Fastway is a
British heavy metal band formed by
guitarist,
"Fast" Eddie Clarke, formerly of
Motörhead, and
bassist,
Pete Way, formerly of
UFO.
Career
In 1983, both players had been disgruntled with their own bands and decided to work together in a new outfit. They recruited
drummer Jerry Shirley, formerly of
Humble Pie, and the then unknown
vocalist Dave King. They took their name from a combination of the founding members' names. However, Way then discovered that he could not escape from his
recording contract with
Chrysalis Records, and then received a tempting offer to play for
Ozzy Osbourne, so abandoned the project. Bringing in
session bassist Mick Feat, the band then
recorded their
debut album,
Fastway.
A critical and commercial success, the band toured to promote the album (with Alfie Agius article by
Alan Burridge. Retrieved on June 9, 2007. as their session
bass player). The band then recruited Charlie McCracken, formerly of
Taste, as "permanent" bassist, and released another success in the form of
All Fired Up the following year. After the hardships of touring, Shirley and McCracken subsequently left. In 1986 Clarke and King reformed Fastway with a new line-up. Recruiting Shane Carroll (second guitar), Paul Reid (bass), and Alan Connor (drums) from Dave King's first band Stillwood, this line-up released
Waiting for the Roar. The record took an
album-oriented rock approach instead of the driving bluesy-metal of the...
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