Emerging from north London during the early 1980s, the Rapiers built a reputation through a Merseybeat-rooted rock & roll style echoing Cliff Richard and the Shadows. Fronted by vocalist Colin Pryce-Jones, the band played countless English venues and issued its first recording, the 1983 EP Vol. I, via Red Door Records. Between 1984 and 1986 three additional EPs appeared, while Ace Records put out the quartet’s initial vinyl LP, Straight to the Point, in 1985. Their energetic stage presence drew coverage from The Face and New Musical Express. The follow-up album, 1961, arrived on Ace Records in 1987. Throughout those years the Rapiers served as backing musicians for Cliff Richard, Billy J. Kramer, and Freddie Garrity. Fury Records released The Return of the Rapiers in 1991, and Back to the Point came out to strong acclaim three years later. After guitarists Neil Ansby and bassist Brad Dallaston departed, guitarist Wayne Nicholls and bassist Nathan John Hulse joined. In 2000 the band issued You’ll Never Walk Alone With and continued touring, including dates supporting Mike Berry. A greatest-hits collection, Spotlight on the Rapiers, appeared on Fury Records in 2002. The group is slated to portray the Shadows in the touring British stage production Cliff the Musical. Return of and Back to the Point surfaced in 2003, with 1961 following in December 2005.
