a fast, nasty charge with a mid-song solo break. “Red Sun” submerges an effects-treated bass solo in cosmic wash, gong crashes, and widening space. “Fool Injected Overlap” breaks from a ballad opening into granite power chords, tangled riff turns, a wah tightrope, and an anthemic return. “Weary Traveller” lingers over a mystical slow theme as a late electronic swell broadens the close.

A1. “Shockproof” (3:30)
A2. “Let Me Down” (5:15)
A3. “Feel So Good” (2:49)
A4. “Sky” (6:12)

B1. “You Are What You Are” (4:10)
B2. “Red Sun” (3:35)
B3. “Fool Injected Overlap” (6:36)
B4. “Weary Traveller” (3:50)

Sessions occurred with War Dance producer Martin Levan, who worked in sequence with Barbara Thompson, Gary Boyle, and Smak, the last two with mutual engineer Nigel Green, credited on subsequent albums by The Cure (Seventeen Seconds), Praying Mantis, and the Mr. Big-spinoff Broken Home.

Back to Thunder appeared in a sleeve by painter Paul Monteagle, who also created the 1978 second Turning Point cover, Silent Promise. The front illustration shows a woman beside a samurai figure, a goblin-like figure, weapons, and candlelight against a storm-toned backdrop. Gull pressed initial copies on green vinyl.

Shadow Kingdom reissued Back to Thunder in 2018 with four bonus tracks: “You Don’t Know,” “School,” “Go,” and “Unknown.” Rock Candy issued a remastered CD in 2021 with bonus material and expanded booklet notes.

Postlude

Strife broke up in January 1979 after Reid opened The Gallery in Birkenhead and stepped away from full-time band work. Rowley moved to Los Angeles after a Crosby, Stills & Nash contact and worked as an engineer for Graham Nash at Rudy Records, where his sessions placed him around CSN, Jackson Browne, the Eagles, and Joe Walsh.

Rowley returned to Britain in 1978 while waiting on US work permits and began Gordon Rowley and Friends with keyboardist Kenny Newton, who had just left Nutz/Rage. The project became Nightwing in August 1980 with guitarist Eric Percival and drummer Paul Ellson in the early lineup. Nightwing issued the 1981–84 albums Something in the Air, Black Summer, Stand Up and Be Counted, and My Kingdom Come.

Reid formed Timeline Records in 2005 to reissue Rush and Back to Thunder. Timeline issued Rockin’ the Boat in 2006 from a 1976 Radio Trent recording at Nottingham Boat Club. The seven-song set includes “Better Man Than I,” “You Are What You Are,” “Indian Dream,” “Feels So Good,” “Number One,” “Rush,” and one unique number, “Before I Die,”

Discography: