Biography
Hailing from England, the Quireboys fuse blues-infused, glam-tinged hard rock with the rowdy tavern energy of the Faces and Rod Stewart. The group surfaced during the mid-1980s under the provocative handle the Queerboys before adopting the Quireboys name and issuing their gold-certified debut album A Bit of What You Fancy in 1990. Operations halted three years afterward, yet the lineup reformed in 2001 and delivered the album This Is Rock'n'Roll. Renewed interest after the turn of the century propelled later releases Black Eyed Sons (2014) and White Trash Blues (2017) onto the U.K. indie charts. Ahead of their thirteenth studio album The Band Rolls On…, the outfit divided into rival factions.
Vocalist Spike Gray and guitarist Guy Bailey led the Queerboys, which also featured bassist Nigel Mogg—nephew of UFO bassist Pete Way—and drummer Paul Hornby. Hornby departed soon afterward to help establish the future U.K. underground favorites the Dogs D'Amour alongside frontman Tyla. By 1987 the Queerboys had switched to the more marketable Quireboys identity and incorporated keyboardist Chris Johnstone, guitarist Ginger, and drummer Coze. During 1988 the band cut “Mayfair,” which became a concert staple, and “There She Goes Again” as singles for EMI’s U.K. label Survival Records. Ginger was dismissed by 1990—he later founded the critically praised the Wildhearts—and after recruiting drummer Ian Wallace the Quireboys signed directly with EMI and tracked their strong first album A Bit of What You Fancy. The members openly embraced their influences without concealment. The essence of Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and the Faces permeated tracks such as “Sex Party,” the tender “Sweet Mary Ann,” and especially the pub rocker “7 O'clock.”
A Bit of What You Fancy achieved notable international success 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, EMI’s U.S. division Capitol altered the band’s name to the London Quireboys after the members had already attained genuine rock-star and media-darling status in Britain. With manager Sharon Osbourne attached, the album received an initially warm American reception, and prospects brightened as the group launched its first U.S. tour. The rise of grunge and alternative music stalled their commercial progress, yet they persisted and delivered their second album Bitter Sweet & Twisted in 1993. Produced by Bob Rock, the fourteen-track set largely lacked the debut’s vitality. Conceived originally as a double album, numerous outtakes from those sessions lingered in the archives. After European touring sapped their momentum, the band dissolved. The 1994 Castle Communications compilation From Tooting to Barking gathered early Queerboys demos that surfaced after the split.
In the aftermath, former members pursued an extensive series of side projects. Bassist Nigel Mogg and guitarist Guy Griffin first teamed for the Los Angeles-based venture Blood from a Stone, which soon fractured; Mogg then relocated to New York and co-founded the acclaimed Nancy Boy featuring vocalist Donovan Leitch. Legendary executive Seymour Stein signed the act, which released its self-titled album on Elektra in 1996. Gray received an offer to front Slash’s Snakepit but declined and instead assembled the short-lived God’s Hotel. Following a 1994 cassette-only blues project with Darrell Bath titled Take Out Some Insurance, the singer revived the Quireboys for a one-off 1995 tribute concert at the Newcastle Mayfair honoring his late father. Members of the Almighty and Honeycrack filled the roles of Mogg and Griffin for that performance. In 2001 Gray and Griffin officially relaunched the band, issuing the live album Lost in Space together with the well-received third studio album This Is Rock 'n' Roll, which charted just outside the Billboard Top 100. Subsequent releases included the solid Well Oiled (2004), Homewreckers & Heartbreakers (2008), and Halfpenny Dancer (2009). The Quireboys collaborated with Joe Elliott of Def Leppard on the Down 'n' Outz project in 2010 and toured with Paul Rodgers the next year.
Their seventh studio album Beautiful Curse arrived in 2013, initiating a consistent release cadence that encompassed the U.K.-charting Black Eyed Sons and White Trash Blues through 2017. The group’s vigorous twelfth studio set Amazing Disgrace surfaced in 2019 and contained the streaming success “Seven Deadly Sins.” In 2022 the Quireboys announced the dismissal of longtime frontman Spike Gray and continued with Guy Griffin on vocals. Retaining legal co-ownership of the name, Spike assembled his own version of the Quireboys with original members Guy Bailey and Nigel Mogg. The Spike-led lineup released the holiday single “Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year” and “Christmas Day” later that year, while Griffin’s Quireboys issued “Lie to Me” ahead of The Band Rolls On…. Spike and Bailey worked on fresh material until Bailey’s death on April 7, 2023.
