Knightshade
Knightshade were a successful mainstream/metal rock group from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. They had early chart sucess with Out for the Count in 1986 (five weeks in the chart, peaking at 26) and later with The Physical You (1987; seven weeks, peaking at 14) and Last Night in the City (1988; peaking at 9). They also hit the album charts with their debut release Out For the Night in 1987 (three weeks in the album charts, peaking at 37). On the back of this sucess, they supported international acts ZZ Top, Deep Purple, Bon Jovi, The Angels, Guns and Roses, Jimi Barnes and Stryper. All later releases were on Hark Records, including the 1995 single Television Eyes that had a video made by Greg Page. At their peak they had a fan club with 800 members.
The band traces its origins to 1982 in Te Puke, originally calling themselves Clearlite. The band played mainly surf clubs and pubs in coastal towns, but moved to Hamilton and changed their name to Knightshade. The most well-known lineup included Wayne Elliot (lead vocals), Rik Bernards (guitar), Gavin Lind (guitar), Jon Bell (bass), and Alan Grady (drums). Other members have included Paul Martin (guitar), Craig Pollock (guitar), Simon Garlick (guitar), Laurie Goosens (guitar) and Kevin Taylor (bass). Bernards and Bell had played together in The Bronx. Guitarist Rik Bernards taught music at Wintec in the late 1990s, and his classes were taught for a time by Garlick while Bernards was studying overseas. Alan Grady is the drummer in "The Stevie Ray-Cream and Hendrix Experience" and "A.K.A" a tribute to Toto, Foriegner and Journey.
The band reformed in 2011 after a 15-year hiatus, releasing a song called Rough at the Top. The curreny lineup is Wayne Elliot (vocals), Rik Bernards (guitar), Craig Pollock (guitar), Alan Grady (drums) and Yao (keyboards)
Releases
- 3 Points of Metal album, 1984 (with Tokyo and Strikemaster)
- Out for the Count single, 1986
- The Physical You single, 1986
- Out For the Night album 1987
- You Dont Need Me single, 1988
- Last Night in the City single, 1988
- Television Eyes single, 1995
- Knightshade best-of album, 1995
- Blood and Money and Free Love appear on the 1986 Attack from Downunda compilation
- You Don't Need Me appears on the 1987 compilation Vicious Vinyl
- Television Eyes appears on the 1995 compilation Bark Number One
- Television Eyes appears on the 1995 compilation Kiwi Hit Disc 31
- You Don't Need Me appears on the 2008 compilation Old Skool of Rock
- Blood and Money, Pay the Price, Free Love, Reach For The Sky, and Livin’ A Life appear on the 2011 compilation No Peace For The Wicked
Published Articles
- Remembering the Good Old Days of Knightshade by Ben Telfer, Waikato Times 28 July 2007 [1]
- Knightshade are Back to their Deadly Best by Jonathan Carson, Waikato Times 22 December 2011 [2]
