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SHOVE IT
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Here I've started presenting some material about Roger's other group, THE CROSS.
VISIT: CLAYTON MOSS ON MYSPACE A forum for The Cross has also been set up:
Picture and article: RECORD COLLECTOR, December 1992 THE CROSS - Simon Duckett looks at the brief life of Roger Taylor's other band The news that Roger Taylor, long-serving Queen drummer and occasional vocalist, had formed his own 'supergroup' in 1987 was greeted with some concern amongst the band's followers. Some thought it indicated the beginning of the end for Queen. Thankfully, this proved not to be the case, and for some years the Cross have happily co-existed alongside the main group, providing an impressive vehicle for Roger's underrated talents. Not only is he one of the world's greatest drummers, but he also has a great voice
with an amazing range, is blessed with obvious good looks, and is quite capable of
writing hit songs of the highest calibre. Who, for example, outside of Queen's
committed following, is aware that classics like "Radio Ga Ga", "A Kind of Magic",
"Invisible Man" and most of "Breakthru" are Taylor compositions?
On the strength of his promising solo albums - "Fun in Space" and "Strange Frontier", Roger should have become a major international star. It can only have been a mixture of bad promotion and a hostile press that prevented him from reaching the commercial heights he deserved. Taylor changed tack by shunning a strictly solo career to form his own band, making it clear from the outset that his activities with the Cross would never interfere with Queen. And he clearly kept his word, contributing greatly to the success of Queen's "The Miracle" and "Innuendo" LPs. With
Queen's
future hanging in the balance in the wake of Freddie
Mercury's death, it's seemed likely that the result might be
a raised profile for the
Cross. But their much-delayed third album, "Blue Rock",
issued in Europe and Japan in September 1991, never achieved its January
1992 U.K. release. Now all
the signs point towards the
Cross being disbanded at the
end of this year, after a farewell show at the Marquee on December 21st. Although Roger Taylor handles lead vocals, additional guitar, percussion and additional keyboards, the Cross are far from a one-man band, with Clayton Moss (lead guitars and backing vocals), Josh Macrae (drums), Peter Noone (not the Herman's Hermit! bass and backing vocals) and Queen sideman Spike Edney (keyboards). Whereas Queen favoured complex harmonies, subtle blends of diverse musical forms and classically-influenced rock, the Cross tout a direct, harder sound with the twin guitars to the fore. Of course, Roger's soulful, earthy vocals couldn't be further from Freddie's majestic, powerful tones. But the group do share Queen's willingness to tackle a variety of musical styles without losing their identity, as clearly indicated by tracks like `Cowboys And Indians'. with its dance rhythms, and the lavish ballad, "Heaven For Everyone". After forming in the summer of 1987, the Cross debuted at Thames Television's Teddington Studios in October - a superb hour-long set which was filmed and broadcast in a very edited from on "Meltdown" in December. Fans next got a chance to see the group in concert in February and March 1988 when the Cross touted an enlarged set around several smaller British venues. This included several songs from Roger's solo albums, as well as material from "Shove It", their debut LP, released at the start of that year. A brief tour of Germany followed shortly after, a move which has ensured a very large following for the band in that country ever since. At
the end of 1988, the Cross delivered a curt yet dynamic set at Queen's
first Christmas party, where they were joined by John Deacon and Brian
May for an encore of several blues numbers and 'I'm
In Love With My Car".
Roger was preoccupied with Queen during
much of 1989, but the group
did find time to record n second album,
"Mad, Bad And Dangerous
To Know",
and undertake a whistle-stop
tour of Holland and Germany in the autumn. The
L.P. eventually appeared in spring 1990, though most U.K. fans
had to wait until another
Christmas party at
the Astoria before they
got to see the Cross
performing the new material in concert. On this
occasion, the band turned in
a typically fine set, with sine minor line-up
change: Mike Moran assisted on keyboards, sitting in for Spike, who
was on the road with Elton John. They premiered one new song,
and were joined
for several encores by Brian May, who sang lead vocals on "Let Me Out"
and a surprising rendition of
Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down". Here are some picture sleeves reproduced from the article:
and these again in colour:
r
(Left) The Cross debuted with 'Cowboys and Indians', a dance-rock hybrid which strangely failed to create much interest beyond committed fans. (Right) Like the band's 'Blue Rock' album, the 'New Dark Ages single has yet to appear in Britain, despite being a success in Germany. Some information about material released by The Cross: Albums
by The Cross ‘Shove
It’ – 1987/8 Shove
It/Cowboys and Indians /Contact/ Heaven For Everyone (Freddie
Mercury lead vocals) Stand
Up For Love/Love On A Tightrope/Love Lies Bleeding/Rough Justice ‘Mad,
Bad and Dangerous to Know’ – 1989 Most
of this album was written by other members of The Cross apart from
Roger. Only Old Men Lay Down and Final Destination were written by
Roger. On
Top Of The World Ma/Liar/Closer To You/Breakdown/Penetration
Guru/Power to Love Sister
Blue/Better Things/Passion for Trash/Old Men Lay Down/Final
Destination There was one more album released in Germany - ‘Blue Rock’ in 1991. 'New
Dark Ages' from this album was promoted with a sleeve (above) which
featured the same baby as featured on Queen's 1Las Palabras de Amor'
single of 1982. There
are also a few non-album tracks like ‘Manipulator’, and a cover
of Hendrix's 'Foxy Lady' is added on the CD version of 'Mad, Bad and
Dangerous to Know'.
THE CROSS - FACTFILE The band were formed after advertisements were placed in major British music papers - Roger was not named, but it was mentioned that a 'Drummer of a top rock band' was looking for musicians. After receiving demos, shortlisting and auditioning, Roger chose the make-up of the group. 'Shove It' was a saying of Roger's PA Chris 'Crystal' Taylor. (more about him here). 'Heaven for Everyone' was re-recorded by Roger on lead vocal and released as a single. The Cross performed at the Montreux Rock Festival in 1988, insisting on playing live, unlike the usual miming to backing tracks. 'Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know' was a quote that had been used to describe Lord Byron, who had been imprisoned in a castle in Montreux where most of the album had been recorded. (Source of the above: As It Began, by Jacky Gunn and Jim Jenkins) I particularly like the song 'Old Men Lay Down' as it refers to China where the government had turned on its own people in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Here are the lyrics, along with a picture of that tragic event:
Take a trip to China, if
you dare (Reproduced from www.ultimatequeen.co.uk)
Here's a selection of Cross performances I found on Youtube. Enjoy!:
Manipulator/Heaven for Everyone
Cowboys and Indians
New Dark Ages
Liar
Shove It
Cowboys and Indians/Stand Up For Love
There is more about The Cross here. (Some Cross referencing - ha ha!) |
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