Vocalist Spike Gray and guitarist Guy Bailey led the Queerboys, which also featured bassist Nigel Mogg—nephew of UFO bassist Pete Way—and drummer Paul Hornby. Hornby departed soon afterward to help establish the future U.K. underground favorites the Dogs D'Amour alongside frontman Tyla. By 1987 the Queerboys had switched to the more marketable Quireboys identity and incorporated keyboardist Chris Johnstone, guitarist Ginger, and drummer Coze. During 1988 the band cut “Mayfair,” which became a concert staple, and “There She Goes Again” as singles for EMI’s U.K. label Survival Records. Ginger was dismissed by 1990—he later founded the critically praised the Wildhearts—and after recruiting drummer Ian Wallace the Quireboys signed directly with EMI and tracked their strong first album A Bit of What You Fancy. The members openly embraced their influences without concealment. The essence of Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and the Faces permeated tracks such as “Sex Party,” the tender “Sweet Mary Ann,” and especially the pub rocker “7 O'clock.”
A Bit of What You Fancy achieved notable international success 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, EMI’s U.S. division Capitol altered the band’s name to the London Quireboys after the members had already attained genuine rock-star and media-darling status in Britain. With manager Sharon Osbourne attached, the album received an initially warm American reception, and prospects brightened as the group launched its first U.S. tour. The rise of grunge and alternative music stalled their commercial progress, yet they persisted and delivered their second album Bitter Sweet & Twisted in 1993. Produced by Bob Rock, the fourteen-track set largely lacked the debut’s vitality. Conceived originally as a double album, numerous outtakes from those sessions lingered in the archives. After European touring sapped their momentum, the band dissolved. The 1994 Castle Communications compilation From Tooting to Barking gathered early Queerboys demos that surfaced after the split.
In the aftermath, former members pursued an extensive series of side projects. Bassist Nigel Mogg and guitarist Guy Griffin first teamed for the Los Angeles-based venture Blood from a Stone, which soon fractured; Mogg then relocated to New York and co-founded the acclaimed Nancy Boy featuring vocalist Donovan Leitch. Legendary executive Seymour Stein signed the act, which released its self-titled album on Elektra in 1996. Gray received an offer to front Slash’s Snakepit but declined and instead assembled the short-lived God’s Hotel. Following a 1994 cassette-only blues project with Darrell Bath titled Take Out Some Insurance, the singer revived the Quireboys for a one-off 1995 tribute concert at the Newcastle Mayfair honoring his late father. Members of the Almighty and Honeycrack filled the roles of Mogg and Griffin for that performance. In 2001 Gray and Griffin officially relaunched the band, issuing the live album Lost in Space together with the well-received third studio album This Is Rock 'n' Roll, which charted just outside the Billboard Top 100. Subsequent releases included the solid Well Oiled (2004), Homewreckers & Heartbreakers (2008), and Halfpenny Dancer (2009). The Quireboys collaborated with Joe Elliott of Def Leppard on the Down 'n' Outz project in 2010 and toured with Paul Rodgers the next year.
Their seventh studio album Beautiful Curse arrived in 2013, initiating a consistent release cadence that encompassed the U.K.-charting Black Eyed Sons and White Trash Blues through 2017. The group’s vigorous twelfth studio set Amazing Disgrace surfaced in 2019 and contained the streaming success “Seven Deadly Sins.” In 2022 the Quireboys announced the dismissal of longtime frontman Spike Gray and continued with Guy Griffin on vocals. Retaining legal co-ownership of the name, Spike assembled his own version of the Quireboys with original members Guy Bailey and Nigel Mogg. The Spike-led lineup released the holiday single “Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year” and “Christmas Day” later that year, while Griffin’s Quireboys issued “Lie to Me” ahead of The Band Rolls On…. Spike and Bailey worked on fresh material until Bailey’s death on April 7, 2023.
Albums
