White Spirit (band)
| White Spirit | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Hartlepool, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal |
| Years active | 1975–1981 |
| Labels | MCA, Neat |
| Associated acts |
Gillan Gogmagog Di'Anno Iron Maiden Tank |
| Past members | Bruce Ruff Brian Howe Janick Gers Phil Brady Graeme Crallan Malcolm Pearson |
White Spirit was a heavy metal band from Hartlepool, England, best remembered for guitarist Janick Gers who went on to play with Ian Gillan, Bruce Dickinson, and ultimately, Iron Maiden. Other members of the band were Bruce Ruff (vocals), Malcolm Pearson (keyboards), Phil Brady (bass), and Graeme Crallan (drums).
White Spirit, co-founded by Gers and Crallan in 1975, are considered part of the new wave of British heavy metal, although their sound was closer to that of 1970s hard rock acts such as Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. The band issued their debut single, "Backs to the Grind", on the fledgling heavy metal independent label Neat Records in 1980. It was backed with "Cheetah", which would also appear on Neat's Lead Weight compilation (and again on the retrospective New Wave of British Heavy Metal '79 Revisited double LP/CD in 1990, compiled by noted NWOBHM enthusiast Lars Ulrich of Metallica and former Kerrang! editor Geoff Barton). White Spirit featured on various other notable NWOBHM compilations such as Volume 2 of Metal for Muthas, the Muthas Pride EP, Brute Force, and 60 Minutes Plus.
With the upsurge of the NWOBHM, White Spirit moved to the MCA label on which they released their first and only album in 1980. The album was simply titled White Spirit and featured cover artwork by Michael Spaldin who later worked on stage set design for Gillan. That same year White Spirit made an appearance at the prestigious Reading Festival. The group suffered a serious blow in 1981 when guitarist Janick Gers accepted an offer from former Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan to join his solo outfit Gillan in place of Bernie Torme. Gers would go on to record the albums Double Trouble and Magic, before Ian Gillan decided to dissolve the band and join Black Sabbath for their 1983 album Born Again. Gers was part of the short lived UK supergroup Gogmagog, also featuring former members of Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Whitesnake, who folded after releasing a sole EP, I Will Be There, in 1985.
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