Vardis

Vardis
Vardis front man Steve Zodiac
Background information
Genres	Hard rock, boogie rock, heavy metal
Years active	1973–1986, 2014-present
Labels	SPV Gmbh, Logo Records, various
Website	www.vardisrocks.com
Members	Steve Zodiac Joe Clancy Martin Connolly
Past members	Terry Horbury Gary Pearson Alan Selway Steve Kingsley Phil Medley Paul Watkin Andy Freeman Andy Green Steve Levitt Tony Boulton (Mendes Prey)

Vardis are an influential three-piece hard rock, boogie rock and heavy metal band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, who enjoyed hits between 1978 and 1986, and reformed in 2014.

They formed a prominent part of the new wave of British heavy metal scene, then prevalent in the United Kingdom. They consisted of frontman Steve Zodiac on guitar and lead vocals, Alan Selway on bass guitar and Gary Pearson on drums. Alan Selway was later replaced by Terry Horbury (previously of Dirty Tricks) on bass guitar. With a new album Red Eye in 2016 the current lineup consists of Zodiac, Joe Clancy and Martin Connolly.

The band were originally formed under the name 'Quo Vardis' (Latin for 'whither goest thou?') because they did not know which direction they were going. This was later abbreviated to Vardis. Their first recordings were made at Holyground Studios in Cass Yard, Kirgate, Wakefied. The first ever track laid down on vinyl was titled "Jiving All Night Long" with the B-side titled "Stay with Me", both penned by Zodiac. This was followed up with a second record, both cover versions, those being "Roll Over Beethoven" (Chuck Berry) and "Don't Waste My Time" (Status Quo).

Vardis quickly gained notoriety for their high energy live performances, the unique approach of incorporating elements of 70's glam rock and heavy metal music and frontman Steve Zodiac's searing Fender Telecaster sound. Zodiac was reputable for playing Vardis concerts barefoot and bare chested, his look completed by long, naturally ice-blonde hair.

They took the unorthodox approach of comprising their debut album, 100MPH (1980), of entirely live recordings. This is largely considered to be their finest hour and gained the band a large following early on in their career. They were invited to play the Heavy Metal Holocaust music festival in August 1981 alongside Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and Triumph. Around 30,000 heavy metal fans were estimated to have attended with the PA reportedly reaching new heights of amplification at over 100,000 watts.