Quartz

Quartz emerged from Birmingham's industrial landscape as an English hard rock and metal act during the late 1970s, aligning with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Early 1980s momentum arrived through a Tony Iommi-produced debut album before the group halted operations in 1984. A single 2011 performance paved the way for their official 2016 reformation, which yielded the studio album Fear No Evil.

The ensemble first operated as Bandylegs and adopted the Quartz name in 1976 after securing a Jet Records contract. Its original roster featured Mike Taylor on vocals, Geoff Nicholls on rhythm guitar and keyboards, Malcolm Cope on drums, Mick Hopkins on lead guitar, and Derek Arnold on bass guitar.

The self-titled 1977 debut, shaped by Tony Iommi's production, led into intensive touring that placed the band alongside Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Saxon, Rush, Gillan, and UFO. Stand Up and Fight followed in 1980 through MCA, while Against All Odds appeared in 1983 as the final studio release before the 1984 split; Geoff Nicholls later joined Black Sabbath and remained an essential contributor through 2004.

Quartz staged a 2011 reunion concert with Nicholls, Cope, Hopkins, Arnold, and vocalist David Garner, who had replaced Taylor on Against All Odds; Taylor himself died in 2016 after battling lung cancer. The show's strong reception encouraged an official return, and in 2016 the band delivered Fear No Evil via High Roller Records.