Silverhead

Just as every musical movement has done, the early-'70s glam-rock explosion produced both household names such as David Bowie, Alice Cooper, T. Rex, and Slade and outfits that never broke through despite considerable expectations, among them Jobriath, the New York Dolls, and Silverhead. The British quintet—Michael Des Barres on vocals, Rod Davies handling percussion, vocals, and guitar, Nigel Harrison on bass, Pete Thompson covering keyboards and drums, and Stevie Forest on guitar and vocals—inked a deal with Purple Records, the short-lived imprint launched by Deep Purple, at the start of the decade. Their self-titled debut arrived in 1972 under the production aegis of Martin Birch, the studio veteran associated with both Deep Purple and the future Iron Maiden. Even the sleeve alone, which captured a heavily made-up Des Barres striking a pose in oversized bell-bottom trousers, positioned him as the group’s undisputed focal point from the outset. Titles recalling T. Rex, among them “Long Legged Lisa,” “Ace Supreme,” and “Silver Boogie,” suggested the band should have slotted neatly alongside the era’s leading acts, yet the record failed to resonate with a wider audience.

Stevie Forest exited before the follow-up and was replaced by Robbie Blunt, but 1973’s 16 and Savaged fared no better on the charts. An appearance in the unreleased film Arizonaslim did nothing to lift spirits, and the band dissolved soon afterward; a posthumous live set, Live at Rainbow, surfaced in Japan in 1976. Harrison later surfaced in the overlooked ’70s rock group Nite City before joining new-wave mainstays Blondie, while Blunt contributed to several solo albums by former Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant throughout the 1980s. Des Barres himself moved on, first to the little-known band Detective, then to a solo career and work as a television and film actor, before stepping in as Robert Palmer’s replacement in the Duran Duran side-project the Power Station. Although he never recorded with the group, the lineup fronted by Des Barres performed at the massive Live Aid benefit concert in 1985. In the late ’90s both the debut and 16 and Savaged were reissued on CD with remastered audio and bonus material, accompanied by another Japan-only live album, Show Me Everything.