Biography
Vardis, originating from Wakefield in England, maintained a career spanning longer than most acts tied to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, although their direction stood apart from the usual denim-and-leather expectations of that scene. Their approach instead centered on a raw, high-powered boogie that traced back to hard-edged 1970s glam and carried an uncommon humorous streak along with it.
The group first operated as Quo Vardis, a direct tribute to Status Quo, under the leadership of singer and guitarist Steve Zodiac, whose outsized Johnny Winter-meets-Ted Nugent persona shared the stage with bassist Alan Selway and drummer Gary Pearson. Legal pressures forced the removal of the prefix, after which they put out two singles that captured their frenetic boogie metal, blending equal amounts of Motörhead and Slade: September 1979’s “100 M.P.H.” and April 1980’s “If I Were King.” These recordings helped build a solid following and secured a contract with the independent Logo label, which released the band’s live debut album, also titled 100 M.P.H., in October 1980.
A studio follow-up arrived the next April and featured an amped-up cover of Hawkwind’s classic “Silver Machine.” Selway departed after 1982’s Quo Vardis, just as the group entered a lengthy dispute with their former management. Apart from the 1983 retrospective The Lion’s Share, activity remained quiet until 1986, when new bassist Terry Horbury arrived for the original-material album Vigilante. The band split soon afterward. Their catalog later received two greatest-hits packages: 1997’s Best of Vardis and the double-disc Castle anthology World’s Gone Mad: Best of Vardis in 2001.
Vardis re-formed in 2014 with Zodiac, Pearson, and bassist Terry Horbury. Pearson departed by year’s end, opening the way for drummer Joe Clancy, whose first studio appearance came on the 2015 EP 200 M.P.H. That year also brought a deal with SPV/Steamhammer and the start of work on a much-anticipated comeback LP. Horbury died in late December after a short battle with cancer, and the resulting fifth studio album, Red Eye, appeared in early 2016.
The group first operated as Quo Vardis, a direct tribute to Status Quo, under the leadership of singer and guitarist Steve Zodiac, whose outsized Johnny Winter-meets-Ted Nugent persona shared the stage with bassist Alan Selway and drummer Gary Pearson. Legal pressures forced the removal of the prefix, after which they put out two singles that captured their frenetic boogie metal, blending equal amounts of Motörhead and Slade: September 1979’s “100 M.P.H.” and April 1980’s “If I Were King.” These recordings helped build a solid following and secured a contract with the independent Logo label, which released the band’s live debut album, also titled 100 M.P.H., in October 1980.
A studio follow-up arrived the next April and featured an amped-up cover of Hawkwind’s classic “Silver Machine.” Selway departed after 1982’s Quo Vardis, just as the group entered a lengthy dispute with their former management. Apart from the 1983 retrospective The Lion’s Share, activity remained quiet until 1986, when new bassist Terry Horbury arrived for the original-material album Vigilante. The band split soon afterward. Their catalog later received two greatest-hits packages: 1997’s Best of Vardis and the double-disc Castle anthology World’s Gone Mad: Best of Vardis in 2001.
Vardis re-formed in 2014 with Zodiac, Pearson, and bassist Terry Horbury. Pearson departed by year’s end, opening the way for drummer Joe Clancy, whose first studio appearance came on the 2015 EP 200 M.P.H. That year also brought a deal with SPV/Steamhammer and the start of work on a much-anticipated comeback LP. Horbury died in late December after a short battle with cancer, and the resulting fifth studio album, Red Eye, appeared in early 2016.
Albums
Live
