More

More, based in London, England, ranked among the uncommon New Wave of British Heavy Metal acts that landed a major-label contract, their path diverging from the standard rough-and-tumble origins of the movement. The band had first coalesced in 1979 as a blues-rock unit, then honed its skills on club circuits in Germany before returning home exactly as the grassroots heavy metal surge began to gain traction.

Guitarist Kenny Cox, the central architect, locked in the lineup by recruiting vocalist Paul Mario Day and guitarist Paul Todd—both ex-members of Iron Maiden before that band’s breakthrough, with Todd famously lasting just two days in Steve Harris’s ranks—plus bassist Brian Day, unrelated to the singer, and drummer Frank Darch. A timely opening arrived when Friday Rock Show producers scheduled a radio session for May 23, 1980; the resulting broadcast highlighted several commanding tracks in the group’s sharpened heavy-rock direction and persuaded Atlantic Records A&R executive Phil Carson to offer a deal, yielding the debut album Warhead in early 1981.

By then Laurie Mansworth had stepped in on second guitar after Todd’s exit, freeing More to tour in support of their hard-rock-and-metal blend—comparable to Quartz, Fist, and Tygers of Pan Tang—first across the U.K. alongside Swiss act Krokus and then through Europe with Iron Maiden. These runs introduced drummer Andy John Burton and, paired with headline slots on the Atomic Rock Tour that spotlighted rising heavy-metal talent throughout Britain, strengthened the band’s live standing and earned them an opening spot at the second Monsters of Rock Festival, shared with Blackfoot, Slade, Blue Öyster Cult, Whitesnake, and headliners AC/DC.

Work on the pivotal second album commenced in early 1982, yet difficulties quickly surfaced for the reduced quartet after Mansworth’s departure when creative tensions severed relations between Cox and Paul Day. Day’s abrupt exit froze the sessions while a replacement was sought and forced withdrawal from a Black Sabbath support tour, forfeiting vital exposure and income. Once recording resumed and the material was reshaped around new singer Mick Stratton, forward momentum had stalled and Atlantic’s commitment had eroded.

Blood & Thunder surfaced with scant promotion at the close of 1982, its tepid reception failing to reverse the label’s waning interest. By 1983 More required a new home, like many fading NWOBHM acts, and called it quits before the year ended. Kenny Cox staged a short-lived attempt to revive More in 1985 with an entirely fresh roster of unknowns, yet the effort drew no real attention, dissolving the project once more and freeing the guitarist to join the part-supergroup Mammoth and explore further endeavors.