The Cross (band)

The Cross
The Cross on stage in Germany, 1990.
Background information
Origin	England
Genres	Pop rock, dance-rock, hard rock
Years active	1987–1993, 2013
Labels	Virgin, Parlophone, EMI Electrola
Associated acts	Queen
Past members	Roger Taylor Spike Edney Clayton Moss Peter Noone Josh Macrae

The Cross was a side project of Queen's Roger Taylor that existed from 1987 to 1993 and released three albums. Although the drummer in Queen, Taylor fronted The Cross as rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist. On its debut release, the classic rock band incorporated dance influences which they dropped on their remaining two albums. The band never enjoyed much commercial success, but continues to retain some interest among avid fans of Queen.

Taylor formed The Cross while Queen were on hiatus after the Magic Tour in 1986. He recruited Queen's tour keyboardist, Spike Edney, but advertised for the remaining musicians. When the band was formed, guitarist Clayton Moss, bassist Peter Noone (not to be confused with the Herman's Hermits singer of the same name), and drummer Josh Macrae were unestablished in the field. Taylor himself never played the drums in The Cross.

The band's albums and singles were not commercially successful, although they did manage to reach the British charts with several and they enjoyed moderate success in Germany. The first album, Shove It, was released on Virgin Records in 1987. Largely a solo project for Taylor, who had written the songs prior to forming the band, the album and the three singles it spawned did reach the charts in the UK, where it also received some positive press. The band toured in support of the album before Taylor took a short break for the 1989 Queen album The Miracle, for which there was no tour.

After Queen's 1986 Magic Tour, the band members went their separate ways to do various solo work. Taylor decided to form a new band with whom he could tour. He had already written and recorded the album himself before finding a band to play the songs with. He eventually placed an ad for band members in a national newspaper, hinting he was a famous rock musician. The position of keyboard player was duly offered to Spike Edney after two successful Queen tours with him handling the keys. When the auditions were over, the line-up was completed by Peter Noone on bass, Clayton Moss on guitar, and Josh Macrae on drums. Taylor himself would take the responsibility on lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist.