Axe

Axe first took shape as a melodic hard rock group in 1979, achieving their initial breakthrough three years later when the third album Offering delivered the enduring rock staple “Rock ’N’ Roll Party in the Streets.” Operations stopped in 1984 following the fatal car accident that claimed guitarist Mike Osborne, yet the band resurfaced in the mid-1990s under the sole enduring presence of lead vocalist and guitarist Bobby Barth. Sporadic touring and recording continued across subsequent decades, yielding several live and retrospective collections plus three further studio releases—Five in 1996, The Crown in 2000, and Final Offering in 2019—before the act formally dissolved.

Originally assembled in Gainesville, Florida, in 1977 from alumni of Babyface, the founding roster featured Edgar J. Riley on vocals, Bobby Barth and Mike Osborne on guitar, Michael Turpin on bass, and Teddy Mueller on drums. MCA issued the self-titled debut in 1979, followed by Living on the Edge the next year. A shift to Atco preceded the 1982 arrival of Offering, which reached number 81 on the Billboard 200 buoyed by the airplay successes “Rock ’N’ Roll Party in the Streets” and “Now or Never,” earning the group arena slots alongside Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Deep Purple, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Cheap Trick, and ZZ Top. Nemesis appeared in 1983 and grazed the lower chart regions, yet the following year brought tragedy when Mike Osborne died in the same crash that seriously injured Bobby Barth, abruptly ending the band’s momentum.

After the members dispersed, Barth spent a brief period with Blackfoot before reviving Axe toward the close of the 1990s alongside a changed lineup that incorporated ex-Frank Zappa vocalist Bob Harris, Edgar Riley, Jr. handling keyboards and backing vocals, drummer Teddy Mueller, bassist Blake Eberhard, and keyboardist Rob Lowe. The studio album Five surfaced in 1996, trailed by the pair of 20 Years from Home compilations containing newly recorded renditions of earlier material. The Crown followed in 2000, and the concert set Live in America 1981 appeared the subsequent year.

Barth returned to Blackfoot in 2004, leaving Axe largely dormant for the ensuing decade until drummer Ted Mueller’s passing in 2012. In 2018 the group revealed plans for one final studio album; Final Offering, credited to Barth, Bob Harris, Gerald Berger, Scott Misner, Brad Banhagel, and Craig Gysler, emerged in 2019. The box set The Albums 1979-1983, encompassing the four early long-players from the debut through Nemesis, was issued in 2024.