Lone Star

In 1975 the British hard rock five-piece came together around Kenny Driscoll on lead vocals, guitarists Tony Smith and Paul ‘Tonka’ Chapman—who was born on 9 June 1954 in Cardiff, Wales—along with bassist Pete Hurley and drummer Dixie Lee. The group focused on energetic, riff-driven heavy rock and drew early notice for its Roy Thomas Baker-produced first album, whose style and sonic approach echoed the pomp-infused hard rock of Queen’s initial recordings. In 1977 Driscoll stepped aside for John Sloman, who fronted the band on Firing On All Six; that record placed greater emphasis on the twin-guitar attack of Chapman and Smith while steering the material toward a more aggressive direction. Not long after the album appeared the unit disbanded, sending Sloman to Uriah Heep, Chapman into UFO in place of Michael Schenker, and Dixie Lee into Wild Horses.