Widowmaker

Decades prior to the brief heavy metal project that ex-Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider led under the Widowmaker name in the early 1990s, an unrelated British group operating under the identical moniker had already come and gone during a briefer mid-1970s run. Formed in 1975 by ex-Mott the Hoople guitarist Ariel Bender, whose real name is Luther Grosvenor, the lineup earned semi-supergroup status through its roster of seasoned players: vocalist Steve Ellis, late of U.K. chart-toppers Love Affair; guitarist Hugh Lloyd-Langton, previously of Hawkwind; Australian bassist Bob Daisley, whose résumé already included Khavas Jute, Chicken Shack, and Mungo Jerry; and drummer Paul Nicholls, formerly with Lindisfarne. After only a handful of months spent woodshedding at Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Manticore Studios in London, the five musicians leveraged their industry ties to secure a Jet Records deal, placing their debut single “On the Road” in shops by February 1976. The self-titled album that quickly followed scraped the lower reaches of the American charts, peaking at number 196, and displayed a wide stylistic range encompassing blues, country, folk, and hard rock—none of it as ominous as the band’s chosen title suggested. That very breadth both hinted at abundant creative options and underscored the personal and musical frictions that would soon dissolve the unit. Once the members hit the road—supporting Nazareth across the U.K. and ELO in the U.S.—tensions surfaced rapidly, prompting Ellis to exit upon their return and cite repeated conflicts with Bender. John Butler stepped in as vocalist for the 1977 follow-up Too Late to Cry, yet the group splintered within months of its release. While the remaining musicians pursued separate paths, bassist Daisley amassed the most extensive subsequent credits, joining Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, and numerous other acts. His later prominence as a journeyman ultimately eclipsed Widowmaker’s modest footprint, which received a measure of archival attention via the nearly exhaustive two-disc 2002 compilation Straight Faced Fighters.