Wild Horses are a British hard rock band. Jimmy Bain was the leader and vocalist of the group. Unfortunately, the rock band Wild Horses lasted only three years, from 1978 to 1981. However, during this time two wonderful albums were released. They have absolutely staked out a place for themselves in the history of hard rock.
Education
Wild Horses was formed in London in 1978 by two Scottish musicians, Jimmy Bain and Brian "Robbo" Robertson. Jimmy (born 1947) had previously played bass in Ritchie Blackmore's band Rainbow. With his participation, the LPs "Rising" and "On Stage" were recorded.
However, in early 1977, Bain was fired from Rainbow. As for Brian "Robbo" Robertson (born 1956), before the formation of Wild Horses for several years (from 1974 to 1978) he was the guitarist of the very famous British hard rock band Thin Lizzy. There is evidence that he left due to problems with alcohol and serious disagreements with frontman Phil Lynott.
It is important to note that in its format the newly formed group was a quartet. In addition to Bain and Robertson, it included Jimmy McCulloch and Kenny Jones. The two soon left the band, replaced by guitarist Neil Carter and drummer Clive Edwards. And it was this composition that became permanent for some time.
A few words should be said about the name of the group - Wild Horses. It was not taken from the ceiling, but is a reference to the legendary Rolling Stones ballad of the same name from the 1971 album Sticky Fingers.
Recording the first album
In the summer of 1979, Wild Horses performed at a rock festival in Reading, England (Berkshire). The performance turned out to be successful - after it the group was offered a contract with the EMI Records label. It was with the support of this label that the debut album was recorded and released. One of its co-producers, by the way, was the famous composer Trevor Rabin.
This record was released on April 14, 1980. It was called the same as the rock band itself - "Wild Horses". And it consisted of 10 songs with a total duration of 36 minutes 43 seconds. It included such hits as "Criminal Tendenses", "Face Down" and "Flyaway". This record received mostly positive reviews in the music press. In addition, she stayed on the main British chart for four weeks. Even at some point I was able to be in the TOP-40 (on the 38th line).
It is also important to note that in 1980, another change took place in the composition of the Wild Horses. Neil Carter left for the band UFO, and guitarist John Lockton was taken to the vacant seat.
Second studio album and breakup of Wild Horses
Wild Horses' second LP, Stand Your Ground, was released on EMI Records in the spring of 1981. It also included 10 songs. In general, its sound has lost a little in melody. Compared to the first album, it has become faster and heavier.
Critics also accepted this disc, mostly warmly. But it didn't hit the big charts. And this failure is often attributed to the fact that at that time the style of Wild Horses already seemed old-fashioned and uninventive to many listeners.
Plus, in the process of recording the album, certain contradictions arose between Bain and Robertson. And in the end, Robertson, after a performance in June 1981 at London's Paris Theater, decided to leave the project. In the future, by the way, he took part in the activities of a number of eminent rock bands. These are, in particular, Motörhead (Robertson playing guitar can be heard on the 1983 album Another Perfect Day), Statetrooper, Balaam and the Angel, Skyclad, The Popes, etc.
Following Robertson, Clive Edwards also left Wild Horses. However, the troubles didn't end there. Against the backdrop of internal squabbles, the EMI Records studio also lost its former interest in the group.
Bain, wanting to save the Wild Horses, hired new musicians - Reuben and Lawrence Archer, as well as Frank Noone. The group has evolved from a quartet to a quintet. And in this format, she gave several concert performances, and then nevertheless broke up forever.
Bain's later career
Shortly after completing the Wild Horses project, Jimmy Bain joined Dio. It was created by former Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio. Their collaboration continued throughout almost the entire second half of the 1980s. Here Bain showed up as a co-writer of many songs. Among them, for example, the songs “Rainbow in the Dark” and “Holy Diver”, which were popular at the time.
In 1989, the Dio group ceased to exist. After that, Bain organized, together with singer Mandy Lyon, the hard rock band World War III. But the first audio album of this group, unfortunately, did not win success with the listeners (and this led to the fact that the project died for a long time).
In 2005, Bain became a member of the commercial supergroup The Hollywood All Starz, which unites the heavy metal stars of the eighties and performs hits of those years. However, during the same period, he also showed himself as one of the founders of the 3 Legged Dogg group. She who in 2006 released an album with completely original, new material (and it was rated not so bad by music lovers!).
Jimmy Bain's last rock band, Last in Line, was formed in 2013. And on January 23, 2016, on the eve of the next concert that this group was supposed to give on a cruise ship, Bain died. The official cause of death is lung cancer.
Reissues of Wild Horses albums
It should be noted that, despite the very short history of the Wild Horses rock band, two of its studio albums have been reissued many times. The first reissue happened in 1993 as part of the special collection "Legendary Masters".
Then there were re-releases from Zoom Club in 1999, from Krescendo in 2009, and from Rock Candy in 2013. Moreover, on each of these editions there was a certain number of bonus tracks.
In 2014, a Wild Horses bootleg titled "Live In Japan 1980" was released to the public. In fact, it is a well-preserved recording from a performance in Tokyo, which took place on October 29, 1980.
