Click above to see all the COFFIN NAILS drummers! |
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The Official COFFIN NAILS Biography |
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Formed
in the summer of 1985, the 'Nails started out with Gra on bass, Toby
on drums, Tony on vocals and Humungus on vocals and guitar. The band
quickly went from strength to strength and played about 10 shows
before being offered a gig at the notorious Klubfoot, and then by
releasing two tracks on the infamous Stompin' at the Klubfoot series
of albums.
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This resulted in Toby joining the Meteors on drums. His
replacement in the Coffin Nails was Dave Ward, one of the bands loyal
followers from the beginning.
The next loss to the band came when Tony announced he was moving to the North of England. Good vocalists being difficult to find, drummer Dave stepped in and took over as singer, while Smurf replaced him on drums. Now the line up was stronger than ever! After brief negotiations in early 1987, Nervous Records offered to release the band's debut album, Ein Bier Bitte. A huge European tour was organised to promote the release, and both the tour and the album were huge successes. Everything was going well until February 1988 when Dave Ward's untimely departure left the band singer-less. That was until Humungus, the band's guitarist, stepped forward and found that his vocal talents and stage presence made him the ideal front-man for the band. So impressed were Link Records - a hugely successful alternative label - that a new record deal was offered and Fistful Of Burgers, the band's second studio album, was released at the end of 1988. A steady flow of gigs continued, mainly on the continent, until 1989 when Gra left to concentrate on his metal band. A replacement was found in the form of Scott 'Mad Man' Milsom, a young double bass player. This gave the band a new lease of life and a totally new sound.
Gigs continued, but a day before a major German festival Fraddy rang the other band members to say he couldn't play the gig.
You can't keep a good thing down
for long and 1996 saw the return of band with a vengeance. 'Grandpa' Neil Fisher
joined on drums and Scott switched to electric bass. Europe was now more eager
than ever to see the band perform, and gigs flooded in.
A German tour followed,
a one off show in Sweden, UK concerts (including the huge Wasted
Festival and Speedfreaks Ball).
In 2004, Cherry Red / Anagram Records added to their 'Psychobilly Collectors Series' by putting together a Coffin Nails 'best of' album entitled Lets Wreck - The Gravest Hits. The album, covering the bands history from their debut (Ein Bier Bitte) to their lastest album (Hard As Nails), also includes a great collection of old and new photo's (some exclusive to this compilation). As predicted gig offers came from the USA. The bands first American shows were in California in 2005, then New York and back to California in 2006. 2007 started with an appearance at the
'Satanic Stomp' festival in
Speyer, Germany (where the band were joined on stage by the legendary
Nigel Lewis - ex Meteors), and gigs included a headline show at a
national UK Scooter Rally. 2008 and the band played for the first time in Italy and returned after many years to one of Europe's best festivals 'Just For Fun' in Spain. The year ended with a mini-tour of Germany and supporting Batmobile at the infamous Dingwalls venue in London. Song writing got underway with a new studio album in mind. 2009 has been a very busy year for the band, playing concerts across the UK, the Satanic Stomp in Germany, 'You Only Live Once' festival in France, a headline show in Bremen and their first show in Finland. Clive leaves the band and Kris Rock-It joins on drums. A brand new album The Dead Don't Get Older is released to rapturous reviews and even receives airplay on BBC Radio 1's Punk Show with Mike Davies.
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