Mournblade (band)
| Mournblade | |
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Logo for Mournblade's reunion show and album, "The Resurrection"
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| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal |
| Years active | 1982–1989, 2012–present |
| Website | www |
| Members |
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Mournblade are a heavy metal band, formed in 1982 and originating from London, England. The early incarnation falls into the category of space rock. The latter incarnation is regarded as one of the last bands of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. The band is named after a sword from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné stories.
The band was formed in September 1982 by Dunken Francis Mullet and Richie Jones. With similar interest in Science fiction writing and the music of bands like Hawkwind, The Pink Fairies and Motörhead they quickly started writing music together and within a few months Mournblade did their first gig on stage at the Ealing College student union hall with the original line up of Derek Jasnock (keyboards), Richard Jones (guitar), Dunken Mullet (vocals), Jeff Ward (drums) and Clive Baxter (bass).
The band's early influences included the books of Michael Moorcock, very apparent in early material and theatrical live shows (at a book signing Moorcock officially gave Dunken and Richie permission to use the name "Mournblade", a sword from one of his most famous books). At one stage the live show featured Mullet undertaking 14 costume changes as well as many props, notably a 2.5 metre wooden sword, a 1.5 metre high Victorian doll ("Victoria"), a decaying World War I soldiers mask, a devil suit (including a cape with a 3.5 metre wingspan) and a ‘space helmet’ made from a motorcycle crash helmet sprayed gold, covered in LED lights and a small laser.
The band's first official release came after signing with Flicknife Records, "Times Running Out" [1] (SHARP 030, Flicknife Records). The band gigged tirelessly around the UK promoting their album, performing over 400 gigs over the period of a few years. Mournblade were also great supporters of the free festival circuit playing at the Stonehenge Festival in 1984 and 1985 amongst many others. Despite this hard work, Mournblade's initial success, through links to Hawkwind, faded as they failed to impress Hawkwind fans or a general rock audience [2] - though they did build up a steady loyal following with fanbases in London (where they regularly headlined the Marquee, 100 Club and Dingwalls), South Wales and the Midlands and their hard work caught the attention 'Kerrang!' magazine, resulting in a full-colour feature and giving rise to the oft-quoted 'Future of Heavy Metal' plaudit.
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