Biography
English rockers the Quireboys fuse blues-infused, glam-tinged hard rock with the rowdy tavern energy of the Faces and Rod Stewart. Formed during the mid-'80s, the outfit first performed under the provocative Queerboys tag before adopting the Quireboys name and delivering their gold-certified debut album A Bit of What You Fancy in 1990. Three years afterward the group went dormant, only to regroup in 2001 with a refreshed roster and unveil the LP This Is Rock'n'Roll. Renewed post-millennial interest propelled later releases Black Eyed Sons (2014) and White Trash Blues (2017) onto the U.K. indie charts. Prior to the arrival of their thirteenth studio album, The Band Rolls On…, the collective divided into rival factions.
Fronted by vocalist Spike Gray and guitarist Guy Bailey, the Queerboys were completed by bassist Nigel Mogg—nephew of UFO bassist Pete Way—and drummer Paul Hornby. Hornby soon departed to launch future U.K. underground favorites the Dogs D'Amour alongside singer Tyla. By 1987 the Queerboys had rebranded themselves the more marketable Quireboys, bringing keyboardist Chris Johnstone, guitarist Ginger, and drummer Coze into the lineup. In 1988 they cut the future concert staple “Mayfair” and the track “There She Goes Again” as singles for EMI’s U.K. subsidiary Survival Records. Ginger was dismissed by 1990—he would later establish the widely praised the Wildhearts—and, following the recruitment of drummer Ian Wallace, the Quireboys inked a deal with EMI proper to record their muscular first album A Bit of What You Fancy. The band made little effort to conceal their influences; the essence of Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and the Faces permeated numbers such as “Sex Party,” the tender “Sweet Mary Ann,” and the pub-rocking “7 O'clock.”
A Bit of What You Fancy enjoyed substantial international sales and spawned four major singles beyond the U.S.: “Hey You,” “7 O'clock,” “I Don't Love You Anymore,” and “There She Goes Again.” For the American edition, Capitol—EMI’s U.S. parent—altered the group’s name to the London Quireboys. Bolstered by manager Sharon Osbourne, the album initially generated strong Stateside interest, yet the rise of grunge curtailed its commercial trajectory. The band persevered, issuing the 1993 follow-up Bitter Sweet & Twisted, produced by Bob Rock and comprising fourteen tracks that largely missed the debut’s vitality. Originally planned as a double album, numerous outtakes from those sessions lingered unreleased. After European touring the outfit dissolved. In 1994 Castle Communications issued From Tooting to Barking, a compilation of early Queerboys recordings.
Following the split, former members pursued an array of side ventures; bassist Nigel Mogg and guitarist Guy Griffin first teamed in the L.A.-based Blood from a Stone project, which promptly dissolved. Mogg relocated to New York to join the acclaimed Nancy Boy, fronted by Donovan Leitch; the Seymour Stein–signed act delivered its self-titled Elektra album in 1996. Gray was offered the vocal position in Slash’s Snakepit but declined, opting instead to form the short-lived God's Hotel. After issuing the 1994 cassette-only blues set Take Out Some Insurance with Darrell Bath, the singer briefly revived the Quireboys for a 1995 tribute concert at Newcastle Mayfair honoring his late father, with members of the Almighty and Honeycrack filling in. The band formally reunited under Gray and Griffin in 2001, releasing the live album Lost in Space and the well-received third studio LP This Is Rock 'n' Roll, which charted just outside the Billboard Top 100. Subsequent releases included Well Oiled (2004), Homewreckers & Heartbreakers (2008), and Halfpenny Dancer (2009). In 2010 the Quireboys collaborated with Joe Elliott of Def Leppard as Down 'n' Outz and toured with Paul Rodgers the next year.
Their seventh studio album, Beautiful Curse, surfaced in 2013 and inaugurated a run of projects that encompassed the U.K.-charting Black Eyed Sons and White Trash Blues, extending the Quireboys’ activity through 2017. The twelfth studio effort, Amazing Disgrace, emerged in 2019 and featured the streaming success “Seven Deadly Sins.” In 2022 the group announced the dismissal of longtime frontman Spike Gray and continued with Guy Griffin on vocals. Retaining shared legal rights to the Quireboys name, Spike assembled an offshoot featuring original members Guy Bailey and Nigel Mogg. The Spike-led version issued the holiday single “Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year”/“Christmas Day” later that year, while Griffin’s iteration released “Lie to Me” ahead of The Band Rolls On…. Spike and Bailey worked on new songs until Bailey’s death on April 7, 2023.
