After the Fire
| After the Fire (ATF) | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Rock, new wave, progressive rock |
| Years active | 1974–1982, 2004–present |
| Labels | Rapid, CBS, Epic, RoughMix |
| Members | Peter Banks John Russell Ian Niblo Tim Turner Rob Halligan |
| Past members | Matthew Russell Keith Smith Andy Piercy Nick Battle Ivor Twidell Pete King Nick Brotherwood Ian Adamson Robin Childs |
After the Fire (or ATF) are a British rock band that transitioned from playing progressive rock to new wave over their initial twelve-year career, while having only one hit in the United States ("Der Kommissar") and one hit in the United Kingdom ("One Rule For You").
Keyboard player Peter Banks originally formed the band in the early 1970s in London, England. After The Fire then went through several personnel changes before settling on Banks, guitarist and vocalist Andy Piercy, bassist Nick Battle, and drummer Ivor Twidell. This line-up enjoyed local success in London, and released an album, Signs of Change, in 1978, on their own label. Having become a highly priced collectors' item, it was reissued on CD in 2004 with several bonus tracks. At this time, the band's sound was similar to that of bands like Genesis and Yes.
After Battle left, Piercy switched to bass, and John Russell joined on guitar. The group signed to CBS, and released their second album, Laser Love, in 1979, which marked the band's move towards new wave, with shorter, more catchy pop rock tracks. Twydell left the band to seek a career as a frontman and Nick Brotherwood took over briefly, after the album Laser Love was recorded. Banks changed his name to "Memory" Banks to not be confused with the ex-Yes guitarist, around this time. As these changes took place, After The Fire's single, "One Rule for You", entered the UK Top 40. The group were scheduled to perform it on BBC TV's Top of the Pops that week, a move which would have been almost certain to see it rise much higher, but their appearance was cancelled because Gary Numan was on the show and the BBC thought one keyboard track was enough.
The first version of 80-f, although better musically, was turned down by CBS resulting in the early departure of Brotherwood. The band, now with Pete King (formerly of the Flys) on drums, were assigned a new producer who re-worked some of the original album tracks and re-visited tracks that had been left off Laser Love. Neither singles charted in the UK but 1980-f gained popularity, like the band, in Europe.
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