Fronted by vocalist Spike Gray and guitarist Guy Bailey, the Queerboys were completed by bassist Nigel Mogg—nephew of UFO bassist Pete Way—and drummer Paul Hornby. Hornby soon departed to launch future U.K. underground favorites the Dogs D'Amour alongside singer Tyla. By 1987 the Queerboys had rebranded themselves the more marketable Quireboys, bringing keyboardist Chris Johnstone, guitarist Ginger, and drummer Coze into the lineup. In 1988 they cut the future concert staple “Mayfair” and the track “There She Goes Again” as singles for EMI’s U.K. subsidiary Survival Records. Ginger was dismissed by 1990—he would later establish the widely praised the Wildhearts—and, following the recruitment of drummer Ian Wallace, the Quireboys inked a deal with EMI proper to record their muscular first album A Bit of What You Fancy. The band made little effort to conceal their influences; the essence of Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and the Faces permeated numbers such as “Sex Party,” the tender “Sweet Mary Ann,” and the pub-rocking “7 O'clock.”
A Bit of What You Fancy enjoyed substantial international sales and spawned four major singles beyond the U.S.: “Hey You,” “7 O'clock,” “I Don't Love You Anymore,” and “There She Goes Again.” For the American edition, Capitol—EMI’s U.S. parent—altered the group’s name to the London Quireboys. Bolstered by manager Sharon Osbourne, the album initially generated strong Stateside interest, yet the rise of grunge curtailed its commercial trajectory. The band persevered, issuing the 1993 follow-up Bitter Sweet & Twisted, produced by Bob Rock and comprising fourteen tracks that largely missed the debut’s vitality. Originally planned as a double album, numerous outtakes from those sessions lingered unreleased. After European touring the outfit dissolved. In 1994 Castle Communications issued From Tooting to Barking, a compilation of early Queerboys recordings.
Following the split, former members pursued an array of side ventures; bassist Nigel Mogg and guitarist Guy Griffin first teamed in the L.A.-based Blood from a Stone project, which promptly dissolved. Mogg relocated to New York to join the acclaimed Nancy Boy, fronted by Donovan Leitch; the Seymour Stein–signed act delivered its self-titled Elektra album in 1996. Gray was offered the vocal position in Slash’s Snakepit but declined, opting instead to form the short-lived God's Hotel. After issuing the 1994 cassette-only blues set Take Out Some Insurance with Darrell Bath, the singer briefly revived the Quireboys for a 1995 tribute concert at Newcastle Mayfair honoring his late father, with members of the Almighty and Honeycrack filling in. The band formally reunited under Gray and Griffin in 2001, releasing the live album Lost in Space and the well-received third studio LP This Is Rock 'n' Roll, which charted just outside the Billboard Top 100. Subsequent releases included Well Oiled (2004), Homewreckers & Heartbreakers (2008), and Halfpenny Dancer (2009). In 2010 the Quireboys collaborated with Joe Elliott of Def Leppard as Down 'n' Outz and toured with Paul Rodgers the next year.
Their seventh studio album, Beautiful Curse, surfaced in 2013 and inaugurated a run of projects that encompassed the U.K.-charting Black Eyed Sons and White Trash Blues, extending the Quireboys’ activity through 2017. The twelfth studio effort, Amazing Disgrace, emerged in 2019 and featured the streaming success “Seven Deadly Sins.” In 2022 the group announced the dismissal of longtime frontman Spike Gray and continued with Guy Griffin on vocals. Retaining shared legal rights to the Quireboys name, Spike assembled an offshoot featuring original members Guy Bailey and Nigel Mogg. The Spike-led version issued the holiday single “Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year”/“Christmas Day” later that year, while Griffin’s iteration released “Lie to Me” ahead of The Band Rolls On…. Spike and Bailey worked on new songs until Bailey’s death on April 7, 2023.
Albums
Wardour Street
2024
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
2022
Lost in Space
2014
From Tooting to Barking
2014
Singles
